Preliminary Contents Unit 1 Pluralist Democracies: Country Studies Part A. The United Kingdom 1. 45447 A Revised British Constitution: Tony Blair's Lasting Legacy?,Donley Studlar, McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Learning Series , 2007 Tony Blair’s“New”Labour came to power in 1997 promising to modernize British government. The subsequent institutional reforms can be seen as Tony Blair’s lasting legacy. Here an American political scientist examines the record until the end of 2006.He covers such topics as the reform of the House of Lords, the regional and local devolution of power, the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into British law, a relatively timid British Freedom… of Information Act, and electoral reforms. 2. 45448 Who Killed the British Prime Minister? The Strange Death of Tony Blair, The Economist , September 14, 2006 This article reviewsTony Blair’s record as party reformer and government modernizer. It points to Iraq as an obvious reason forhis massive loss of public trust, but finds a deeper explanation inBlair’s governing style—his enthusiastic “oversell” of his political initiatives, his tendency to micro-management and his perceived resort to expediency. 3. 45449 Electoral Politics in the United Kingdom,Donley Studlar, McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Learning Series , 2007 The author singles out and explains some important aspects of Britain’s electoral politics. He discussesthe sharp drop in voter turnoutin the two most recent general elections as well as theconsiderable distortions in the present systemthat give considerableadvantages to Labourand enormousdisadvantages to the“third”partyof Liberal Democrats. It is clear that the rules of the game are anything but neutral in their political impact. All of this takes placewithout partisan designsuch as a strategy of gerrymandering. Part B. France 4. 45450 The End of French Europe?,Steven Philip Kramer, Foreign Affairs , July/August 2006 The author connects the French vote against the European constitution in 2005 to two factors—a general crisis in French society and the flaws in the French conception of Europe.The postwar French model (political, economic and social) no longer functions well. There is a pervasive mood of decline in France and a widespread public distrust of the political class. Economic growth is low, the social welfare model is under siege, and the system of ethnic integration has been challenged in the recent riots.Meanwhile France has come to use its leading role in the EU in an increasingly self-serving and defensive manner. 5. 45451 France's Murky Mix of School and Scandal,Katrin Bennhold, The Nation , May 15, 2006 France has a smaller and more exclusive elite than is found in other democracies.It is concentrated in Paris, where its training grounds are the grandes écoles, above all the École Nationale d’Administration (ENA) and the Polytechnique ( or “X”).The graduates form closed networks that close off outsiders and blur the lines between the business sector and the public arena. In a country where the state has a big presence in the economy, these exclusive networks result in a lack of transparence and result in preferential treatment.