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List of boxes | |
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List of tables | |
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Leaders of the two main parties in Britain since 1945 | |
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US presidents since 1945 | |
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Votes and seats in British general elections since 1945 | |
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The Setting of British Politics: British Society and the British People | |
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Introduction | |
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The historical background | |
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British society and the British way of life | |
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Underlying British ideas and values | |
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The Constitution and the Protection of Rights | |
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The Constitution | |
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The growth of interest in constitutional revision | |
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The purpose and content of constitutions | |
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The characteristics of constitutions | |
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The Constitution of the United Kingdom | |
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The Blair government and the Constitution | |
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A defence of the Government's record on constitutional reform | |
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An attack on the Labour record | |
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The protection of rights | |
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The protection of rights in Britain | |
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The case of France | |
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The case of South Africa | |
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The case of the USA | |
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The Legislature | |
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Introduction | |
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What is the legislature? | |
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The main functions of legislatures | |
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The structures of legislatures | |
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The British House of Lords | |
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The main functions of the House of Commons | |
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A watchdog over government | |
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Elected representatives: the duties and responsibilities of British MPs | |
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Parliamentary reform in recent years | |
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The social composition of elected legislators | |
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The pay and conditions of legislators | |
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The case of Denmark | |
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The case of the European Parliament | |
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The case of the USA | |
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The Executive | |
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Some matters of definition | |
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Parliamentary and presidential systems of government | |
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The role of political executives | |
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The distribution of power within political executives: the trend towards first ministerial dominance | |
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The British Cabinet | |
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The role of Prime Minister | |
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The debate about prime ministerial power | |
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Constraints on the British Prime Minister | |
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British ministers and their civil servants | |
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The conventions of ministerial responsibility | |
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The case of Brazil | |
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The case of Holland | |
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The case of the USA | |
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The Judiciary | |
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Judicial independence | |
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Judicial neutrality | |
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Functions of judiciaries | |
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The growing importance of judicial review | |
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The developing trend towards judicial activism | |
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The politicisation of British judges: growing judicial activism | |
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The case of the European Court on Human Rights | |
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The case of the USA | |
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The case of dictatorships across the world: degrees of judicial independence | |
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Government beyond the Centre | |
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Unitary, federal and confederal states | |
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Devolved government in the United Kingdom | |
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Devolution: the case of Wales | |
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Is Britain becoming a federal state? | |
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The European dimension | |
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English local government | |
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The case of France | |
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The case of Spain | |
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The case of the USA | |
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Political Parties | |
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Introduction | |
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The functions of political parties | |
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Types of party systems | |
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The British two-party system | |
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The attitudes and beliefs of political parties | |
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Left and right in British politics | |
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The British Conservative Party | |
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The Labour Party | |
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Blairism in practice: 1997 onwards | |
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Third and minor parties in Britain and elsewhere | |
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Party membership and finance | |
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Party organisation: general trends | |
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The organisation of British political parties | |
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Party conferences in Britain | |
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Party leaders: how they are chosen by the main British parties | |
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The powers and security of party leaders | |
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The decline of political parties: do they still matter? | |
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The case of France | |
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The case of Italy | |
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The case of the USA | |
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Pressure Groups | |
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Group activity in modern societies: pressure groups and movements | |
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Pressure groups and political parties: their differences and similarities | |
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Classifying pressure groups | |
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The methods employed by pressure groups | |
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The European dimension to pressure group activity | |
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Pressure groups in the Thatcher to Blair years | |
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Factors influencing the success of different groups | |
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The benefits and disadvantages of pressure groups | |
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The case of France | |
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The case of Scotland | |
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The case of the USA | |
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Voting and Elections | |
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General considerations | |
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Election campaigning | |
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British election campaigns and campaigning | |
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Electoral systems | |
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Types of electoral system | |
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The 2005 election in the United Kingdom | |
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Some arguments surrounding the debate over FPTP versus PR | |
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Voting behaviour and turnout | |
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The case of the United Kingdom | |
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Turnout in elections | |
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Turnout in the United Kingdom: the 2005 election | |
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Direct democracy: initiatives and referendums | |
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The use of referendums in the United Kingdom | |
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The case of France: the use of referendums | |
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The case of Germany: voting behaviour | |
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The case of the USA: election campaigning | |
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Democracy in Theory and Practice | |
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Democracy in vogue | |
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The development of democracy | |
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Democracy: its main forms | |
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The characteristics of representative democracies | |
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Other forms of democracy | |
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British democracy in practice | |
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References | |
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Index | |