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Glossary
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Accountability To have to answer for one's conduct, or to be subject to review or evaluation by a higher body. The doctrine of ministerial accountability, for example, holds that government ministers are answerable to Parliament for their actions.
Administration Either (1) the process of co-ordinating and implementing public policy through the machinery of public administration; or (2) another word for government – as in 'the Blair administration'.
Affirmative action Policies designed to provide groups with redress for a past pattern of discrimination. Such policies often take the form of legal requirements that organisations, such as universities, businesses or state bureaucracies, should take positive steps to increase their numbers of minority groups that have suffered discrimination in the past. Known as affirmative action, or reverse discrimination in the USA, the term 'positive discrimination' is often used in the UK.
Agenda-setting theory Argues that the media cannot determine what people think, but can have a strong influence over what people think about. By focusing on some issues but not others the media can highlight the importance of some issues in the public mind.
Balance of payments (balance of trade) A method of analysing the record of economic relations between a given country and the rest of the world, the balance of payments measures the surplus or deficit of exports over imports over a period of time. In practice, measuring the balance of payments is a complicated matter, but it is useful as a shorthand indicator of whether a country is 'paying its way' or spending more than it earns abroad.
Barristers and solicitors Barristers are lawyers, mostly concentrated in London, who specialise in advocacy in court. They have more prestige than solicitors, who do the bulk of the legal work in preparation for court judgments but whose access to appear in the courts is restricted.
Beveridge Report Resulted in the Welfare State, in which the government ensures the basic social and economic necessities of its citizens by financing and providing goods and services such as education, health care, housing and social security.
Bill of Rights A formal statement of the rights and privileges that may be actually or theoretically claimed by citizens. Unlike a modern Bill of Rights, however, the one passed by Parliament in 1689 was more concerned to restrict the royal prerogative and assert the powers of Parliament. Britain's modern Bill of Rights dates not from 1689 but from the Human Rights Act of 1998.
Broadsheets Serious national daily and Sunday papers, so called because of their size. Daily broadsheets are The Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian, the Independent, and the Financial Times.
Cabinet The committee of the leading members of the government who are empowered to make decisions on behalf of the government. The Cabinet is mainly, but not entirely, formed by heads of important departments of state and others who perform important functions of state.
Cabinet collegiality The feeling among Cabinet members that they must act closely and co-operatively together, even when they conflict over policy issues and departmental interests.
Cabinet government The theory that the Cabinet, not the Prime Minister, forms a collective political executive that, therefore, constrains the power of the Prime Minister. In Cabinet government the principle of collective responsibility ensures that the Cabinet either makes or is consulted about all important political decisions.
Cadre parties Parties of like-minded and wealthy 'notables' who used their own money to fight political campaigns and relied upon their own personal supporters. Good examples are the Conservative and Liberal parties in Britain between about 1830 and the Reform Act of 1867.
Cartel An arrangement between economic interests to limit competition by controlling their market in some way.
Cause groups (promotional groups) Promote a general cause or idea. Unlike interest groups their members are not drawn from particular occupations but may come from a wide variety of social backgrounds.
Celtic fringe Coined around 1900 to describe the northern and western peripheries of the British Isles (Scotland, Wales and Ireland) that voted Liberal, Labour or Nationalist rather than Conservative. The term is now used to refer to the Celtic periphery of the UK (Scotland, Ireland and Wales) whatever their voting patterns.
Civil liberties The freedoms that should not normally be constrained by others, whether private individuals or the State. Civil liberties are often used as an argument against the extension of state power into areas of life regarded as private – for example, the enforced use of seat belts in cars or crash helmets for motorbike riders. Civil libertarians are those who use these arguments, or who are particularly conscious of the importance of civil liberties.
Civil servant A servant of the Crown (i.e. the government) who is employed in a civilian capacity (not a member of the armed forces) and who is paid wholly and directly from central government funds (not local government, nationalised industries or quangos).
Civil Service anonymity Civil servants are the confidential advisers of ministers and must not be asked questions about politically controversial matters or the policy advice they give.
Civil Service impartiality The principle that civil servants should be politically neutral and serve their Cabinet ministers regardless of which party is in power and of what they may personally feel about their ministers' policies.
Civil society The aspects of social and economic life (primarily voluntary associations and private organisations) that are outside the immediate control of the State. A strong civil society based on a large number and wide variety of private associations and organisations is thought to be the basis for democracy.
Class Among the many and varied definitions of class, the most useful ranks the social and economic status of people according to their occupation, most notably into manual (working class) and non-manual (middle and upper class) groups, and then into subgroups or strata of these categories.
Coalition government Where two or more parties combine to form the government, in contrast to single party government where all the offices of government are held by members of the same party. Britain has had single-party government for most (but not all) of the twentieth century.
Codification of the constitution Producing a written constitution that makes it clearer, and more precise, explicit and systematic.
Cold War The state of international relations between the West and the communist bloc that stopped short of outright war, but involved intense hostility and the stockpiling of arms and maintenance of large armies in case war should break out. The Cold War started in a serious manner in 1947, at the time of the Berlin blockade and airlift, but gradually died away in the 1970s as a result of international agreements and arms limitations.
Collective responsibility The principle that decisions and policies of the Cabinet are binding on all members of the government, who must support them in public, to maintain a united front, or resign their government post.
Committee of Inquiry A committee appointed by the government, but mainly composed of members outside Parliament, and charged with the job of inquiring into and reporting on a particular matter. Recent examples are the Nolan Committee on Standards in Public Life, the Scott Committee into 'arms to Iraq', and the (Lord Roy) Jenkins Committee on electoral systems.
Common law Law that is overtly made by judges and which has become part of custom and precedent.
Community charge or poll tax The local tax that replaced the rates (or property tax) in which every adult resident of a local authority paid the same amount. It came into operation in 1990 and was replaced by the council tax in 1993.
Community law The treaties, legislation, and case law of the European Court of Justice, which are the legal basis of the European Union.
Constitution A set of fundamental laws that determine what the central institutions and offices of the state are to be, their powers and duties, and how they relate to one another and to their citizens. Most constitutions are written and codified in a single document, but in Britain it is partly written but uncodified. Constitutional documents set the limits and powers of government and often state the rights and freedoms of citizens.
Constitutional convention Unwritten understandings based on custom and practice that are held to be binding and are commonly observed even though they are not enforced by law or sanctions. An example in the British constitution is that of the Crown assenting to bills passed by Parliament.
Constitutional review The process by which laws and other acts of the legislature can be overruled by a court if the court holds them to conflict with constitutional rules, human rights, or other laws treated as superior to legislation. Prior to joining the European Economic Community no British court had this power.
Constructionism The practice by which the courts define and interpret the meaning of Acts of Parliament, especially where they are vague or general.
Content regulation Regulation of the content of the media by public bodies. Regulation of political content applies mainly to the electronic media (because of spectrum scarcity), and requires that news and current affairs programmes are accurate, balanced and impartial, but it also applies to the print media so far as pornography, violence and public decency are concerned.
Core Executive The network of institutions, people and practices that collect at the apex of power around the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, including the most powerful civil servants of Whitehall, the Cabinet Office, and the Prime Minister's Office. The core executive integrates policy in an otherwise rather fragmented decision-making structure.
Core party support The minimum voting support it is estimated a party can gain in a given election. The idea behind the concept is that core supporters are the diehard voters for a party in a given election.
Corporatism A system of policy making in which major economic interests work closely together within formal structures of government to formulate and implement public policies. Corporatism requires a formal government apparatus capable of concerting the main economic groups so that they can jointly formulate and implement binding policies. In this sense, Britain has never been a corporatist state, but had in the 1960s and 1970s a looser form of tripartite system.
Council tax The local tax that replaced the community charge in 1993, in which, like the rates, payment is related to property values and levied on all occupants of property. Business rates are set by central government and levied on non-domestic property.
Crossbench (non-aligned) groups Pressure groups that are not aligned with a party and try to maintain party political neutrality (such as crossbench groups in Parliament).
Cross-media ownership When the same person or company has financial interests in different forms of mass media – radio, TV and newspapers.
Cross-pressures Cross-pressures occur where political forces or influences push in different directions – for example, where someone with Labour sympathies reads a Conservative paper. Cross-pressures are likely to encourage moderate, centre-of the-road political attitudes and behaviour, or political inactivity in response to the difficulties they cause.
Decolonisation Colonies are foreign territories dominated by stronger states by means of military and economic power. Decolonisation, therefore, is the process of withdrawing from colonial relations with foreign countries so that they gain the autonomy of a sovereign state. In the case of the British Empire, colonial countries often became members of the Commonwealth.
Democratic deficit A phrase usually applied to the EU to describe a lack of democratic accountability in its decision making. It is usually argued that the European Parliament is too weak in relation to the Commission, and especially the Council of Ministers.
Deregulation The opposite of regulation, it involves the weakening or removal of state regulations in the interests of market competition. Deregulation was accompanied by privatisation in Britain in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Devolution The delegation of specific powers by a higher level of government to a lower one. Unlike a federal system where the powers of the lower level are constitutionally guaranteed, devolved powers can always be taken back by the higher authority.
Discrimination The practice of distinguishing (usually in order to disadvantage) between individuals or social groups on grounds or criteria (such as race, religion, gender or colour) that are not relevant to the circumstances under consideration.
Disposable income More often known as 'take-home pay', disposable income refers to income after taxes have been paid.
Disproportionality (the opposite of proportionality) Occurs when the seats in a representative body are not distributed in relationship to votes. Proportionality (proportional representation) occurs, therefore, when there is a closer relationship between the distribution of seats and votes. The British 'simple plurality' (first past the post) electoral system is often criticised for its disproportionality insofar as it advantages large parties and discriminates against small ones.
EC law The treaties, legislation and case law of the European Court of Justice, which are the legal basis of the European Union.
Economic management The process by which governments assume, to varying degrees, the task of managing the national economy by means of macro and/or micro economic policies. Government economic intervention may become so broad and pervasive that management turns into planning. Monetarism is associated with the idea that the government's role should be limited largely to management of the money supply, but Keynesian theory advocates more interventionist economic planning.
Egalitarian Political views of policies based on a wish to achieve equality, or less inequality.
Elective dictatorship The term used to describe the British political system as one in which, once elected, the leadership of the majority party in the House of Commons can do more or less what it wants without constitutional checks and balances, until it faces the electorate at the next general election.
Electoral volatility Large changes in voting behaviour from one election to another.
Environmental impact assessment A requirement of the European Union, which came into force in 1988, requiring all public and private projects above a given cost to be subject to environmental appraisal in which the advantages and disadvantages from the environmental point of view are laid out.
Environmentalism A concern with the natural environment (including many things from the physical environment affecting 'the quality of life') and the belief that its protection should be given more importance, and economic growth less. Environmentalists are sometimes referred to as 'ecologists' or 'conservationists'. In the 1970s and 1980s environmentalists began to form themselves into social movements and green parties.
Episodic groups Groups that are not normally political, but become so when circumstances require. For example, football clubs are politically involved only when issues such as football ground safety or hooliganism become a political issue.
Equality of condition The ideal objective of providing all citizens with equal access to income, wealth, education, employment, and other aspects of social life.
Equality of opportunity The practice of ensuring that individuals compete on equal terms for goods, benefits and life chances, such as education, employment or housing, even though the outcome may be unequal. Equality of treatment does not involve treating all individuals as equals. For example, the mentally or physically handicapped should not be treated in the same way as those who are not so handicapped.
Equality of treatment The application of the same rules and standards to all individuals and social groups.
Essex Model A method of explaining past election results and predicting future ones based on a statistical analysis of the changing economic basis of previous election results.
Establishment A vague term referring to the elite of public and private life that, some claim, run Britain irrespective of which party is in government. The Establishment consists of the small number of 'the great and the good' in the Civil Service, military, church, universities, political parties and business. Usually with public school and Oxford and Cambridge backgrounds, they are said to follow a consensus, middle-of-the-road and conservative approach to government and politics.
Ethnicity A mixture or combination of different social characteristics (which may include race, culture, religion, or some other basis of common origin and social identity) that give different social groups a common consciousness, and which are thought to divide or separate them in some way from other social groups.
Euro The name of the official common currency adopted by 11 members of the EU (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain), with fixed conversion rates in their own currencies. Euro notes and coins were issued on 1 January 2002.
European Monetary System The third and final stage of European financial integration, EMS provides for a single European currency (the euro), to replace existing national currencies, and a European central bank.
Europhiles Those who are generally well disposed to the further integration of Europe within the framework of the European Union.
Europhobes Those who are not generally well disposed to the further integration of Europe, at least within the framework of the European Union.
Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) The ERM is the first stage of a European Union plan for financial integration. As part of the European Monetary System (EMS) introduced in 1979, the ERM was designed to minimise currency exchange fluctuation among members of the EU that belonged to the system. Each currency had an exchange rate against the European Currency Unit (ECU), and was supposed to fluctuate within a band either side of this exchange rate. Britain joined the ERM in October 1990, but international currency speculation against the pound drove it out again in September 1992 (Black Wednesday).
Executive One of the three branches of government (with the legislative and judiciary). The executive is concerned with making government decisions and policies rather than with passing laws. In Britain the political executive is the Prime Minister and the Cabinet; in the EU the main executive is the Council of Ministers.
Executive agencies Also known as 'Next Step agencies', these are the semi-autonomous agencies set up to carry out some of the administrative functions of government that were previously the responsibility of Civil Service departments.
False consciousness The state of mind induced in the working class by the ruling class in order to conceal the real nature of capitalism.
Federal A political structure that combines a central authority with a degree of constitutionally defined autonomy for sub-central units of government – usually territorial units of government such as states, regions or provinces. In discussions about the European Union in Britain, however, the term 'federal' is sometimes used as a code word by those critical of the idea of a 'European superstate', and sometimes as a word to describe a political structure, national or supranational, which is decentralised.
Fire brigade groups Pressure groups formed to fight a specific issue and dissolved when it is over (e.g. the Anti-Poll Tax Federation).
Fiscal policy A type of macro economic policy that uses taxation and public expenditure to manage the economy. Fiscal theories are particularly associated with the work of J. M. Keynes (General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, 1936) who argued that fiscal tools should be used to promote economic development while avoiding the economic cycles of 'boom and bust'.
Framing effects (of the media) The argument that the media can exercise a subtle but strong effect on how public opinion thinks about politics in a general way, and how it reacts to particular events. For example, by focusing on bad news, the media can produce 'videomalaise'.
Franchise In its political sense, the right to vote. In Britain the male franchise was extended in 1832, 1867, 1884 and 1918. The female franchise was partly introduced in 1918 and completed in 1928, by which time Britain had a universal franchise.
Free trade The idea that international trade should not be restricted by protection in the form of tariffs, custom duties or import quotas that are designed to protect the domestic economy from foreign competition. Free trade policies are sometimes called 'laissez-faire' (allow to do) policies.
Freedom of information Free public access to government information and records. Freedom of information is a necessary condition of open government. Under the public record acts of Britain some government records are open after 30 years.
Functional integration A form of international integration based on pragmatic co-operation between states in specific areas of (usually) economic activity. The European Coal and Steel Community is an example. Functional integration is often contrasted with political integration that involves more ambitious blueprints for supranational government.
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade – the series of agreements heavily promoted by the USA since the Second World War and designed to promote free trade in all products throughout the world.
Globalisation The growing linkage of all countries of the world with each other through travel, tourism, trade and electronic communication. As anything done in one area now affects all the others, this means that countries like Britain can act less and less on their own and so creates a need for international political institutions such as the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU).
Glorious Revolution of 1688 Established the King's dependence on the support of Parliament and is thus a first step towards Parliamentary and constitutional government.
Government A general term that refers either to the body which forms the political executive (as in 'the Labour government'), or the institutions which form the constitutional system (as in 'the British system of government'). In the second sense the government consists of those institutions that make the binding rules and decisions in a given territory.
Gross Domestic Product The total value of all the goods and services bought and sold in the domestic economy.
Harmonisation The attempt of the EU to create common product standards and specifications among its member states in the interests of a free and genuinely common market.
Hegemonic In popular language, the term refers to an idea or practice that is widely accepted as correct, but the term originally meant a social class (the capitalists) or nation state that is so powerful that its view of the world is accepted even by those whose interests are not served by such a world view.
Human rights Western ideas about 'rights' are traceable through the English Magna Carta, the United States Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man. The 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights proposed a number of fundamental rights, including those of 'life, liberty and security of the person', 'freedom of movement' and 'of thought, conscience and religion'.
Idealism The view of politics, especially international relations, that emphasises the role of ideals and morality as a determinant of state policies, and hence the possibility of peaceful co-operation.
Ideology A system of ideas, assumptions, values and beliefs that help us to explain the political world – what it is and why, and what it should be. Conservatism, liberalism, socialism, fascism and anarchism are main examples. Sometimes the word is used to describe a set of political ideas that are false or misleading. Marxists use the word in this way to describe the political ideas used by the ruling class to conceal the real nature of capitalism from the workers.
Imperialism The practice of one nation controlling or dominating another state or territory, usually by military and economic means, and usually to the advantage of the imperial power. Imperialism (as in the British Empire) is often distinguished from colonialism in that it implies a greater degree of political integration of territories and their citizens, and in so far as imperialism is sometimes claimed to be a feature of advanced capitalism. The term 'imperialism' is now sometimes loosely applied to a strong international financial or cultural influence, as in 'US imperialism', which involves American films, clothes and speech.
Incomes policy Government policy designed to secure economic growth and stability by regulating incomes and wages on the grounds that excess demand may be inflationary. Incomes policy was sometimes accompanied by a matching prices policy – hence prices and incomes policy.
Indicative planning The practice of the state indicating targets or goals for such things as employment, inflation and output, without necessarily taking action of its own to achieve them.
Insider groups (established groups) Pressure groups that are able to work closely with elected and appointed officials in central or local government.
Institutional racism The collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people.
Interest groups (sectional groups) Pressure groups that represent the interests of particular economic or occupational groups, especially business organisations, professional associations and trade unions.
Intergovernmental organisations Allow national states to co-operate on specific matters while maintaining their national sovereignty. They contrast with supranational or federal organisations that wield some power over nation states.
International regimes Are sets of international institutions and 'rules of the game' that are created and accepted by states in order to promote international co-operation and integration, as opposed to independent decision making and national competition. Major examples include the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
International Reserve Currency A currency that many third world countries not directly linked with the sponsor country choose to make payments in, because it has a stable value.
Investigative journalism In-depth and often critical journalism involving research that is usually time consuming and expensive. Examples include the Washington Post's digging into the Watergate Affair in the United States of America, and the Guardian's persistent inquiry into the cash for questions affair in Britain, 1995–7.
Iron law of oligarchy The 'law' propounded by Robert Michels in 1911 whereby mass organisations cannot, by their very nature, be democratic and will always and of necessity be controlled by a small elite – the oligarchy.
Judicial review The process whereby the courts supervise the way in which public officials and bodies carry out their duties. It includes the power to nullify actions that the courts believe to be illegal or unconstitutional.
Junior ministers Ministers of state and parliamentary under-secretaries.
Keynesianism Economic theory or policy derived from the writings of J. M. Keynes (1883–1946) that advocates some government economic intervention to achieve economic stability, growth and full employment. Keynesian policies were used widely in the western world, including Britain, in the 1945–80 period.
Kitchen Cabinet The loose and informal policy advice group that Prime Ministers may collect around them, and which may include politicians, public officials and private citizens.
Knowledge gap The result of the process whereby those with a good education and high status acquire knowledge faster than those with a poorer education and lower status.
Law A body of rules enforced by the power of the state.
Left–right continuum The continuum on which it is often convenient to locate parties, which stretches from the left-wing parties that believe in radical or revolutionary change, through the socialists and centre parties, to parties of the moderate right that oppose change, and to extremist parties of a Fascist or Nazi ideology. Although a simplification, the left–right continuum is often a convenient and accurate way of grouping and comparing parties.
Legislature The law-making branch of government. In Britain it is the Queen in Parliament – the Queen, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
Legitimation The process of making something morally acceptable in the views of the population. A government, for example, is regarded as legitimate if it has gained power by winning a free and fair election.
Liberal democracy The form of government practised in the West that tries to combine institutions of democratic government with liberal values about individual rights and responsibilities. Britain is democratic in the sense that it has the formal institutions of representative government such as free and regular elections, government under the law and formal political equality. It is a liberal democracy in the sense that it gives a certain independence and autonomy of government while trying to preserve the rights and freedoms of citizens.
Liberal individualism Liberal ideology implies individualism (among other things), so in some senses adding the term individualism to liberalism is redundant. But the modern use of the term 'liberal individualism' suggests neo-liberal views that reject modern liberal ideology, which is fairly sympathetic to some forms of state intervention, and a return to classical nineteenth-century liberalism, which believes in a minimal, caretaker state.
Liberal internationalism The view of international politics built on individualism that argues that individual rights are superior to nation state rights – for example, the idea that human rights are superior to state rights, or that the international community is entitled to impose human rights in countries whose governments do not recognise them.
Liberalism Liberalism (with a capital 'L') refers to the beliefs and policies of the Liberal Party. In the nineteenth century Liberals were also liberals.
Liberalism Liberalism (with a small 'l') is the political belief that individual rights should be protected by maximising freedom of choice by limiting the powers of government. It is therefore contrasted with socialism, which believes that state intervention can increase individual freedom. To confuse matters, the term 'liberal' is sometimes applied in the USA to opponents of the neo-liberal policies of the New Right.
Lobby system The name given to specially selected correspondents of the main newspapers, TV and radio stations who are given confidential information by the government on a non-attributable basis. Not to be confused with 'the lobby', or pressure group system in Parliament. The lobby system for briefing journalists was widely criticised for giving the government too much influence over the news.
Macro economic policy The branch of economic policy that deals with total or aggregate performance of the national economy, including monetary policy (money in circulation and interest rates), inflation, exchange rates, capital, employment and labour.
Magistrates' courts Local courts, staffed by part-time and unpaid people (justices of the peace or JPs), that deal with minor crimes and decide which are more serious cases to be dealt with by Crown Courts.
Mandamus The legal doctrine stating that local authorities must carry out the duties imposed on them by law. Authorities guilty of non-feasance (not doing their duty) can be issued with a writ of mandamus, ordering them to do their duty.
Mandarin power/dictatorship of the official The theory that, no matter which party forms the government, civil servants will exert a powerful influence over government, or even control the government, because of their ability, experience, expertise, training and special knowledge.
Mandarins The comparatively small number (about 1,000) of very senior civil servants who have close and regular contact with ministers in their capacity as policy advisers.
Mandate An instruction or command that carries legal or moral force. An electoral mandate is said to give the party winning an election the right to carry out its programme. In practice, party programmes are often so broad and vague, and people vote for them for so many different reasons, that it is difficult to claim that the winning party has a mandate for any given policy.
Market regulation Regulation of the media market by public bodies.
Market testing The process of deciding whether a public service should be produced at all, and, if so, whether it should be produced by the public sector, contracted out or privatised.
Mass parties Are financed and organised with the help of a mass membership that both pays membership subscriptions and provides the human resources to conduct political campaigns.
Mass society A society composed of isolated individuals who, because they have no deep roots in community and social life (civil society is weak), are liable to manipulation by political elites.
Micro economic policy The branch of economic policy that deals not with the total performance of the economy but with the performance and behaviour of individual economic actors, including firms, trade unions, consumers and regional local governments.
Middle ground A political position roughly midway between the extremes of the political spectrum. The crucial point about the middle ground is not that it is in the middle but that it is assumed to be a position occupied by the majority of voters.
Ministerial responsibility The principle that ministers are responsible to Parliament for their own and all their department's actions. In theory, ministers are responsible for administrative failure in their department, and for any injustice it may cause, whether personally responsible or not.
Ministers The 80 or 90 most senior government members consisting of the Prime Minister, Cabinet ministers (22–26 people), ministers of state (about 28), and parliamentary under-secretaries (about 33).
Monetarism A revised version of neo-classical economics that, contrary to Keynesianism, argues that government should minimise its involvement in economic matters, except for controlling the money supply as a way of holding down inflation. In turn, the money supply consists mainly of the amount of cash and credit circulating in the economy. Monetarism is particularly associated with the work of Milton Friedman and the Chicago school and with the economic policies of the Thatcher government in the early 1980s.
Multimedia conglomeration When the same company has financial interests in different media and (usually) in a range of other economic activities as well.
Nationalisation The policy of taking firms, services or industries into public ownership, either because they are key parts of the economy, or because they form natural monopolies, or because they have failed in the open market.
Nationalism Is more than patriotism, in that nationalists believe in sovereign state autonomy for the people they identify as belonging to a national community.
Natural law The universal moral rules to which, it is claimed, human laws should conform.
Neo-liberal consensus Agreement among different political groups and parties about neo-liberal politics, that is the political belief that individual rights should be protected by maximising freedom of choice, limiting the powers of government and promoting market economics. The consensus was at its strongest in Britain and the USA in the 1980s.
Neo-liberalism The ideas associated with the New Right of the 1980s that market competition is the best means of guaranteeing political freedom and economic growth. In politics, neo-liberalism is particularly associated with the policies of Thatcher in Britain and President Reagan in the USA. However, to confuse matters, the term 'liberal' is often used in the United States of America to describe the moderate critics of neo-liberalism.
New Commonwealth A coded term used to refer to non-white Commonwealth countries.
New Poor Law Passed in 1834 to deal with the poor cheaply and efficiently. 'Workhouses' were set up everywhere into which those who needed relief had to go. Conditions inside were tougher than those of the worst-paid employment outside to deter 'welfare dependence'.
New public management (NPM) The term applied to a mixed package of public sector reforms in many western states in the 1980s and 1990s, including the introduction of business management techniques and structures, the decentralisation and privatisation of public services, the use of performance targets, the introduction of internal markets, and greater use of private–public, semi-autonomous, and executive agencies. Also known as 'reinventing government', it is said to have had the effect of 'hollowing out the state', that is, reducing its operations and transferring some functions to the private sector or other bodies. NPM was introduced into Britain by the Thatcher governments and developed and modified by the Blair governments.
New Right The politicians and theorists of the 1980s who believed in the efficacy of market competition as the best means of guaranteeing political freedom and economic growth. The movement was 'new' in Britain in that it was opposed to the traditional 'one-nation' Tories (the 'wets'). It was particularly associated with the neo-liberal ideas and policies of Thatcher in Britain and Reagan in the USA.
New social movements Are organisations that emerged in the 1970s in order to influence public policy about such issues as the environment, nuclear energy and weapons, peace, women, and minorities. They have wider policy interests than most pressure groups, but are more loosely knit than political parties.
Next Steps The short title of the Ibbs Report (1988), which identified serious management failure in the Civil Service and recommended far-reaching reforms in the shape of executive agencies.
Nuclear deterrent The threatened use of nuclear weapons to prevent aggression on the part of foreign states, on the grounds that the aggressor nation will suffer too much damage to make the venture worthwhile. Nuclear deterrence, counter-strike and retaliation (all known sometimes as 'the balance of power' or 'the balance of terror') became a central feature of the Cold War.
Ombudsman A popular word of Swedish origin (meaning grievance officer) referring to the parliamentary commissioner for administration who investigates complaints of maladministration in public services.
Open government The relatively unconstrained flow of information about government to the general public, the media and representative bodies. Open government is relative, not absolute; all governments must keep some secrets, but critics of official secrecy in Britain claim that government is too secretive.
Orthodox economics The dominant economic theory of the first half of the twentieth century, which argued for minimal state intervention in the economy. Orthodox economics were widely practised in the western world until the advent of Keynesian economics.
Osmotherly Rules A set of rules, named after their author, Edward Osmotherly of the Civil Service Department, for the guidance of civil servants appearing before Commons Select Committees and designed to protect Civil Service impartiality, anonymity and secrecy.
Outsider groups Do not have easy or official access to politicians and civil servants in Westminster and Whitehall, but are kept at arm's length because of who they are and what they represent.
Parliamentary sovereignty The power of Parliament to make or repeal any law it wishes.
Party An organisation of ideologically like-minded people who come together to seek power – often to fight elections with a view to gaining representation in decision-making bodies.
Party democracy Either (1) the widespread distribution of power within a political party; and/or (2) a system of national democracy resting on competitive parties.
Party factions The sections or tendencies within parties that emphasise different features of party policy while subscribing to the overall aims of the party and its organisation. All parties contain such factions, but to varying degrees and strengths. Sometimes factions leave the main party to form their own (the Gang of Four and the SDP), and sometimes they are driven from it (Militant Tendency in the Labour Party).
Party families Parties in different countries that share similar beliefs, principles, policies and, often, support groups. In Europe the three main party families are the Socialists (Labour and Social Democratic parties), Conservative (Conservative and Christian Democratic parties), and the Centre or Liberal parties.
Party manifesto The document parties publish at the start of election campaigns outlining the programme of policies they intend to implement if elected to government.
Patronage The giving of favours – office, contracts or honours – to supporters of the government.
Peak (umbrella) associations Co-ordinate the activities of different organisations with the same general interests (e.g. the Trades Union Congress or the Council of Churches).
Pluralism According to pluralist theory political decisions are the outcome of competition between many different groups representing many different interests. Power is fragmented and winners and losers in the pluralist battle change and vary according to the issue and its circumstances. Elites compete for the support of the non-elites and groups, which ensures democratic accountability.
Police The civilian organisation established to maintain civil order. The creation of the Metropolitan Police in London in 1829 marks the beginning of the British police force.
Policing The processes and arrangements, usually but not always involving the police, established to maintain civil order. All societies have to maintain order and so all engage in policing, although not all do so through a civilian police force.
Policy communities Are small, stable, integrated and consensual groupings of government officials and pressure group leaders that form around particular issue areas.
Policy networks Compared with policy communities, policy (or issue) networks are larger, looser, less integrated and more conflictual networks of political actors in a given policy area.
Political correctness A controversial term to describe the use of language about socially sensitive matters, such as race or gender, in a way that is designed not to give offence. Often the implication is that politically correct language is silly or absurd.
Positive planning Where the state takes direct action to achieve planning goals, as opposed to indicative planning where it sets out the goals but does not do anything itself to achieve them.
Poverty trap The idea that the Welfare State creates a vicious cycle of poverty for some social groups by imposing welfare systems that discourage people from taking responsibility for their own life or finding work. The cycle tends to continue, some claim, into the next generation of children who grow up in such a system.
Precedent A decision or practice of the past that is accepted as a guide for the present. In the law, precedents are past decisions of the courts that are thought to apply to similar legal problems or situations of the present.
Pressure groups Private, voluntary organisations that wish to influence or control particular public policies without actually becoming the government or controlling all public policy.
Prime Minister The head of the executive branch of government and chair of the Cabinet.
Prime ministerial government The theory that the office of the Prime Minister has become so powerful that he or she now forms a political executive similar to a president. In prime ministerial government the Prime Minister is 'the efficient secret of government', the Cabinet only a 'dignified part'.
Private members' bills Are introduced in Parliament by MPs or peers without government backing. Most (not all) fail, but in doing so they can influence future government legislation. Private members' bills may deal with any matter other than public expenditure.
Privatisation The opposite of nationalisation, privatisation is the returning of nationalised industries wholly or partly to the private sector. Privatisation was accompanied by deregulation in Britain in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Process-based approach The approach to judicial review which assumes that the principal task of the courts is to ensure that citizens can participate as fully and effectively as possible in the decision-making procedures of public bodies.
Progressive taxation Where higher income groups pay proportionately more in taxation than lower income groups.
Proportional representation (PR) A voting system which uses an allocation formula (there are many of them) that distributes seats among parties in proportion to their vote. PR tries to ensure that majorities and minorities are represented in proportion to their voting strength.
Public Sector Borrowing Requirement (PSBR) The amount borrowed by government to finance its annual expenditure. Keynesian theory argues that the PSBR should rise in times of economic depression in order to stimulate demand, and fall in times of rapid economic growth in order to prevent the economy from overheating. Monetarism argues that a large PSBR fuels inflation and crowds out capital for private investment.
Public service model The idea that radio and TV should not be commercial but used in the public interest to educate, inform and entertain. The BBC under Lord Reith (its Director-General, 1927–38) is said by some to be the epitome of public service broadcasting.
Quangos Quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations financed by the government to perform public service functions but not under direct government control. Examples include the BBC and the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE). The advantage of quangos is that they can take sensitive political matters out of direct government control; the disadvantage is that they place public functions in the hands of unelected officials who are usually nominated by the government.
Racism The practice of discriminating between individuals or groups on racial grounds.
Rate capping The practice introduced in the 1980s whereby central government set a maximum rate level for local government in an attempt to control their expenditure.
Rational choice An approach to political science that treats politics as the outcome of the interaction between rational individuals pursuing their own interests.
Realism The view of politics, especially international relations, that emphasises the role of self-interest as a determinant of state policies, and hence the importance of power in these relations.
Referendum A vote in which only one, or a small number of issues are put to the electorate, as against a general election in which the electorate chooses between parties on a broad range of political issues.
Regionalism Regions are geographical areas within a state, and regionalism involves granting special forms of representation within national government to regions, or granting special powers and duties to regional forms of government. In Britain, the regions of Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are examples.
Regressive taxation Where lower income groups pay proportionately more in taxation than higher income groups.
Regulatory agencies Offices of gas, water etc (Ofgas, Ofwat and so on) that enforce regulations and contracts binding public utility companies to provide a reasonable service for consumers and to protect the environment.
Reinforcement Occurs where political forces push in the same direction – e.g. where someone with Labour sympathies reads a Labour paper. Reinforcing pressures are likely to confirm the individual's political attitudes and behaviour, and may encourage political activity.
Reinforcement theory (media effects) Argues that the media do not create or mould public opinion so much as reinforce pre-existing opinion. This is because (1) the media adapt themselves to their consumers in their search for markets, and (2) consumers select the media and their messages to fit their own opinions, the result being that the media reflect consumer demand rather than creating it.
Representation The process whereby one person acts on behalf, or in the interests, of another. Representative government entails the selection of representatives (usually by election) to make decisions, rather than direct participation of those represented.
Royal prerogative Functions performed by ministers on behalf of the monarch. Before a constitutional monarchy was established the Crown had powers that were subject to no check or veto by Parliament, but now the royal prerogative is generally exercised by ministers.
Select committees Committees of the House of Commons and the House of Lords which consider general political issues that are wider than a particular piece of legislation. The Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons, which considers all accounts of money appropriated by Parliament, is a major example. Although membership is in proportion to party strength in the House, committees try to work in a non-party political manner, and chairs of committees are often members of opposition parties.
Selective benefits Are state welfare benefits distributed according to individual circumstances such as income, age or disability.
'Short-termism' A criticism often made by politicians of British managers and investors who are unwilling to pay for research and other developments that do not give an immediate profit.
Single-member simple plurality (SMSP) The electoral system used in British general elections by which the country is divided into constituencies, each returning one member of Parliament who need only obtain more votes than any other candidate in that constituency to be elected.
Sleaze A popular term, much used in the mid-1990s, referring to the corrupt or improper behaviour of public officials, initially mainly members of the Conservative government.
Social democratic The ideology of that part of the political left which holds that political and social change can – and should – be achieved by means of peaceful reform rather than revolutionary violence. The British Labour Party is a social democratic party, as are the mainstream labour movements in Scandinavia and Germany.
Social democratic consensus Agreement among different political groups and parties about the general principles of social democracy, that is, a generally moderate left or centre-left political programme. The consensus was strong in the 1950–79 period when all major parties accepted the broad principles of the Welfare State, the mixed economy, Keynesian economic policies and a NATO-based alliance against the USSR. The consensus was also known as 'Butskellism' after the left-wing Conservative leader R. A. B. Butler, and the right-wing Labour leader Hugh Gaitskell, who agreed on the broad issues of political policy, though not necessarily the details.
Sovereignty The exclusive right to wield legitimate power within a territory. A sovereign state controls its own affairs, so far as any state can do so. Thus Parliamentary sovereignty means the power to make or repeal any law.
Spectrum scarcity The shortage of broadcasting frequencies for radio and TV caused by the fact that the wavelengths available for public broadcasting on the spectrum are limited.
The Stability and Growth Pact Was adopted at the Amsterdam meeting of the European Council in 1997 to ensure smooth progress towards fiscal convergence (Single Monetary Policy) and price stability within the EU. The Pact committed EMU partners to aim for balanced or surplus budgets in the medium term.
Standing committees Committees of the House of Commons that examine bills after their second reading in order to make them more acceptable for their third reading. Committees are composed of party members in proportion to their numbers in the Commons.
State The set of public bodies and institutions that exercise sovereign power within a territory. The State makes binding laws and policies, and claims compliance with them by virtue of its monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force. In Britain it consists primarily of Parliament, the army, police, Civil Service and local government.
State law The sum total of laws passed by Parliament.
Statute law Law passed by Parliament (in contrast to European law or common law).
Stereotyping The practice of treating members of social groups as if they were all the same, often in a way that involves discrimination.
Stop–go cycle A pattern in which the economy swings between rapid growth that becomes inflationary, out of control, and 'overheated', followed by deflationary policies designed to slow growth and stabilise the economy.
Subsidiarity The principle whereby decisions should be taken at the lowest possible level of the political system – that is, at the level closest to the people affected by the decisions.
Sustainable development Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The term was coined by the United Nations Commission on the Environment and Development, chaired by the Norwegian Prime Minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland, and spelled out in its report Our Common Future (1987).
Tabloids Less serious national and Sunday papers, so called because of their smaller format than broadsheets.
Tactical voting The practice of voting for a candidate who is not the first preference in order to keep out a less preferred candidate.
Targeted electioneering The practice whereby parties concentrate resources on those marginal seats that they think they have the best chance of gaining from another party, or the highest chance of losing to another party.
Task forces Are usually comparatively small, official groups specially created to do a particular and fairly limited job (write a report, investigate an issue or event, create a new government structure), and dissolved when they have completed the task. Task forces are normally under the direct control of those who create them, and they are often not constrained by the normal rules applying to public bodies. The Blair government is particularly associated with 'government by task force'.
Think tank An organisation set up to develop public policy proposals and to press for their adoption by government. Since think tanks are concerned with applied policy research and its implementation they are often connected with governments, parties or social movements. Major British examples include the government's own Central Policy Review Staff (1971–83), the Centre for Policy Studies (Conservative), and the Institute for Policy Research (Labour).
Tort: civil and criminal law A tort is a civil wrong in English law. Civil law is the area of law dealing with business, property and 'normal' dealings between people. Criminal law is where violence, physical injury, theft and dangerous deception are involved.
Trade liberalisation The process whereby international trade is increasingly opened up to market forces (free trade) by reducing trading tariffs, import and export controls, and other forms of protection.
Tripartism Compared with corporatism, tripartism is a looser, less centralised and co-ordinated system that brings together three main interests (government, business, unions) in economic policy making. It is a consultative rather than a corporatist method of reaching and implementing decisions.
Tribunals In Britain tribunals are quasi-judicial institutions set up to resolve conflicts between public or private individuals or bodies. They are a way of avoiding the expensive and time-consuming needs of the courts, and of settling a large number of fairly small and simple cases.
Two-tier local government Where the functions of local government are divided between an upper level (counties, for example) and a lower level (boroughs or districts, for example).
Ultra vires The doctrine whereby public bodies have only those powers granted explicitly or implicitly by Parliament, and no others.
Unilateralism The belief that a country should voluntarily and independently renounce its (nuclear) weapons, either as a moral gesture that might be followed by others, and/or because unilateralists hold that nuclear weapons do not deter aggression and might even provoke it. The main unilateralist organisation in Britain is the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).
Unilateralist A person who holds that Britain should renounce nuclear weapons on its own (unilaterally) without waiting for multinational agreement to do so.
Unitary state A state in which there is a single sovereign body, the central government. Unlike a federal state, the central government of a unitary state does not share power with smaller territorial areas within the state (states, regions or provinces) although it may devolve some powers to them. Britain, France, Sweden, Italy and Japan are unitary states; the USA, Germany, Austria and Switzerland are federal states.
Unitary system Where local functions are controlled by only one layer of local government.
Universal benefits Are state welfare benefits distributed to all groups and individuals who are eligible, irrespective of their particular circumstances.
Utopianism A form of ideology which claims that it is possible to create a perfect or nearperfect society. However, some utopias are constructed by their creators not as feasible societies but as models against which to compare the real world. Plato's Republic presents a utopia, as does Sir Thomas More's Utopia(1516), from which the modern word derives.
Videomalaise The attitudes of political cynicism, despair, apathy and disillusionment (among others) that some social scientists claim are caused by the modern mass media, especially television.
Welfare State A state in which the government ensures the basic social and economic necessities of its citizens by providing, through the revenues it raises from taxes and other sources, goods and services such as education, health, housing and social security. In Britain the Welfare State derives from the Beveridge Report of 1942.
Westminster Model The form of liberal democracy that is modelled on the British system of government. It is best described and analysed by Walter Bagehot in The English Constitution (1867), and now involves: Parliamentary sovereignty and an unwritten constitution; representative democracy (rather than participatory or delegated democracy); an attempt to balance the need for strong government with the rights of citizens; an overlap between executive, legislative and judiciary; single ('winner takes all') party government; and the single-member simple plurality electoral system.
Whips Officials appointed by Parliamentary parties in the Lords and the Commons to promote party discipline. A three-line whip is one requiring the voting support of all members of the party in Parliamentary divisions. The whips are also said to be the 'eyes and ears' of party leaders, who are too busy to maintain close and regular contact with backbench opinion.
White papers Government documents outlining proposed legislation in order to permit discussion and consultation of the policy. White papers may be preceded by green papers, which are also consultative documents, but which outline various policy alternatives, rather than the firmer policy proposals that government sets out in its white papers.
World Trade Organisation The international organisation set up in 1993 to police the GATT agreements.
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