PPG | Issues | United Kingdom

United Kingdom

Description

With a 1,000 year old Parliament, the fifth largest economy in the world, an envied welfare system, and a highly regarded art and culture collection deriving from the British Empire colonialist days, the UK can rightly be described as the epitome of Western power, culture and influence.

The Uk`s past history, of course, has not always been so morally sound, indeed, Britain became "Great" from 1707 by the likes of Sir Francis Drake, who routinely plundered the Spanish Galleons full of South American gold and other precious metals for Elizabeth the first. The political legacy of which has been to see the Great British Empire: From Empire to Commonwealth with seats on every power broking table of note in the world including a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, as well as NATO. OSCE- Organisation for Security and Co-Operation in Europe etc. The UK has remained a world force on a global playing field, largely obtained from its colonial history or military campaigns.

The last time the UK went to war, was in a territorial dispute over the Falkland Islands in 1982 Falklands War 1982. The timing of which was perfectly suited to her re-election in 1984, gained from her "conquering heroes," premier Margaret Thatcher stated her moral indignation of the invasion to the Falklands by the Argentinian Junta "I told him that British sovereignty must continue and British administration be restored," (Thatcher 1993: 193)

Thatcher had been in possession of a geologist report, from 1976, claiming a huge oil field in the Malvinas basin of the Falkland Isles. Combine this with the Government`s 1987 privatisation of all British interests in the North Sea with BP.com. suggesting it was the oil reserves of interest to the British government and not the 2,000 residents, £30 million GDP of the islands or indeed sovereignty. This is further borne out by the UK`s non committal to the invasion of another Commonwealth island, Grenada, after the US invaded months later in October 1983. Invasion of Grenada - 1983.

The UK has its own terrorist problems in Northern Ireland ( United Kingdom) where the colonialist past and division of Ireland has caught up into two distinctive groups; Catholic and Protestants. Since trouble erupted from around 1968, factions of "supporting " paramilitaries have formed on both sides. The Irish Republican Army Ireland's OWN: IRA stemming from English occupation and the then Irish Republic Brotherhood supported the Catholic cause for a "united Ireland." While the Protestant paramilitaries include the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) and the Red hand Brigade "supporting" loyalism to the Queen (and British rule). In between the two apparently religious factions are the British Army, and the Royal Ulster Constabulary RUC Museum (recently changed to the Northern Ireland Police Service. The Northern Ireland Executive

Effect on Capitalism

The prevalent global policy of Mercantilism between 1600-1800, was one in which the UK excelled. The principal of a nation accumulating wealth was one in which the stronger the countries navy, the better able it was to steal another countries precious metals etc. and achieve a higher political power.

Having plundered Spanish Galleons of gold, and other countries of their national heritage, such as Greece`s Elgin Marbles, Britain was better prepared to take on the more ideological Capitalism which appeared around the early 1800s superceding Mercantilism. The British fleet coupled with immense resources have since combined to keep the UK afloat and relatively prosperous.

About the time of the shift from Mercantilism to Capitalism, saw 150 brokers evicted from a coffee house in 1760, who evolved to form the London Stock Exchange- History which became a "regulated exchange" from 1801. Today this exchange is "the most international of all stock exchanges" (LSE) providing the bulk of the UK`s Gross Domestic Product, and reflecting Britain's former glories with the global currency of Sterling. Sterling was removed from the global currency status from the 1944 Breton Woods agreement which saw the US dollar taking over, and which has been the global currency ever since. Guardian Unlimited/ Special reports/ A history of Currency Unions

From its own reserves in the North Sea, the UK had what Thatcher defined as a "petro currency" (Thatcher: 1993:44) and more importantly independence from oil producing nations and price fixing bodies such as OPEC. In the 1970`s OPEC had held the world to ransom by pegging oil prices at unsustainable levels creating a scenario which contributed to the global recession which followed.

Northern Ireland has revealed a remarkable insight into how terrorism deeply affects Capitalism by deterring investment into the province, which is affected by coercion and threats to local businesses from paramilitary pressure groups. Higher Insurance premiums provide a larger cost to businesses, and an inability to attract staff, which remains just some of the fundamental challenges to all ranges of businesses. The combination of fear from the paramilitaries and security from the governmental agencies conspire to discourage new firms from setting up in a terrorist environment generally, while old firms are found to be compromised in their corporate outlook versus the "greater good" policy of their security advisors. For example while Compulsory Competitive Tendering became compulsory under the Local Government Act 1988 in the UK, Northern Ireland was exempted until around half of the UK measures were adopted in the 1992 Local Government Act (Miscellaneous Provisions - Northern Ireland) with additional security measures.

The devastation to local, national and international businesses by a single terrorist threat or attack, was demonstrated by the demolition of Europe`s highest skyscraper by the IRA at Canary Wharf and repeated some 5 years later at the World Trade Center attacks in New York, in which the latter lost the lives of some of Wall Streets best financial brains.

Effect on Democracy

This traditional bicameral Parliament is seen by many to fully represent the Western Liberal democracy (see Dunleavy and O`Leary: 1987) Great Britain stored much on its "administrative colonialism" to further enhance their political roots overseas, and can still be seen today in many Caribbean countries, for example while capital punishment is still used in some Caribbean islands, but not here, the final appeal for the death penalty appeals process is in Westminster Death Row/ BBC News/ Americas/ Trinidad hangings completed

Initial UK warfare legislation delivered under the Emergency Powers Act 1939 has eroded the democratic principles of freedoms in the governmental response to potential World War Two invasion. These emergency powers were widely used for Northern Ireland (notably detention without trial). It was superceded by the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 (c.4), which led to further erosion of individual freedoms, and in the wake of the World Trade Centre attacks, the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 has come under a good deal of criticism from Human Rights Watch World Report 2002: Europe & Central Asia: United Kingdom.

Nor has trade escaped lightly from these amendments, with trade affected by such as The Control of Gold, Securities, Payments and Credits (Republic of Iraq) Direct and the Finance Act, 1964 effectively allows the Uk government and Treasury controls over various trade and financial instruments.

Summary

The United Kingdom has had a long and illustrious history, and has been at the forefront of global political affairs for the last three centuries. Whilst ruthlessly successful in the majority of its military campaigns, the UK`s military success was not translated against guerrila warfare in The Boer War (1899-1902). The Royal Commission which followed noted that more troops died off the battlefield than on it, and recommended better conditions for troops in the future Statistics of the Boer War : South African War Virtual Library.

When Britain was in occupation of Ireland, the next encounter with another guerrila force, the IRA, at the Easter Rising in 1916 again ended in military victory but political failure. A failure which contributed to the vacation of Southern Ireland and the division of Ireland by 1923, with UK rule being maintained in the North only, The eruption of violence from 1968, invoked the insertion of troops in Northern Ireland and imposition of the Emergency Powers Act. Britain has also seen violence from Middle Eastern terrorists by The Murder of Yvonne Fletcher and at Lockerbie in 1988.

Where military force has failed to contain terrorism in the past, bureaucratic blunders have followed in an attempt to contain and control the problem, but has strategically failed, demonstrated by British colonial losses in South Africa and in Ireland. More recent history over the past 30 years has shown a consistent failure of political force to resolve the terrorist issue by issuing more and more intrusive legislation deeply imposing on the 4 freedoms of Roosevelt: "freedom of speech and expression, freedom to worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear." In addition, European Union policy on the freedom of movement of goods, labour and capital have also been compromised by UK anti terrorist legislation, sufficient to make one pressure group declare; HRW: Opportunism in the face of Tragedy: Repression in the name of anti-terrorism.

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