US vs UK Political Systems Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering the structural differences and similarities between the US and UK political systems, constitutions, and judiciaries.

Codified Constitution

A constitution written down in a single document, as seen in the US system.

Uncodified Constitution

A constitution spread across multiple sources like statue laws and conventions, as seen in the UK system.

Article V

The section of the US constitution that makes it rigid and incredibly hard to change due to the 2/3- vote rule.

Separation of Powers

A system where branches are completely separate; for example, the US President cannot be in Congress.

Fused Powers

A system where powers are joined; for example, the UK Prime Minister is literally a member of Parliament.

Gridlock

Regular stalemates created by the US constitution, such as Biden's BBB getting gutted.

Executive Dominance

A feature of the UK constitution that allows a government with a majority to pass laws easily due to fused powers.

Federalism

A system where the US constitution explicitly guarantees state power.

Unitary System

A system where the UK constitution gives ultimate power to Westminster, meaning local assemblies can be altered or dissolved.

Incompatible

The declaration the UK court makes regarding laws it cannot strike down due to Parliament remaining supreme.

House of Lourds

The unelected house in the UK Parliament that is less powerful than the House of Commons and can only delay bills.

Whips

The mechanism of strict party discipline in the UK that ensures MPs almost always vote with their party line.

Bi-cameral structure

A system utilizing two chambers (Senate/House in the US vs Commons/Lords in the UK) to scrutinize legislation.

Parliamentary Sovereignty

The principle that the UK Court cannot strike down primary legislation because Parliament is the supreme authority.

The Nuclear Option

Massive political battles to pack the court in the US, prompted by the fact that Justices serve for life.

Judicial Review (UK focus)

The UK Court's focus on how public bodies implemented existing laws, rather than overt political policy-making.

Bill of Rights

The codified legal benchmark used in the US to judge cases related to personal liberties.

Human Rights Act

The codified legal benchmark used in the UK to judge cases related to personal liberties.