📌 Scottish and Welsh people have British citizenship but Scottish or Welsh nationality, whereas English people generally identify as both British citizens and British nationals.
The Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are constitutionally tied to the United Kingdom but are not part of it.
The Union Flag combines St George’s Cross for England, St Andrew’s Cross for Scotland and St Patrick’s Cross for Ireland; Wales is absent because it was a principality, not a kingdom.
In July 2024, the UK had about 68 million people: 83% lived in England, 9% in Scotland, 5% in Wales and 3% in Northern Ireland.
Citoyenneté britannique, nationalité écossaise ou galloise
King Charles III has been the UK’s monarch since Queen Elizabeth II died on 8 September 2022.
In the UK, the monarch accepts government and parliamentary decisions and traditionally may advise, warn and encourage the Prime Minister privately.
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📌 The House of Commons is the centre of political debate and the ultimate source of power, while the House of Lords can delay legislation but can be overruled by the Commons.
Compléments
The House of Lords comprises Lords Temporal, who inherit or are appointed to their seats, and Lords Spiritual, recognized for their role in the established Church.
On 15 July 2024, the House of Lords had 774 eligible peers, and the chamber has no fixed number of seats.
The Speaker, elected by MPs, maintains order in Commons debates fairly and impartially.
Party leaders appoint the Whips, a small group of MPs who ensure that MPs attend when a vote is required.
Les Communes décident, les Lords retardent
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📌 UK, Commonwealth and Irish Republic citizens resident in the UK may vote in all public elections, while resident EU citizens may vote in all elections except national parliamentary elections.
Compléments
Under first-past-the-post, the party with the most seats forms the government, and its seat total tends to exceed its share of the total vote.
The Conservative Party is also known as the Tories, while the Liberal Democrats are commonly called the Lib Dems.
The Scottish National Party won 56 of Scotland’s 59 Westminster seats in 2015, then lost 39 seats in the 2024 general election and retained 9.
In the 2024 general election, Sinn Féin became Northern Ireland’s largest Westminster party with 7 seats, while the DUP was left with 5 seats.
Founded in November 2018 by Catherine Blaiklock and Nigel Farage as the Brexit Party, Reform UK is Eurosceptic and won its first major electoral success in the 2019 UK European Parliament election.
In the 2024 general election, the Green Party of England and Wales added three seats and quadrupled its representation in the House of Commons.
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The 2010 general election produced a hung parliament: the Conservatives won 306 seats, Labour 258 and the Liberal Democrats 57, so David Cameron formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats.
In the 2016 referendum, nearly 52% of voters chose to leave the European Union, and David Cameron resigned after the result.
The UK officially left the European Union at 11 p.m. on 31 January 2020, beginning an 11-month transition period during which it continued to follow EU rules.
Compléments
Theresa May’s 2017 snap election gamble failed to secure a Conservative majority, so her government relied on a confidence-and-supply agreement with the DUP signed in June 2017.
After Boris Johnson resigned, Liz Truss served as Prime Minister for two months before Rishi Sunak, and the Conservatives were defeated in the 2024 general election.
Coalition, Brexit, alternance conservatrice, retour travailliste
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📌 The Welsh Assembly can discuss and propose laws for the UK Parliament to vote on but cannot pass laws itself, whereas the Scottish Parliament can legislate on matters not reserved to Westminster.
Compléments
Since 1999, Wales has had an Assembly and Scotland a Parliament.
The Welsh Assembly is based in Cardiff, has 60 members elected every four years, and uses Welsh and English as its main working languages.
The Scottish Parliament is based in Edinburgh, has 129 members elected through a form of proportional representation and may vary the lower base rate of national income tax.
The 1979 Scottish referendum did not win enough support for fully devolved administration, whereas the 1997 referendum approved the establishment of a Scottish Parliament.
In September 2014, Scottish voters rejected independence in a referendum after more than 3.6 million people turned out.
After Scotland voted to remain in the UK in 2014, the Smith Commission was formed to recommend further devolution of powers to the Scottish Parliament.
Le Parlement écossais légifère, l’Assemblée galloise ne le peut pas
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The United States of America is a federation made up of 50 states, and Americans are citizens of both the federal government and the state where they are domiciled.
Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia officially call themselves Commonwealths.
Compléments
People have free movement between US states, and state citizenship is flexible.
The term Commonwealth refers to common wealth held for the people and was chosen to emphasize government by popular consent rather than legitimacy granted by the British Crown.
Calling a state a Commonwealth has no constitutional effect.
Pennsylvania and Virginia became Commonwealths in 1776, Massachusetts in 1780, and Kentucky in 1792.
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Compléments
The name America was formed as a feminized version of the name of the Italian cartographer and explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512).
The name United States of America was adopted in the Articles of Federation in 1777.
The United States was originally treated as a plural, but the singular became standard after the American Civil War.
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The United States is the world’s oldest surviving federation and is both a constitutional republic and a representative democracy.
The US Constitution divides political power between the federal government and state governments, which can take decisive action on criminal and civil law.
📌 Under the Tenth Amendment, powers not delegated to the federal government and not prohibited are reserved to the states or the people.
The federal government has three branches :
The three branches can act autonomously, but each also has powers to regulate the other two.
Congress is the bicameral legislature, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and determines federal law.
The Senate has 100 members because each state elects two senators regardless of population, and each senator serves a six-year term.
The House of Representatives has 435 voting members, elected for two-year terms to represent population-based congressional districts.
The President holds the executive power, serves as Commander-in-Chief and is responsible for carrying out and applying federal law under Article II of the Constitution.
📌 Under the Presentment Clause, bills passed by Congress must be presented to the President before becoming law, and the President may veto them.
📌 The President is indirectly elected through Electoral Colleges for a four-year term and may be elected only twice under the 22nd Amendment of 1951.
Compléments
State governments are closer to local concerns and circumstances, which can help implement federal decisions and limit national bureaucracy and red tape.
In cooperative federalism, the federal government persuaded states to adopt a 55 mph speed limit by threatening to withhold highway funding.
Federalism can produce complex administration and substantial differences in laws from one state to another.
Either chamber of Congress may propose bills, but only the House of Representatives may initiate bills imposing taxes.
Le fédéral exerce les pouvoirs délégués ; les États conservent les autres.
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The two major US political parties are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
The Democratic Party is generally considered centre-left and promotes social-liberal reforms, including affordable quality health care and low-cost higher education.
The Republican Party, also called the GOP or Grand Old Party, is generally considered right of centre and advocates free-market economics and individual achievement.
Compléments
The Democratic Party was founded in its modern form in 1828, although it dates back to around 1792.
Democrats have supported environmental protection by arguing that the federal government should protect the environment and promote ecological breakthroughs.
The Republican Party was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists and first came to power with Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860.
Republicans emphasize laissez-faire economics and personal responsibility rather than a welfare state and state intervention, while supporting a safety net provided by the private sector.
Démocrates : intervention publique ; républicains : marché et responsabilité individuelle.
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Congressional gridlock blocked much of Obama’s second-term agenda, although the Affordable Care Act was implemented in 2013 and 2014, extending health insurance to more than 10 million people.
Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election against Hillary Clinton despite losing the popular vote, because he won the Electoral College.
Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel after Trump dismissed FBI Director James Comey, to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible links with the Trump campaign.
Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election with 51.3% of the vote against Trump’s 46.8%.
On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters stormed the Capitol after Trump continued to claim that the election had been stolen.
In June 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to abortion and allowing states to determine their own abortion laws.
Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race on July 21, and Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee.
Donald Trump won a decisive victory in the 2024 election, although it was not a landslide by historical standards.
Compléments
In 2012, Barack Obama won re-election with a narrower victory than in 2008, while Congress remained divided between a Republican House and a Democratic Senate.
In 2017, Trump appointed Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, signed 13 resolutions rolling back regulations and withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
In December 2018, the longest government shutdown in US history began after Trump demanded $5.7 billion for a border wall before signing a federal funding package.
On June 30, 2019, Trump became the first sitting US president to enter North Korea, but the meeting produced no new denuclearization commitments.
On February 5, 2020, the Senate acquitted Trump on both impeachment charges.
The Senate voted 57 to 43 to convict Trump after his second impeachment, but he was acquitted because conviction required 67 votes.
In his first 100 days, Biden issued 42 executive orders, signed a nearly $2 trillion Covid-19 relief plan, rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization, and pledged to make 200 million vaccine doses available.
The 2024 campaign featured Donald Trump’s four criminal cases, his survival of an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania on July 13, and Kamala Harris’s challenge to persuade voters that she could improve their economic situation.
Teste tes connaissances sur Civilisation américaine et institutions avec 11 questions à choix multiples et corrections détaillées.
1. Quels pays composent le Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne et d’Irlande du Nord ?
2. En étudiant l’union de l’Angleterre et de l’Écosse, quelle date marque leur réunion sous le Traité d’Union pour former la Grande-Bretagne avec le pays de Galles ?
Mémorisez les concepts clés de Civilisation américaine et institutions avec 10 flashcards interactives.
De quels territoires le Royaume-Uni est-il composé ?
L’Angleterre, l’Irlande du Nord, l’Écosse et le pays de Galles.
Since which event has King Charles III been the UK’s monarch?
Queen Elizabeth II’s death on 8 September 2022.
What limits the monarch’s powers in a constitutional monarchy?
Constitutional law or convention.
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