Great+Britain+Pd.+3+Citizens


 * __The Citizens of Great Britain__**
 * __Social Class__**
 * The divides between the social classes have always been important in British culture. Today the greatest divide is between the working and middle classes. The split is hard to define by income in today's society, but rather through the mindset of the working class that keeping the job and neighborhood is more important than the individual success of a person.
 * Britain has a tradition of **Noblesse Oblige**, the idea that the upper social classes are responsible for the welfare of the lower classes. This has further reinforced the separation between the social classes. In recent years it is evident through the Welfare system put in place by the British government.
 * Education is also a reinforcing factor in the division of British society. Today most students attend state funded schools from the time they are 3 to the time they are 16. Students will soon required to attend schooling until the age of 18 under the Education and Skills Act of 2008. They then can choose to further their education by attending state funded university. Some students on the other hand, typically middle or upperclass students, attend "public schools' which are private institutions that require payment, uniforms, and in some cases even boarding of the students. Students who attend these schools typically are being prepared for a future in military, civil service, or politics and are typically the elite in society. Being part of the elite class typically requires education through Oxford or Cambridge Universities, but in recent years a great effort has been made to give working and middle class students scholarships to attend the schools. Despite the growth of colleges in Great Britain, it still has one of the lower college attendance rates of the worlds industrialized democracies.

The majority of Great Britain's population is of European decent with only 7.1% being of a different origin as of 2001. This percentage is made up of primarily of Indian, Pakistani, Afro Carribean, and Black African immigrants, most of whom are young, half of the population being under 25 years of age.
 * __Ethnic Cleavages__**
 * Immigration Issues:** The British have not taken the growing ethnic population with much acceptance. Race riots in recent years have broken out over supposed mistreatment of the new minorities by the police and government. There is also evidence that an white citizens have been moving away from the heavy immigrant centers such as London in recent years. Despite these issues the amount of mixed race population has been on the rise according to recent census results.[[image:London-attacks.jpg width="440" height="293" align="right" caption="London Bus Bombing 7/7/05 from http://visitbulgaria.info/files/London-attacks.jpg"]]
 * **Muslim Minorities:** As in many other advanced democracies, instances of Muslim terrorist activities have increased since 2001 with major bus/subway bombings in 2005 and car bombings in 2007. Growing tensions have resulted because of:
 * History as a well established minority in England
 * Generally have existed as very poor and unemployed, often growing up with a dislike of British culture
 * Their is reason to believe that British Muslims are more likely to have closer ties to al-Qaeda due to their Pakistani origin
 * Belief that the British government was in full support of the War in Iraq
 * Minorities have not integrated into British society and often feel like mistreated outcasts
 * There has also been a recent influx of Eastern European immigrants since about 2004 due to greater job opportunities, but due to recent job shortages for the British people there is some potential for labor conflicts in the country.

The Brits have had their share of Religious conflicts, largely dating back to the formation of the Anglican Church by King Henry the Eighth. The country was primarily Catholic until that time and following theChurch's formation, the much tension formed between devout Catholics who were unwilling to leave their faith. Today the Monarch is still the head of the Church of England, and much of the struggle between the two relgions has faded away with the exception of Ireland.
 * __Religious Cleavages__**
 * **Northern Ireland:** During its fight for independence from England, Ireland divided into Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland remained a separate nation with a predominantly Catholic population, while Northern Ireland remained loyal to the British and followed the Protestant religion. Fighting and terrorism between the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland remains a large problem even today.

For much of Great Britains history, citizens have had to deal with multinational identities. Great Britain, also refered to as the United Kingdom, is actually composed of four separate nations: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Each area, though united under a single government, has maintained strong national identities.
 * __Regional Cleavages__**
 * England is the largest and generally most powerful of the four sections. It was responsible for uniting the four nations as one and holds the central government over Great Britain. England's influence over the others have made it more challenging to integrate the four national identities together while still keeping the individual identities alive.
 * Wales is located west of England and was originally brought under British rule in the 16th century. It remains very proud and independent, retaining and teaching its own language alongside English in schools. Despite generally good feeling with England, some still feel resentment towards the more powerful country for its exploitation of Wales over the years.
 * Scotland remained a separate country until it joined the British empire through marriage in the early 1600s. Eventually the countries agreed on a single Parliament in London, bringing the two under one rule. Despite this union, Scots still retain a strong national identity, even reviving their own Parliament in recent years.
 * Northern Ireland remains part of the British Empire due to the prevalence of Protestantism over Catholicism. Most of Ireland gained independence for British rule following World War I due to the Irish refusal to give up their Catholic beliefs and through presure from the Irish Republican Army. In 1949 only Northern Ireland remained under British rule, but since then fighting between the Protestants and the Catholics has remained a large problem.

People in Britain generally have a collective consensus on most issues and there are very few if any major subjects causing any major conflicts or divides in British society beyond the ones listed in the above cleavages.
 * __Cross-Cutting/ Coinciding Cleavages__**

The various cleavages found in Great Britain do have some impact on participation, namely Social Class divides determining party affiliation. Traditionally the working class voted in favor of the Labour Party and the middle class was affiliated with the Conservatives. In recent years these lines have blurred with the changing of both the party and British views of Social class, but to an extent these affiliations remain intact. The regional location of people also determines the voting patterns of the people. Citizens in the industrial northern cities, central London, Scotland, and Wales generally vote in favor of the Labour party whereas the citizens in suburban and rural areas of England are more likely to follow the Conservative Party.

__**Attitudes and Beliefs of the Citizens**__ Following World War Two British citizens bonded together agreeing on most things due to a need to repair and stabilize the battered nation. Up through the 1960s and 1970s political culture was heavily defined by trust, deference to authority and competence, pragmatism, and harmony. Through the 1970s until now Great Britain has experienced an economic crisis as well as other events that have challenged this universal harmony. Despite some disagreement over the last four decades, the same sense of trust and caring between the government and its people appears to remain strong.

__**Political Socialization**__ The media plays a major role in political education in Great Britain. Newspapers generally follow class and party lines, each presenting information based on their intended readers. Radio and television also is major in political education and has been dominated by the British Broadcasting Corporation or the BBC, which remains respectful and generally unbiased by presenting positive ne ws about all parties and candidates. No specific party may utilize any sort of propaganda or election campaigning on the BBC or any other station due to policies prohibiting groups from purchasing air time for any political cause or candidate.

__**Political Participation**__ The British citizens are largely connected to the government via linkage institutions such as participation in the political parties, interest groups, and the media. In recent years, protest has become a more acceptable and popular way of communicating with the government. Issues including labour unions, Northern Ireland, the involvement in the War in Iraq, and most recently cuts made to the education welfare system have spurred large protests allowing English citizens to publicly voice their opinions to the government. British citizens are connected to the government as well due to taxes funding social welfare programs including healthcare, education, etc. Finally voting is the most prominent way that British citizens participate within government. National parliamentary elections have very large turnouts with about 70% of eligible voters turning out to let their opinions be known.

Great Britain Pd. 3 Table of Contents