Britain and the United States compare as many aspects as possible.

Political Regime belongs to the category of superstructure, which generally refers to the state power institutions and basic systems that are adapted to the social nature of the country. "The political system, like various systems of human society, is the product of historical development and bears the imprint of time and space." More than 13 years ago, after the British bourgeois revolution, capitalist countries gradually established and practiced democratic politics, promulgated constitutions and gradually implemented constitutionalism, which made capitalism develop by leaps and bounds in all fields.

Britain established the first set of western capitalist political system, which has always been regarded as the source and model of western political system; The United States, on the basis of absorbing and drawing lessons from the British political system, combined with its own national conditions to adjust, so that its own political system tends to be perfect. Britain, as a European nation-state, was formed on the basis of the monarchy. At that time, public law was used to limit the power of the monarch, and government agencies were established according to public law. Public law was relatively developed, so government agencies and the Constitution were generally regarded as the core of the political system. Unlike Britain, which has a clear national concept, American public law is mainly used to deal with the relationship between the government and individuals, and is supervised by the judiciary, so sometimes the political system is equated with the form of government.

British and American political systems have the same theoretical basis: the theory of "natural human rights" and the principle of "separation of powers"; The specific content of political system includes parliamentary system, electoral system, judicial system, government system, civil servant system and political party system. They all flaunt "people's democracy" and take representative system as the main form of democracy; The political power system is characterized by the principle of separation of powers and the rule of law. The most fundamental thing is that as two typical representatives of the political system of capitalist countries, Britain and the United States have the same essence in safeguarding bourgeois interests, maintaining capitalist private system and implementing bourgeois dictatorship. However, in terms of specific political systems, the two countries have different characteristics. This paper only discusses and compares the political systems of Britain and the United States from the perspectives of constitution, political party system and electoral system.

1. Comparison of British and American Constitutions

-Written and unwritten laws in Britain and written laws in the United States

The British Constitution is the product of long-term political and historical development. It has no unified and complete written form, but consists of written laws and unwritten habits and practices. It mainly includes: first, the constitutional documents with the nature of statute in history. For example, the Great Chastes in 1215, the Retition of Rights in 1628, and the Biu of Rights in 1689. Second, laws of a constitutional nature enacted by Parliament. For example, the Habeas Corpus Act in 1679 and the Act ofSettlement in 171. Third, constitutional court cases. For example, Howll'sCose, which established the privilege of judges in 1678. Fourth, some principles and provisions in common law, such as the system of king's privilege. Fifth, the constitutional convention. Although convention can't be applied to the court, it plays an important role in British political life, such as parliament is held at least once a year, and the royal power is actually exercised by ministers.

The British Constitution can neither be listed in one or several official documents, nor can it be strictly distinguished by the past and present time. It lacks precise and clear contents and a complete system from beginning to end. It is different from the constitution of the United States. All the rules of the British Constitution are divided into two parts according to whether they are effective or not: the laws of the British Constitution and the rules of the British Constitution. The former includes the jurisprudence and laws of the British Constitution, while the latter includes canon, custom, training and practice. The British Constitution is a system composed of two kinds of rules: law and code. According to the rules of this system, the sovereignty of England can be legally used and distributed between the government and the people. The code part is generally unwritten, and the legal part has both unwritten and written elements.

The British Constitution has some characteristics different from the American Constitution. First of all, the British constitution has the characteristics of flexible constitution, which can be changed or modified by parliament at any time, which is in contrast with the rigidity of the American constitution; Second, the British Constitution is conservative. England has a tradition of engaging in the cause of improvement, and the system of previous dynasties has been reformed as well as inherited from the previous system. This characteristic of obeying the rules has become a major feature of the British Constitution. Third, the British Constitution has continuity. This continuity depends on the continuity of national life in England. Finally, the British Constitution is inconsistent with the name and reality, that is to say, theory and practice are often inconsistent. Because British politics has gradually developed from dictatorship to constitutionalism, the political system has changed, but some laws and codes have been left behind, which often makes theory and facts inconsistent.

It can be said that Britain is the mother of bourgeois constitutionalism in the world.

The U.S. Constitution implements a complete separation of powers, which stipulates the separation of legislation, judicature and administration. Congress, the federal court and the president each perform their duties, and even the division of labor among the federal government, state governments and local governments is very clear. From the perspective of Congress, the Congress of the United States is undeniably influenced by the "blueprint" of the British parliamentary system, but fundamentally speaking, it is because the soil of the North American continent is suitable for the growth of this system. The power of the Congress is not just the "hand in charge of the wallet" (managing money), but the Congress is first and foremost the legislature. Unless the federal court declares the law unconstitutional, the laws passed by Congress are binding on everyone. This enables Congress to express its attitude towards the social life of the country in many ways. It can be authorized to a department or individual by law, or its power can be restricted by law. Secondly, there is the financial power, as well as the right to declare war on foreign countries, impeach government officials and the president, and re-elect the president and vice president. Agree with the president's important powers such as appointment, adoption of treaties between the country and foreign countries, and extensive powers to investigate the formulation and implementation of legislation and other matters. The federal court is an important weight in the separation and balance of the three powers in the United States. In addition to administrative and legislative functions, the most important functions are supervision and judicial functions. Judges enjoy constitutional status and are appointed as guardians of the Constitution. The Supreme Court is the law enforcement organ, and judges have the final say in interpreting the Constitution and laws. The president is the head of state, and all major ceremonies and activities representing the country must be attended; As the chief executive, he is responsible for formulating the daily policies of the country and has the right to appoint ministers, ambassadors abroad and judges of the federal court; As the supreme commander, he has the right to command the whole army, manage the "nuclear button" and start it at a critical moment; It also has the ability to veto legislative power, diplomatic decision-making power and influence the party; The actual power of the president goes far beyond the simple provisions of the constitution.

The U.S. Constitution also provides for checks and balances among the three powers. ⑴ From the relationship between legislation and administration, Congress has considerable power, and the appointment of officials by the President can only take effect with the consent of the Senate; Treaties concluded by the president with foreign countries can only take effect when they are approved by two-thirds of the votes in the Senate; Congress even has the power to re-elect the president, bomb the president and so on. At the same time, the president has greater power, the president has the right to intervene in the legislative field, and can submit a State of the Union address to the Congress to write down the basis for the legislation of the Congress; You can introduce bills to the National Assembly, and you can suggest that the two houses hold legislative meetings on the grounds of administrative privilege under special circumstances; You can influence the fate of a bill through the members of your party and the leaders of your party's parliamentary group. Although Congress can make laws and bind the President by law, the laws of Congress can only take effect after the President signs them. Although the president can veto the law enacted by the National Assembly, when both houses of Congress pass the law again with 2/3 votes, the president's veto power can be overturned. Judging from the relationship between the President and the federal court, the President can appoint judges, have the right to pardon all criminals, control the police, prisons and other institutions, and have administrative jurisdiction. At the same time, once appointed, a judge can serve for life and make a ruling against the president; The court has the power of judicial review and can declare the president's administrative legislation unconstitutional and so on. In addition, the relationship between Congress and the courts is also balanced.

the U.S. constitution stipulates the relationship of separation of powers and checks and balances, but it does not deny cooperation on this basis. In peacetime, there are more checks and balances than cooperation; In turmoil or emergencies, cooperation among the three parties is more than checks and balances. Because the interests maintained by the executive branch headed by the president are basically consistent with those of the Congress, in most cases, the Congress adopts an attitude of forbearance, acquiescence and even support to the President. Not only in domestic affairs, Congress often takes a cooperative attitude with the President; On the issues of war and diplomacy, the courts follow the principles of "judicial compliance" and "avoidance of political issues", and often cooperate with the president to let him act. This kind of sometimes decentralization and sometimes cooperation, when and how to show it, mainly depends on the interests of the American ruling group and the nation-state.

second, the comparison of British and American party systems

-the two-party system in Britain and America

Britain is the birthplace of modern party politics and a typical country that implements the two-party system. Dominating British politics for more than 1 years is essentially two important political parties, first Tories and Whigs, then Conservatives and Liberals, and then Conservatives and Labour. The British political party system has the following characteristics: (1) Combined with the cabinet system of parliament, the ruling party and the opposition party are clearly defined in form. Britain has a cabinet system of parliament, with two houses. Members of the House of Lords are not elected, but are appointed by the nobility or the king, and have nothing to do with political parties. The House of Commons is elected. The two major political parties competed for seats in the House of Commons by election, and the party with the majority of seats formed a cabinet, with the leader of the party as the cabinet prime minister and holding government power. The party that forms a cabinet is the ruling party. The ruling party holds the real power of both the Cabinet and the House of Commons. A political party that does not win a majority in an election is an opposition party or an opposition party. The opposition party has the responsibility of supervising the government and can form a "shadow cabinet" with ministers. The ruling party and the opposition party are clearly defined in form. According to British law, the House of Commons is re-elected every five years, but in fact, the re-election is irregular, because Parliament has the right to decide to extend its term of office, and the Prime Minister can also petition the King to dissolve Parliament at any time and hold an early election. (2) Both major political parties adopt centralism. Mainly manifested in: whether central or local, every political party has a sound organization; Have strict organizational discipline; In particular, the party has strict regulations on parliamentary voting. In the important voting in Parliament, all political parties asked their party member to vote as a group according to the leader's intention. Otherwise, it will be severely punished.

The United States is also a typical country that implements the two-party system. The political party system in the United States has the following characteristics: (1) It is associated with democracy and sports, and the main activity of the party is to run for president. The United States is a presidential country. The main activity of American political parties is to run for president. The party that won the election was the ruling party and the loser was the opposition party. Although members of the United States Congress are also elected, the number of seats of the two major political parties in the Congress has nothing to do with their ruling status. In the United States, as long as a political party wins the presidential election, even if it fails in the congressional election, it will not affect its ruling position. (2) Political parties are loosely organized and have no strict organization and discipline. . (3) The two-party system is relatively stable. The two-party system in the United States sprouted from the opposition between the federal party and the anti-federal party, and later formed the competition between the party and the Democratic Party. In American history, the Third Party Movement often appeared, but it never succeeded. The pattern of the two major political parties taking turns in power has been relatively stable.

a comparison between British and American political party systems. Although both countries implement the two-party system, there are great differences, mainly in the following aspects: (1) The subordinate regimes are different. Britain is a constitutional monarchy, and the king of England is the hereditary head of state. From the constitutional point of view, the British king monopolizes power. In fact, all the activities of the king of England are subject to the arrangement with the cabinet. The political party with the majority of seats came to power to form a cabinet, and the leader of the ruling party served as the prime minister of the cabinet, thus making the political party and the cabinet closely intertwined. The United States is a democratic country with a presidential system. The president is the head of state and holds the state power. The activities of the two major political parties are mainly manifested in the presidential election. The defeat of the winning ruling party in the parliamentary election does not affect its position as the ruling party. ⑵ Different organizational structures and activities. The two major political parties in Britain adopt centralism, and the party has a relatively unified political proposition, organizational structure and social foundation. The party has strict discipline over parliamentary voting. The two major political parties in the United States are loosely organized, have no strict organizational system, have no strict discipline, and even have no fixed grassroots party member. The two major political parties do not have a clear political platform, but only a campaign platform. The main activity of the Party is campaigning. People vividly call American political parties "electoral organizations", and American campaigning is "the battle of donkeys". Compared with the political party system of the two countries, the most prominent thing is that there is no problem between the ruling party and the opposition party in the United States, and there is little difference in power between the majority party and the minority party in parliament; And the power of the ruling party is far greater than that of the opposition party, which is not easy to challenge the ruling party; At the same time, political parties are loosely organized, and party member's cohesion in parliament is even weaker.

III. Comparison of British and American electoral systems

-Universal suffrage in Britain and the United States

The electoral systems in Britain and the United States are entrusted by universal suffrage, which is the same feature of the political systems of the two countries. However, due to the different political and economic conditions and historical traditions of the two countries, the universal suffrage systems implemented by the two countries are also different.

In fact, the universal suffrage system in Britain is only a system in which citizens elect members of the House of Commons. The king and the House of Lords in representative bodies are unelected. According to the constitutional convention, the cabinet government consists of the majority party in parliament. It is this election method that voters elect the lower house, and the majority of the lower house forms the government, which makes the representative government in Britain a typical cabinet responsibility government. It came into being in parliament, and bears direct political responsibility to parliament and indirect political responsibility to voters. The former is manifested in the right of parliament to defect, while the latter is manifested in the right of prime minister to request the king to dissolve parliament and re-elect. If the election fails, the opposition party will come to power; If you win, you will continue to be in power. Coupled with the principle that the two parties take turns to govern, they can directly affect the universal suffrage of citizens, which ensures the stability of the representative government in Britain.

The scope of universal suffrage in the United States is obviously different from that in the United Kingdom. Not only members of both houses of Congress, but also the president and vice-president as heads of state and government are directly elected by citizens. The president of the United States and his executive organs have nothing to do with Congress. They are only accountable to the voters at the time of the election. Usually only responsible for the federal constitution. Therefore, between them, it is only the mutual "checks and balances" relationship stipulated in the Constitution.

Although the electoral systems in Britain and America are different, they are all controlled by bourgeois political parties. Therefore, the electoral system and the political party system are closely linked. It is the basis and important content of the political party system and the parliamentary system.

in a word, from the above analysis, we can see that the political systems of Britain and the United States can be said to be the same, different and different. It not only contains the * * * sameness caused by the basic characteristics of modern western political system and the characteristics of today's times, but also has the differences caused by the differences of national conditions (mainly political systems and social and economic foundations), national characteristics and historical traditions. The political systems of Britain and the United States are the products of the bourgeois revolution in the west, which are similar to the feudal political system.