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Bailey Bankofier
Professor Pout
POS 150: Comparative Government
02 December 2016
Short Paper: British Politics and Iranian Politics
Autocracies and democracies are two paradoxical types of governments. Autocracy is a
“government in which one person has uncontrolled or unlimited authority over others; the
government or power of an absolute monarch” (“The Definition of Autocracy”). In contrast,
democracy is defined as a “government by the people; a form of government in which the
supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents
under a free electoral system” (“The Definition of Democracy.”). With these definitions as a
foundation, it is important to view examples of how autocracy and democracy are transcended
into action by a nation. The governments of the United Kingdom and Iran will be compared to
more thoroughly analyze the ways in which autocracy and democracy have differences and
similarities.
As one of the oldest established governments, the United Kingdom conveys a strong
example of a democracy. England has subsisted as an integrated entity since the 10th century;
England and Scotland settled to permanently join as Britain; the legislative union of Great
Britain and Ireland was implemented in 1801, with the adoption of the name “The United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland”; the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 ratified a barrier of
Ireland; six northern Irish counties remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland and
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the current name of the country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was
adopted in 1927. (Infoplease).
The British government has a multiparty system of parliamentary democracy with the
Conservative and Labour Party. Both parties are what comprise the majority of the political
establishment in the United Kingdom. The head of the British government is recognized as the
Prime Minister, who is currently Theresa May of the Conservative party (“How Government
Works.”). The Prime Minister is elected when a candidate wins the most seats in the election and
is then appointed by the Queen. Since passing the Fixed Term Parliament Act in 2011, the Prime
Minister can no longer decide the date for the next general election to limit each Prime
Minister’s term (@UKParliament). In addition to the Prime Minister, there is an appointed leader
of the party of opposition. This position is called the Leader of the Opposition, who is currently
