Economic, Social and Political Structures of Great Britain

Great Britain as we know participated in the World War I, siding with “Allies” as we know the British were a wealthy and great country, but getting into the world war obviously brought some consequences. In this article I will talk about the social, economic and politic structures of this country during the war.

First, let’s begin saying that Britain had a constitutional government, but it was not a fully-fledged democracy. World War One may not have initiated democratic change, but it determined its timing. Ironically, the war's demands also weakened the exercise of constitutional government, albeit temporarily.

When Britain entered World War One, it did so in the name of 19th century liberal values - the rights of small nations and the rule of law.

What justified these claims, which became the touchstone of British propaganda, was Germany's invasion of Belgium, as its army bypassed France's eastern defences by swinging round them to the north.

The British Royal House faced a serious problem during World War I because of its blood ties to the ruling family of Germany, Britain's prime adversary in the war. Before the war, the British royal family had been known as the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In 1910, King George V became king on the death of his father, King Edward VII, and remained king throughout the war. He was the first cousin of the German Kaiser Wilhelm II, who for the British public came to symbolise all the horrors of the war.

Although Great Britain went through some difficulties it still gave a lot of advantage to the “Allies”.


Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_House