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This study of the education system of the United Kingdom is part of the handbook "The education systems of Europe" which presents an analytical description of the education systems of all European countries, following common guidelines. The authors first concentrate on the development of the national system of education after 1944, including recent and current themes (1980s until today), the changing education governance, political and constitutional modernization and aspects of schooling in the post-1997 era. They continue with the development (expansion, differentiation, modernization) in further and higher education and close with thoughts on globalization, Europe and education in the UK. A diagram illustrating the structural scheme of the English educational system is part of this article. (DIPF/Orig./Kie.).

This chapter examines the US's complex relationship with the UN. The Bush Doctrine represented a threat to certain principles held by the UN -- non-aggression & respect for another nation's sovereignty -- & created a fraught relationship in which negative opinions of the US war in Iraq were expressed; however, the author also discusses the increased working relationship between the US & the UN since 9/11. For instance, the Iraq war has caused the Bush administration to rethink the value of the UN & multilateralism. D. Miller

Describes the origins, development, & functions of the Mexican Constitution. The Constitution, established in 1917, founded a federal system based on the tenet that significant powers should dwell in a strongly secular social-welfare regime with authority to act in such policy areas as foreign & domestic trade, agriculture, food, health services, education, & energy. This system enabled government centralization & a strikingly nationalized economy. This trend of Mexican federalism toward centralization has been challenged only since the early 1980s by calls for policies promoting government decentralization, democratization, & economic liberalization. K. Coddon

Describes the origins, evolution, & operations of the US Constitution, which has had wide significance as an exemplum of modern federal democracy. Central tenets of the Constitution, including federalism, the division of powers, an independent judiciary, & the rights of the individual, have been adopted across the globe. Yet both the Constitution & US federalism have been dynamic, as is indicated by key post-Civil War Amendments. The Constitution has also been affected by political & social change, the continental expansion of the nation, & the US's emergence as an economic & military superpower. K. Coddon

Recent changes in US marriage & fertility behavior are examined in light of the growing earning power of women & of G. S. Becker's (1981) theories of marriage & family behavior. Becker hypothesized that the educational attainment of women would have a negative impact on mariage formation. Long-term cohort analysis was conducted of data from the 1988 National Survey of Families & Households from women (N unspecified) followed from age 14 until their first marriage & first birth, using an exponential model with time-constant & time-dependent covariates. Becker's independence hypothesis is not supported. Rather, it is found that the proportion of women ever married has dropped considerably for all educational groups. 4 Tables, 2 Figures, 45 References. M. Wagner

"In the paper the United Europe, in the shape of EU, is described, but also the 'cracks' ongoing inside it: first of all the European economic crisis that does not allow to practice a positive internal 'soft power', the lack of charismas of the EU elites, the mechanisms of government that weaken the capacity of EU to be effective (for example the rotation of the presidency, creeping internal colonialisms, and so on) are considered. Starting from this present scenario, scenarios for the future are worked out. We can define them in the following ways: 1) the pure catastrophic scenario: it sees the disappearance of the United Europe or this becomes an empty shell; 2) the realistic catastrophic scenario: it sees the United Europe to become an entity in which internal asymmetrical relations Lake form. completely open towards the strongest states and dose enough (for the circulation and rules) towards the internal peripheral or smaller states or more little, operating a kind of colonialism; 3) the realistic ideal scenario: it sees that the United Europe keeps the 'promises' made and the 'premises' from which it is born, except that its member states are still strong and their 'reserve of powers'. Outwards the EU always remains and keeps the features of an International Organisation; 4) finally the pure ideal scenario: it sees the transformation of the EU in a federal state, in which the sovereignty of the federate state remains more and more soft so much that it disappears, at least in the aspects of general coordination and of the management of the EU general policies. The discussion of the Tour scenarios verifies which of them will be carried out in the future: alter 10 years, 20 years, 30 years. 40 years. It is more likely that the gilt scenario occurs, that is a scenario that collects elements from each of the scenarios considered before and it assumes a further configuration with respect to those are forecast." (publisher's description)

The United Nation's efforts to promote Afghanistan's democratization are studied. An historical overview of the United Nation's long-standing presence in Afghanistan is presented, emphasizing the conditions that initially limited the United Nation's activities to humanitarian support & peacekeeping but ultimately expanded to democracy assistance. Special Representative to the Secretary-General Lakhdar Brahimi's achievement of encouraging Afghanistans four major opposition groups to collaborate in the formation of a power-sharing authority, the subsequent enactment of the Bonn Agreement, & the initial difficulties experienced by the Interim Authority under Hamid Karzai are then discussed. Recognizing several factors that could result in the fragmentation of Afghanistan's fledgling democracy, eg, the explosion of inter-ethnic violence, it is recommended that a federalist system be established in Afghanistan to prevent such determinants from destroying the nation's democratization; suggestions for transforming the current political system into a federalist one are also offered. J. W. Parker

Explores how the ethno-racial landscapes of youth in the UK & the US have been affected by migration & describes the current social & economic conditions of immigrant & minority youth. Limitations related to the availability of comparable data are pointed out. Differences in the timing & volume of migration are examined, along with the impact of the evolution of source countries & settlement systems in the US & the UK. Hispanics recently surpassed Blacks as the largest minority group in the US while Asians are the largest minority group in the UK. The increasing diversification of populations in both countries is emphasized; however, the US minority population is three to five times greater than that of the UK. An exploration of socioeconomic differentiation indicates that the life chances & opportunities for minority & immigrant youth in both countries are much gloomier than those of their White counterparts. Special attention is given to the plight of Caribbean Blacks who have fared better in the US than in the UK. Tables, Figures, References. J. Lindroth

Examines the causes & consequences of the UN's shift from adherence to the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of sovereign states to its recent involvement in a series of humanitarian interventions. The evolution of human rights law & laws of war since 1945 are traced. Provisions related to the use of force in the UN Charter are described, along with UN doctrine & practice before & after the Cold War. Disputes over humanitarian intervention within the UN; Secretary-General Kofi Annan's call to take the issue seriously; the General Assembly's lukewarm response; & challenges posed by the Bush Doctrine of September 2002 are discussed. Troublesome developments arising from interventions since 1991 that have the potential to weaken the UN are explored. Although international law does not definitively state whether states have a right to intervene in other states for humanitarian reasons, it is contended that some of these questions can be settled within the UN if that body can strike a balance between implementing international law & maintaining a limited norm of non-intervention. J. Lindroth

Two major waves of US immigration -- 1869-1924 & 1965-1993 -- are compared in terms of the ethnic diversification they produced & the racial conflicts that resulted in the major immigrant-receiving cities, drawing primarily on daily microfilm accounts from the New York Times of racial/ethnic collective action, both violent & nonviolent, in 76 large urban areas. It is theorized that the surge in immigration created collective mobilization among whites against people of color, spurred by increased competition for scarce resources (especially economic opportunities), which often resulted in racial violence. During the first wave, immigrants reshaped the country's ethnic national identity & reinforced the long-standing white/nonwhite racial dichotomy. During the second wave, it is contended that immigration itself, particularly the size of the immigration population, was no longer the primary cause of ethnic conflict; rather, racial diversity caused "white ethnic" immigrants to band together & seek assimilation into the native white population against immigrants of color, further cementing white/nonwhite boundaries. This is demonstrated by the increase in acts of violence against blacks & decrease in those directed at Asians during this second period. Characteristics of racial/ethnic conflicts across both periods are examined, including the size of events, level of violence, degree of organization, & participant groups; the impact of ethnic diversity on racial conflict remained positive & significant, supporting competition theory. Implications for contemporary racial relations are discussed, suggesting that, since racial/ethnic boundaries are maintained by social constructs, based largely on status & power hierarchies, there is the possibility that they can be changed. 5 Tables, 2 Figures, 81 References. K. Hyatt Stewart