Book contents
- The Cambridge Constitutional History of the United Kingdom
- The Cambridge Constitutional History of the United Kingdom
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Editors’ Preface
- Part I Perspectives
- Part II Actors and Institution
- 11 Monarchy
- 12 Legislatures
- 13 The Executive and the Administration
- 14 Judiciaries
- 15 Coercive Institutions
- 16 Locality, Regionality and Centrality
- 17 Political Parties
- Part III Politics
- Index
15 - Coercive Institutions
from Part II - Actors and Institution
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 August 2023
- The Cambridge Constitutional History of the United Kingdom
- The Cambridge Constitutional History of the United Kingdom
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Editors’ Preface
- Part I Perspectives
- Part II Actors and Institution
- 11 Monarchy
- 12 Legislatures
- 13 The Executive and the Administration
- 14 Judiciaries
- 15 Coercive Institutions
- 16 Locality, Regionality and Centrality
- 17 Political Parties
- Part III Politics
- Index
Summary
It is almost the definition of a State that it has control over territory, control which has to be exercised through the application, or the threat of application, of physical force. The United Kingdom is no different from other States where, over time, the institutionalisation of this physical force has taken the form of an everyday service – the police – and a service which can be called in aid at times when unusual dangers have to be confronted – the armed forces. As the principle of the rule of law has evolved, so has the way in which the police and army have come to be regulated. Rather than being the enforcers of the law they are now viewed as its servants.
- Type
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- Information
- The Cambridge Constitutional History of the United Kingdom , pp. 386 - 405Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023