ABSTRACT
The United Kingdom is a somewhat untidy state, neither federal nor completely unitary, that has no formal constitution and can only be understood in historical terms. It was created in stages, by the expansion of England to take in Wales, Scotland and Ireland, but then suffered a process of partial disintegration by an insurrection in Ireland leading to the partition of that country and the independence of the greater part of it. It offers a fascinating example of political integration and disintegration.
