ABSTRACT
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is made up of a number of islands off the northwest coast of mainland Europe, its almost 61 million people ruled by a constitutional monarch. The country, as a former imperial power, retains worldwide interests and influence, not least through its links with former dominions and colonies through the Commonwealth. Now, with the years of empire fading into the past, the country is in the process of restless change-re-establishing a role for itself in a world that is changing dramatically as a result of globalisation, and adapting to social and political developments within the country.
