ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the social, economic, and political dimensions of Britain's internal structure and external relations with focus on underlying explanations for continuity and change, especially concerning the trends of the last one-third of the twentieth century. In 1962, Anatomy of Britain, by British journalist Anthony Sampson, became a touchstone for analysts of British society, economics, and politics. Britain has often been viewed as an essentially stable society with conservative political institutions, albeit one that has been flexible enough to adapt when the social and political fabric seemed threatened. The flexibility of British institutions means that in order to change policy, it is necessary first to convince enough of the governing elite that policy should be changed. The role of the European Union both as a political and an economic actor is an issue that generates immense conflict on the elite level in Britain. The chapter also presents some key concepts discussed in this book.
