Political Systems
The United Kingdom (UK) has a parliamentary democracy featuring a constitutional monarchy, which defines personalities as the power shared between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The Prime Minister acts as head of government under the supremacy of the Parliament, and the monarch comes as a nonpolitical symbolic figure. The distribution of political power is done through the presence of many parties, with Conservative and Labour parties having a dominant presence.
On the other hand, the Saudi Arabian ruling family is the Al Saud family, which is made up of absolute monarchs and ruled by the King, who is the summit of power. On the other hand, the Al Saud family ruled the absolute monarchy, and the King, with all his power, directly decided basic government operations and politics. Unfortunately, despite last year’s reforms, the power is still centralized, and political participation is depicted as a habit of a few. The King is the highest-ranking official in the state and government, along with the council of ministers, who are his administration assistants. Political factions are unpermitted, and contrary opinions are considered irrelevant. Political parties are banned in Saudi Arabia to ensure that the ruling monarchs preserve the royal family’s grip on power and governance. Political parties may have a check on the power of the ruling Al Saud family and thus bring instability to the regime if they are allowed.
Legal Systems
The United Kingdom adheres to the common law system, which is a form of law developed by judges of a particular country in the decisions in a court of law. The English rule of law is a common law system that judges principles based on judicial decisions instead of statutes only. Judges act based on existing laws and process individual decisions, creating legal precedents for future disputes. For example, the case of Donoghue v Stevenson (1932) set the legal principle of negligence in tort law, which contributed to further cases and generated some of the UK laws` evolution. The legal precedent of courts is very fascinating. Statutes and repayment laws made by Parliament are also considered in the process.
Unlike the UK, Saudi Arabia is governed by Sharia, Islamic, and statutory law. Sharia is the foundation of this country’s legal system, whereby the Quran and the Sunnah act as legislative tools. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sharia, which emerged from the sources of the Quran and the Sunnah (Prophet of Muhammad), is the key element of the legal system. It rules various activities of life that are different from one another, encompassing criminal justice, family law, and business permissions. For instance, in Saudi Arabia, based on Islamic law, crimes like theft or adultery will be treated, and the punishment will be carried out by the sharia principles within the legal system of the country. The country’s law system is under codification, so the laws regulate the affairs by royal decree.
Economic Development
Factors that determine the economic development level include infrastructure, human capital, technology, political stability, and access to resources; in the UK, Britain’s advanced and diversified economy with strong services and services such as finance, healthcare, and education are situated there. The UK economy is a well-developed society with a high level of inclusion in service industries such as banking, education, and health care. The financial services market within London amounts to the financial globe, which is a premiere location for banks, insurance, and investment. The NHS covers both the health care services and the education sector, which consists of prestigious universities and schools, which greatly influence the economic competitiveness and growth of the country (Cole et al., 2011). This is underscored by the fact that it has successfully replicated technology uptake and innovation centers, which include the Silicon Roundabout in the City of London.
Saudi Arabia’s economy depends mostly on oil export earnings, but efforts to change into different areas, like tourism and technology, are being implemented. The nation can go under NEOM infusion in infrastructure, a modern city designed to push economic diversification. Saudi Arabia is investing in reasonable projects such as NEOM (a city of the future with a large economic zone). NEOM is set up to diversify the economy of United Arad without being as heavily driven by oil. Instead, it will focus on digitalization, renewables, tourism, and entertainment (Farag, 2019). Driven by local and international investments, the project strives to set an impetus for innovation and create new job openings that comply with Saudi Arabia’s economic enhancement and modernization prospects.
Macro-Political and Economic Changes
One of the global trends is a wave of populism, protectionism, and trade war situations that affect the development of countries worldwide. Such examples constitute Brexit (the UK), which is related to nationalism, and the US-China trade dispute involving global supply chains (Murray, 2019). The current global state of affairs has seen the emergence of populist movements in different countries as it is the dissatisfaction with governments and controversy for the present inequality that fuels the growth of the movements in their different forms, be it far right-wing, radical left-wing, or neo-conservatism. Nationalist ideas have created policies that put national interest above international cooperation, causing trade disputes and restrictive measures. These relational forces hinder international trade, supply chains, and economic stability, which may lead to the normal failure of the global economy and cooperation.
Additionally, automation and artificial intelligence are among the technological inventions that are redefining industries in a way that may lead to job displacements and the skill gap. Furthermore, job automation and artificial intelligence fundamentally disrupt industries, bringing job losses and increasing the skill shortage. Robotics replaces manual labor with machines, and artificial intelligence, in turn, replaces cognitive tasks being carried out by machines. Consequently, the nature of jobs changes. This shift is behind destroying old types of jobs and creating new ones. Often, it increases the demand for different skill sets. Thus, a growing workforce naturally needs retraining and education to acquire the required skills, leading to emerging roles in the digital economy. At the same time, countries are moving towards climate change mitigation and adopting sustainable energy sources.
Transition Economies
Transition economies implement free market-oriented reforms through privatization, deregulation, and integration into the global economy. For example, the East European countries such as Poland and Hungary undertook market reforms in the post-Soviet period. The maa market in China is steadily transforming into a mixed system, and the ATE influence is still in play. China’s economic leaps, which commenced by the late 1970s and under Deng Xiaoping’s reforms, took China toward a market-oriented economy while maintaining noteworthy state control (Jinglian & Shitao, 2014). The reforms included capitalist features like private property, market mechanisms, and certain socialistic principles. Special Economic Zones (SEZs) were invented to attract foreign capital and preserve export-oriented development (Zia et al., 2018). Although market principles have been chosen as the main driver of most industries, the state still maintains control over some key sectors, such as banking, energy, and telecommunication, through state-owned firms and regulation. It was a combination of this type of socialism and the Chinese specifics that boosted China’s astounding economic growth and turned this country into one of the world’s biggest economic powers. Nevertheless, the struggle to overcome the challenges of corruption and income inequality remains.
References
Cole, K., Sim, F., & Hogan, H. (2011). The evolution of public health education and training in the United Kingdom. Public health reviews, 33, 87-104.
Jinglian, W., & Shitao, F. (2014). China’s Economic Reform: Processes, issues, and prospects (1978–2012). In Routledge Handbook of the Chinese Economy (pp. 55-75). Routledge.
Murray, A. (2019). Given Today’s New Wave of Protectionism, Is Antitrust Law the Last Hope for Preserving a Free Global Economy or Another Nail in Free Trade’s Coffin? Loy. LA Int’l & Comp. L. Rev., 42, 117.
Zia, M. M., Malik, B. A., & Waqar, S. (2018). Special economic zones (SEZs): A comparative analysis for CPEC SEZs in Pakistan. Pakistan J. Soc. Sci, 9, 37-60.
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