Day: November 6, 2025

As the world’s strongest military power and largest economy, the United States has outsized influence. Its foreign policy has to balance its own national security and economic interests with democratic values and complex relationships across the globe. It must also keep pace with evolving global challenges and threats, such as climate change, pandemics, terrorism, or the threat of nuclear proliferation.

The goal of foreign policy is to shape and manage a country’s interactions with other countries, using diplomatic, economic, and military tools. Developing and maintaining diplomatic relations, negotiating trade agreements, and offering development assistance are key areas of foreign policy. So are addressing global issues and securing the country’s role in international organisations, such as the UN or the International Monetary Fund. Many countries also have specialised teams that monitor international events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, or a country’s deteriorating human rights situation.

A large part of a government’s foreign policy is managing the public’s expectations and priorities. This year’s Datapraxis poll found that a plurality of Britons prioritise promoting UK national interests, followed by addressing immediate humanitarian concerns. A smaller number, however, think that the UK’s top priority should be supporting other nations’ long-term development.

A parliamentary vote is the procedure by which a legislative body votes on legislation. This system of voting is used in a number of countries across the world that have a parliamentary model for their government structure.

Parliamentary systems often combine the functions of the executive and legislative branch in one person, known as a Prime Minister. This individual, who leads the Cabinet, has a powerful veto over legislation that is passed by the legislature. Many parliamentary systems also have a specialized constitutional court with the ability to review laws and declare them unconstitutional.

During an election, each voter marks a cross on their ballot paper to choose their preferred candidate in each electoral district, called a constituency. The candidate with the most votes in a constituency is elected as an MP. Elections are usually held every five years. When an MP dies or retires, a by-election is held to replace them.

Most parliamentary systems use first-past-the-post voting to elect Members of Parliament. However, some — including the United Kingdom and Australia — use Single Transferable Vote (STV) to elect their members. This system counts a voter’s first preference and then transfers any second preferences to other candidates until the quota is reached.

Some parliamentary systems require a supermajority vote for dissolving the parliament or for passing certain types of legislation. While this has been successful in breaking deadlocks in the past, it can be circumvented through the enactment of an Act bypassing these requirements.