| Summary: | Scandinavian settlers brought with them to Iceland a unique political system. Resulting from the geographic location - isolation of Iceland, fostered a local kind of governance. The authority was based on things, assemblies of free men, who established laws and rights for themselves. In these specific conditions, strong central authority had never occurred. As the result, an external authority took power over Iceland. First there was the Norwegian king, and after the conquest of Norway - Danish monarchy as well. Icelanders, cherishing their independence, never gave up their mind to regain the right to self-determination. In this way they managed to get the first autonomy and later independence, though incomplete, because the limited personal union with Denmark, and then the total sovereignty over their State. Reflections on the contemporary political system of Iceland require a detailed presentation and analysis of major public authorities and the ongoing interaction between them. The Icelandic constitution gives only the framework. It has been completed by the Scandinavian practice of pragmatism. Therefore not always fully demonstrates the functioning of the system. It is worth mentioning in particular the creation of a new constitution, as the process which goes far beyond the framework established in the current one. Comparison to both the existing and probably future constitution and in practice its application is one of goals of the paper too. Due to the fact that the new constitution took final shape only in June this year, part of this study, dedicated to this project, is based on source material, which was the English-language translation of the draft, made available on the official website of the constituent body. In the era of globalization interactions between the nations are crucial factor. In case of Iceland it is important to analyze her participation in selected international organizations after World War II. As well as important is the place of Iceland in World powers have create during UK-US ...
|
|---|