Comparative US and UK Politics - Comprehensive A* Study Guide for AQA

how can a government be determined as being legitimate

Answer: if they have won a free and fair election

how has suffrage changed since the great reform act 1832

Answer: before 1832 - only rich, male, landowners could vote - less than 4% of the population great reform act 1832 - 1/5 male adults could vote - 5.6% of the population representation of the peoples act 1918 - product of the social and political changes caused by WW1 - all men over 21 (or 19 for veterans) could vote - women over 30 who met the property qualifications could vote representation of the peoples act 1928 - women finally received the vote on equal terms to men - all men and women over 21 could vote - property qualifications removed representation of the peoples act 1969 - voting age lowered to 18

debates regarding universal suffrage focus on:

Answer: (1) gender (2) class (3) ethnicity (4) age

debates about universal suffrage: 1. gender

Answer: - women traditionally seen as the \"weaker sex\", both physically and mentally - opponents of women\'s suffrage in the 19th and early 20th century argued that women were \"too emotional\" to vote rationally - traditionalists felt that a women\'s place was in the home, tending to her family. Politics would distract her. => after ww1 and the role of women on farms and in factories proved this is not the case!

debates about universal suffrage: 2. class

Answer: - the wealthy elite who held the franchise before 1832 worried that their power would be reduced if people from other classes had the vote - fears that working class men were too poorly educated to understand politics; some feared the working class would support socialism, threatening economic welfare of upper classes - HOWEVER, the contribution and sacrifice of working class men during ww1 meant denying them the vote could no longer be justified.

what are different examples of uk elections

Answer: - police and crime commissioner - general election - local council elections - devolved parliaments/assemblies - bi-elections - mayoral elections -referendums (direct democracy)

what is a representative democracy?

Answer: system of government in which people freely elect representatives to represent their views and opinions (1) may conform to one of 3 models: mandate, delegate, trustee (2) most liberal Western democracies practice representative democracy (3) may be direct, presidential democracy (e.g. USA) where people directly vote for the executive or indirect parliamentary democracy (e.g. UK) where the executive is formed from the largest single party in the HoC chamber

define suffrage

Answer: the right to vote

define participation

Answer: involvement in the democratic process of a country e.g. lobbying mps, signing petitions, holding protests

what is voting behaviour?

Answer: describes how people tend to vote - the study of voting behaviour (psephology) includes looking at patterns of how people vote and analysis of why they vote that way.

advantage and disadvantages of funding through individual donors

Answer: + large and small parties are both able to raise generous sums .conservatives raised £5.67m in large donations in 1st week of 2019 campaign . brexit party raised £2m from business man lord harborne during 2019 campaign - reliance on a few wealthy donors has the potential for corruption and undue influence

what is a political party

Answer: a group of like-minded individuals who seek to realise their shared goals by fielding candidates at elections and seek to hold public office

what are the different types of political parties

Answer: (1) mainstream - conservative - lib dem - labour (2) national - snp - plaid cymru - sinn fein (3) single issue - brexit party - green

factors that make a party successful

Answer: - unity - inspiring leader - media presence -relevant policies - strong campaign - widespread support -profitable backing

why were the brexit party more successful than change uk

Answer: - strong leader in nigel farage - strong media presence (due to energetic rallies) - leadership of change uk was ununified (blamed each other for their poor performance in 2019 eu election)

what are pressure groups

Answer: organised group of people that aim to influence the policies or actions of government -differ from poltiical parties - many pressure groups are part of broader social movements

what are social movements?

Answer: long-term campaigns for the improvement of an aspect of society. - e.g. Black Lives Matter; LGBTQ+ rights; the environment - social movements are less structured and organised than pressure groups and may include pressure groups within them e.g. the environmental movement includes PG such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth.

what are the 3 key features of pressure groups

Answer: - seek to exert influence over government policy - typically have a \"narrow issue\" focus - members united by a shared belief or common self-interest

what is the main difference between pressure groups and political parties

Answer: pressure groups don\'t tend to seek political office, parties do

differences between political parties and pressure groups

Answer: political parties - seek to win government power - appeal to voters on all issues - organised to fight elections - if succesful will grow and have a long term future pressure groups - seek to influence government policy - focus on one single issue or a narrow range of issues - organised to fight campaigns - if successful will have achieved their aim and have no further raison d\'etre

key points about the European union

Answer: - 27 members - different EU institutions are responsible for executive (government) legislative (making laws) and judicial (interpreting and applying the law) actions - the EU\'s aims include peace, removing internal borders, and achieving freedom and economic growth while promoting different cultures and languages.

what are the key institutions of the european union

Answer: (1) european commission (2) council of the european union (3)european council (4) european parliament (5) court of justice of the european union (CJEU)

role and significance of the european commission

Answer: role - initiates EU legislation, drafts the EU budget and allocates funding - represents the EU in international negotiations significance supranational body - 27 commissioners, one from each country - commissioners are not directly elected: national governments nominate commissioners

role and significance of the Council of the European Union

Answer: role -main decision-making body of the EU [together with the European Parliament] - approves legislation and EU budget (as does the european parliament) significance: intergovernmental body - government ministers from each of the member nations attend and make decisions together

role and significance of the European council

Answer: role: - decides the direction of the EU and policy priorities significance intergovernmental body - heads of government (or state) for all EU nations meet 4 times a year

define codified

Answer: a constitution in which all provisions are written down in a single document e.g. the US constitution

define uncodified

Answer: a constitution that is not contained in a single set of documents e.g. the british constitution

define parliamentary sovereignty

Answer: the principle of the British constitution that makes parliament the ultimate authority

define constitution

Answer: set of rules on how a country is governed: rights of the people in the country

which is more common: codified or uncodified constitutions

Answer: codified

define bi cameral

Answer: two chambers (HoC and HoL) parliament is a bicameral legislature

what is the house of commons

Answer: the elected chamber, where most of the power lies - by convention all PMs and most gov ministers in modern times sit in the HoC - 650 members, elected in a single constituency using FPTP - nearly all MPs are members of a political party: important implications for he scrutiny of government

what is the house of lords

Answer: the unelected and largely advisory chamber - lacks any democratic mandate: reflected in its lack of real power - the size of membership varies - 2021 consisted of around 800 peers

example of MPs being elected as independents

Answer: - health campaigner Dr. Richard Taylor represented wyre forest 2001-10 for the independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health concern party

what are the 3 different types of lords in the House of lords

Answer: (1) lord temporal: - approx 800 - hereditary peers (92), reduced from approximately 700 by the House of Lords at 1999 - the majority are Life peers, Life Peerages Act 1958 (2) lord spiritual: - 26 church of England bishops (3) lord speaker - oversees proceedings in the lord\'s chamber - current lord speaker = Baron McFall of Alcluith

what is the prime minister

Answer: The PM is the head of the executive [government], chair of the cabinet and in charge of the civil service.

define core executive

Answer: The collective term for the key players in government policy making - it comprises the prime minister, the cabinet and its various committees, the cabinet office and senior civil servants

define primus inter pares

Answer: the traditional notion that the prime minister is merely \"the first among equals\" among fellow members of the cabinet. In reality, modern prime ministers have far more power.

EXAM TIPS be careful to distinguish between the terms \"executive\" and \"core executive\"...

Answer: executive = prime minister and cabinet core executive = prime minister, cabinet and its various committees, cabinet office and senior civil servants => the core executive is a more wide ranging term and usefully sugests how power is spread beyond the immediate circle of minister and prime minister

what is the cabinet

Answer: - a team of just over 20 senior government ministers and other key officials, such as the chief whip, who are directly appointed by the PM - they normally meet once a week on Thursday morning, these meetings are chaired by the PM, who also largely determines the agenda - much of its detailed work is done in cabinet committees - most members are MPs, although there are normally a couple of peers (e.g. David cameron)

define devolution

Answer: the transfer of political power from central government to sub-national government

define unitary state in terms of the uk

Answer: all power derives from central government, the westminster parliament is sovereign and the most powerful law making body in the country. any power given to the regions is delegated not transferred permanently

define federal state in terms of the uk

Answer: division of sovereignty between two or more levels of government. each level of government is, in theory, sovereign to its own sphere e.g. USA, Germany

define quasi federalism in terms of the uk

Answer: many of the powers now delegated to the regions are now politically entrenched and would require a referendum to remove them. therefore, the uk now has elements of a federal state

define asymmetrical devolution

Answer: the regional governments are not identical bodies and have developed and evolved at varying speeds