This gives a summary of the entire of chapter 1, democracy and participation, for the Pearson Edexcel Politics A-level. It gives recent examples and explains theories within the book. I received an A* in my politics exam, which I sat in 2024, and am about to begin studying Law at the University of ...
Democracy and participation:
There are two systems of democracy. There is representative democracy and direct
democracy.
Direct democracy is a system where you make political decisions directly. It
originates from Athens were every tax paying citizen could cast a vote on decisions
directly. One advantage is that it means that decisions have legitimacy (this is when
there is a rightful exercise of power).
Advantages Disadvantages
Purest form of democracy Can lead to ‘tyranny of the majority’
which is where the majority have
absolute power over the minority.
prevents political delay and deadlock Some issues may be too complex for
the ordinary person to understand.
Decisions have great legitimacy. People may be swayed by short term
emotional appeals made by charismatic
individuals.
Representative democracy is when you elected representatives to make political
decisions on your behalf. In the UK a representative democratic system is used. At
the election people vote for representatives to make decisions on their behalf. A
main advantage of representative democracy is that it allows people to hold
politicans to account. Holding someone to account means to make them
responsibility for their policy and conduct. In between elections you can hold
someone to account: media scrutiny, public investigations.
advantages Disadvantages
Allows people to get on with their May lead to political disengagement.
everyday lives.
People can hold representatives to It is difficult to hold representatives to
account at the time of election. account in between elections.
Politicans can develop expertise in their
area.
Lead to ‘tyranny of the minority’ where
the minority has a large influence on
political decisions.
Features of democracy:
The uk has a liberal democracy. Liberal democracy can be linked back to the work of
John Locke who stated that there existed a ‘social contract’ between the government
and the governed. His ideas were rather radical because they contradicted the idea
of the absolute monarchy which was popular at the time. The key 7 features:
, peaceful transition of power, free elections, fair elections, freedom of expression and
association, freedom of information, protection of rights and liberties, the rule of law
1. the peaceful transition of power is the principle that the current government
should recognise the authority of those who have been democratically
elected.
2. Free elections- this is the idea that everyone should be able to stand for public
office and to vote. There should be measures in place to prevent electoral
fraud.
3. Fair elections- this is the idea that there should be measures in place to
prevent ballot rigging (this is where the election ballots are tampered with).
4. Freedom of expression- this is the idea that people should be free to express
their opinions on the government. This is important to prevent the government
being too dictatorial.
5. Freedom of information- this is the idea that people should be free to see
information about the government. It is important to prevent a breakdown in
communication between the government and the governed with could risk a
dictatorship.
6. Protection of rights and liberties- the rights of people within a western
democracy should be protected and guaranteed.
7. The rule of law is the idea that everyone should be equal under the law. This
means that the government should be subject to the same laws as its citizens.
Some have argued that the rule of law has been under threat in recent years
because of politicians: for example in the case of Boris Johnson v Miller 2019
The Supreme Court ruled that the prime minister didn’t have the power to
suspend parliament for three weaks. The supreme court ruling wrote that the
supreme court “has a constitutional function to ensure that the rule of law is
upheld”.
Liberal democracy feature Positive aspects Negative aspects
Peaceful transition of Not been any tension There have been time
power. really. where the election result
has been unclear and so
the peaceful transition of
power principle could be
threatened.
Free elections- Some groups are still
prohibited from voting like
prisoners and the
monarch.
Fair elections- The house of Lords are
not an elected chamber
Freedom of expression People’s right to protest
and association. can be restricted on the
grounds of public safety.
For example, during
Covid.
Freedom of information Media can be controlled
by powerful companies.
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