9 Markers Flashcards
Explain and Analyse three factors that can influence voting behaviour in the US.
INTRO : Voting behaviour - is the way in which different factors effect the behaviour of voters
1 - SOCIAL FACTORS: may be affected by their circumstances eg religion, gender, age or socioeconomic factors eg poorer voters tend to favour policies aimed at taxing the rich
2 - PARTY ALIGNMENT: highly polarised in the US with both parties having core traditional voters eg democrats younger voters/urban/northeast and costal states “blue America”
3 - SALIENT ISSUES: voters may be effected by a parties political agenda and policies on a particular issue eg the economy in 1992, 2008 or immigration in 2024
Explain and analyse three ways in which the executive power can be constrained by the other branches of government.
INTRO : executive is the branch of the us government that carries out and and forces the law of the land
1 - POWER OF THE PURSE: force the exec to compromise with congress on the federal budget. Eg shutdown in 2018 that resulted in trump removing his budget for the new border wall
2 - APPROVING CONFIRMATIONS: appointments can be refused eg Obama’s appointment Merrick Garland was rejected by the republican senate
3 - INVESTIGATORY POWERS: threat of impeachment can lead to resignations eg Nixon 1974, bill Clinton 1999
Explain and analyse three ways in which rational theory could be used to study how members of Congress and Parliament vote within their respective legislatures.
INTRO: rational theory suggests that individuals will act rationally, choosing to act in a way as to give them the most beneficial outcome
1 - PARTY DISCIPLINE: the UK parties have much stronger internal party systems eg national manifestos to guide MPs on how to vote along party lines and whips to ensure they vote accordingly. Whereas in the USA party structure is much looser, whipping is less effective and parties do not have a national party manifesto setting out their plans
2 - REPRESENTATION: In the UK mandate theory is applied, MPs vote along party lines to ensure they do not lose support from their party, ministers are guided by collective ministerial responsibility. In the USA delegate theory applies, whereby they vote with ‘folks back home’ in mind leads to pork barrelling politics
3 - VOTING PATTERNS WITHIN: In the UK MPs may differ from party lines and align with those who have similar standpoint on particular issues eg ERG in the Conservative Party. Similar in the USA where factions have formed within parties eg progressive caucus or the Freedom caucus
