AS Unit 1 Politics Definitions

Question 1

Political Party

Answer 1

An organisation that develops a broad set of goals or policies in an attempt to gain government power by building and mobilising support from the electorate and media to compete at elections and provide political leaders and candidates for office.

Question 2

Left

Answer 2

State intervention in market to promote equality

State should intervene to improve individual’s lives

Question 3

Right

Answer 3

Free market economists – unregulated capitalism to promote liberty
Personal freedom – “roll back the state”

Question 4

Liberalism

Answer 4

Free market economy and state intervention on individual

Question 5

Conservativism

Answer 5

Pessimistic view of human nature
Pragmatism
Individualism
Strong state to maintain order and security
Organic society – interconnected society that everyone should play a part in

Question 6

Socialism

Answer 6

Optimistic view of human nature
Want equality – Seek to tax the rich to help the poor. As such they intervene in economy (nationalisation) and have a strong welfare state.
Class based system
Liberty, equality, fraternity

Question 7

Consensus Politics

Answer 7

Overlap of political ideology between two or more ideological positions – to the extent that an agreement on fundamental policy goals that permits disagreement on matters of detail

Question 8

Adversary Politics

Answer 8

Politics that is categorised by deep ideological conflicts between major parties; the parties offer rival ideological views

Question 9

New Labour / Third Way

Answer 9

Free market economics
Constitutional reform
“Means-tested benefits”
Rights balanced against responsibilities
Strong foreign policy

Question 10

Democracy

Answer 10

The major decisions that affect society are taken, either directly or indirectly, by the people. Abraham Lincoln – “rule of the people, by the people, for the people”. Criteria: free, fair, regular elections that determine the will of the people, accountability of government, limited government, equality before the law, separation of powers, sovereignty lies with the people

Question 11

Legitimacy

Answer 11

Rightfulness; the acceptance of the right to impose authority

Question 12

Representation

Answer 12

People stand for and on behalf of a group of people in order to represent their wishes.

Question 13

Direct Democracy

Answer 13

Democracy which is direct (people themselves make decisions), unmediated (people are the government) and continuous (engage regularly)

Question 14

Representative democracy

Answer 14

Democracy which is limited (infrequent and brief), indirect (vote for people who then vote) and mediated (linked to government by elected politicians)

Question 15

Liberal Democracy

Answer 15

Democracy which protects the rights and liberalities of the minorities against the majority which stops the “tyranny of the majority”. Representative democracy plus limited government.

Question 16

Parliamentary democracy

Answer 16

Form of democracy that operates in and through a deliberative assembly which both represents the people and makes the government accountable creating representative and responsible government.

Question 17

Referendum

Answer 17

A vote in which the electorate express their views on a particular issue of public policy, referendums are a device of direct democracy used to supplement elections. Yes / No option, Ad Hoc (decided by government)

Question 18

Election

Answer 18

Method of voting to fill office through choices made by the electorate. Vote for party, on general issues, on a regular basis. Form of representative democracy.

Question 19

Majoritarian

Answer 19

System that over-represents the larger parties and results in a strong single government. Produces clear winners.

Question 20

PR

Answer 20

Proportional representation. Equal proportion between votes cast and seats gained. Results in coalitions

Question 21

Representation (function of election)

Answer 21

Elections form a channel of communication towards the government and the people. Link between people and politicians – without the support of the constituents an MP will lose his job. This makes MPs alert to the wishes of their constituents.

Question 22

Mandate (function of election)

Answer 22

Elections provide governments legitimacy, a mandate to rule. A mandate is the authority given by a constituency (country or smaller) to rule on their behalf and act as their representative. Government gets a legitimate mandate if wins election.

Question 23

Electoral Reform

Answer 23

Change of the electoral system.

Question 24

Party system

Answer 24

Government by political parties. As FPTP produces clear winners a single party can govern and so they get a clear mandate from the electorate to rule.

Question 25

Strong government

Answer 25

Large majority in Parliament. Can sustain a large rebellion and so can put into place controversial measures like Constitutional reform.

Question 26

Stable government

Answer 26

A government that is ideologically united – so normally just made up of one party. This makes it less likely to collapse and break up into warring factions.

Question 27

Pressure group

Answer 27

A united organisation that seeks to exert influence a narrow range of policies and actions of a government in line with the common interests of its members or a shared belief or cause from the outside.

Question 28

Sectional group

Answer 28

Pressure group that seeks to represent the interests of a section of society (e.g. workers, employer, Christians, consumers etc.). They defend the rights and interests of those people. They have a closed membership.

Question 29

Promotional Group

Answer 29

They promote causes (like Greenpeace and the environment), having moral concerns – a group for the environment. They have open membership and seeks to benefit others and the wider society.

Question 30

Insider group

Answer 30

Lots of access to policy makers. Low profile, with mainstream goals and strong leadership. Negative view of PG politics.

Question 31

Outsider group

Answer 31

Limited access to policy makers with a high profile and radical goals, often with strong grassroots. Positive view of PG politics.

Question 32

Pluralism

Answer 32

Power is evenly dispersed through society with lots of pressure groups all influencing policy. Positive view of PG politics as they encourage debate and strengthen democratic process.

Question 33

Elitism

Answer 33

Power is concentrated in the hands of the few, called the “power elite”. The group consists of top politicians, journalists, lobbyists and businesses.

Question 34

Functional representation

Answer 34

Representation a group of people that perform a specific economic function.

Question 35

Pluralist Democracy

Answer 35

A political system in which there is more than one centre of power, so citizens can articulate popular demands and ensure government responsiveness. There are no elite groups in a true pluralist democracy, there is strong internal democracy within the pressure groups with strong accountability and the government is neutral and willing to listen to anyone and everyone.