Democracy Flashcards
What are the 7 sources of the UK’s democratic deficit?
1) Queen
2) Participation
3) Constitution
4) House of Lords
5) Electoral Systems
6) Disengagement
7) Judiciary
What was the 2015 election turnout?
66%
What feature of the 2015 election shows low participation?
More people did not vote than voted for the largest party
Why are Judiciary not as independent as they may seem?
The commission that appoints them is appointed by the PM
What is the Judiciary not?
Elected nor accountable
What is the result of Disengagement?
Low Turnout
What can disengagement lead to?
Ignorance and Anger
How is FPP unfair?
Small parties are discriminated against, not proportional, wasted votes
What problem does AMS present?
The Two Tier Problem
What do SV and FPP have in common that leads to a democratic deficit?
Disproportionality
What two factors lead to an artificial majority and mandate?
Parliamentary Sovereignty and FPP
What doe the constitution lack?
Bill of Rights
What is the constitution not?
Entrenched
What aspect of participation has actually increased in recent years?
Pressure Groups such as RSPB and smaller parties, although party membership as a whole has decreased
What means of participation have become irrelevant through ubiquity?
E-Petitions
What proposal regarding the Second chamber would improve the UK’s democracy?
Elections
What would an elected 2nd chamber give?
Legitimacy and Accountability
What would an elected 2nd chamber allow their role to be?
A more effective check of government power
What is there to fear abbot introducing a second chamber?
It could be less independent and could check government excessively
What would electoral reform achieve regrading the number of wasted votes?
it would reduce the number
Why are wasted votes such a problem with FPP?
Anyone who votes for the party who gets the majority other than those necessary to secure the majority may as well not have bothered. Furthermore anyone who votes for the party who did not win is also not recognised.
What may electoral reform achieve in regard to the House of Commons?
Makes commons more politically representative
What would electoral reform increase a government’s?
Legitimacy
What does PR generate that reform many destroy?
A strong link between MP and Constituent
What may electoral reform create that may cause instability?
Multi-party governments
What may voters not accept?
A reformed electoral system
What may the consequences of electoral reform fundamentally be?
Unpredictable
What would a codified constitution prevent?
The drift of power towards government and PM
What would a codified constitution protect?
The rights of individuals and freedom
What could a reformed constitution promote?
More political involvement by citizens
What key benefit of an uncodified British constitution would be destroyed with the introduction of a codified one?
Loose flexibility, limiting the potential of active government
In whose hands may too much power be put due to a codified constitution?
unelected judges
What is valuable to many about both the uncodified constitution and the British monarch?
Tradition
What are referendums a purer form of?
Democracy
What may be increased through referendums?
Education and Participation
What is the phenomena regarding the falling turnout associated with increased elections?
Voter fatigue
What sort of tyranny would increased frequency of referenda result in?
TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY
What may people loose respect for when referendum’s frequency increase?
representative institutions
What may the issues of the referendums be?
Too complex for the voter
What is local government seen as more?
Democratic
What would happened to government if decentralisation occurred?
Central government’s power would be eroded but government would become less remote
Whose role, other than central government’s would be reduced when decentralisation occurs?
Parties
What could be strengthened by decentralisation?
Communities
Between whom could tensions arise due to decentralisation?
Westminster and regional governments
What is the general opinion often of decentralisation?
The decentralised local institutions are often taken less seriously than the national government.
What could be wrong with the provision airing form decentralisation?
The provision could be variable
Assuming that the monarch is a source of stability what could its removal mean?
Instability
What would the monarchy be replaced by?
An elected Head of State
What may an elected head of state give too much to?
Too much power to the ruling party
What would be increased by an elected Head of State?
Legitimacy and engagement
What would an elected head of state be?
Accountable
What could an elected head of state settle?
Political Deadlocks
Give three ways that democracy in the UK has recently be enhanced?
1) Increased social media campaigning
2) Pressure group membership increasing
3) Increased instances of direct action
Give two examples of direct action?
Anti tuition fees and anti iraq war
What four methods are there of participating in UK politics?
1) Standing for office
2) Voting in referendum
3) Voting in elections
4) Becoming a member of a party or pressure group
What 5 ways has participation in democracy declined in the UK?
1) Disillusionment with patty politics
2) Identification with parties has fallen
3) Party membership and activism has fallen
4) Referendum turnouts tend to be low
5) Identification with patties has fallen
What four ways are there of increasing participation?
1) E - Democracy
2) Voting at 16
3) Citizenship education
4) Compulsory voting
What would compulsory voting abuse?
Freedom
What would remain even after compulsory voting has been instigated?
Mass Apathy
Where is compulsory voting used?
Australia and Argentina
What is compulsory voting costly?
It is costly to enforce
What would results be after compulsory voting?
More legitimate
What would people get used to after compulsory voting?
Voting and engagement with politics
Fundamentally what would compulsory voting increase?
Turnout
Other than vote, what would compulsory voting force people to do?
Think about politics
What could the results of compulsory voting be described as?
Artificial
What may parties do if the voting age was lowered to 16?
Distort policies to appeal to young voters
What would citizenship education encourage?
Engagement
What may citizenship education not create in reality?
A genuine interest in politics
What would be improved through citizenship education?
Young people’s knowledge of politics
What is education generally?
Expensive
Who would be excluded through e-democracy?
Those who lack knowledge
What would be removed through e-democracy?
Anonymity
What is very to circulate though e-deocracy?
Illicit and false information
What is e-democracy vulnerable to?
Fraud and hackling
What is the internet a big source of?
Independent political information
what may e-voting increase?
Turnout
What form of democracy coulde-deomcrayc promote?
Direct
How can the PM’s powers be described?
Arbitrary, perforative powers
What does PArl. Sov. fair to do?
Protect individual rights
What three types of authority are there?
traditional, legal, charismatic
What is influence?
Being able to change how others think without using force?
What are the three sources of power?
Influence, political power and coercion
What is political power?
Sanctions, rewards, authority and persuasion
What is power?
The ability to exert force upon others to make them do what you want even when they do not want to do it
What is legitimacy?
The rich of an individual or body to be recognised and to have the right to excursive power, generally conveyed by election
Why coulee it be said that the 2010 government was not legitimate?
They had no majority
What are three features of a direct democracy?
1) Populous are consulted
2) People take the initiative in creating political change
3) People themselves make decisions - usually through referendums
What is the tyranny of the majority?
When a majority leads to the suppression of minority voices
