Key terms

Question 1

democracy

Answer 1

power of the people

Question 2

direct democracy

Answer 2

citizens have the opportunity to participate in political decision making

Question 3

indirect/representative democracy

Answer 3

representatives are elected to make decisions on behalf of the people as it is impractical to gather all citizens together to make decisions

Question 4

pluralist democracy

Answer 4

encourages participation and allows for free and fair competition between competing interests

Question 5

elitist democracy

Answer 5

Members of particular social class/education/circles dominate higher levels of government/industry/media

Question 6

power

Answer 6

ability to do something

Question 7

authority

Answer 7

right to make something happen

Question 8

political culture

Answer 8

consists of “the opinions, attitudes and beliefs which shape political behaviour” according to Lynton Robins

Question 9

homogeneity

Answer 9

people within a country share certain key values/togetherness/unity

Question 10

opposite of homogeneity

Answer 10

multiculturalism, e.g. expanded immigration since ’60s, rise of Scottish/Welsh nationalism, decline of CofE

Question 11

multiculturalism

Answer 11

e.g. expanded immigration since ’60s, rise of Scottish/Welsh nationalism, decline of CofE

Question 12

consensus

Answer 12

acceptance of UK citizens for rules for peaceful negotiation and compromise, such as need for tolerance and pragmatism.

• post war consensus resulted in rise of politicians such as Margaret Thatcher in 70s
• recent decline noted in rise of direct action and single-issue campaigns, increased support for nationalist parties

Question 13

deference

Answer 13

natural willing to accept ingrained class-based inequality/hierarchy
- recently significantly declined due to media exposure of these individuals

Question 14

franchise

Answer 14

right to vote

Question 15

electorate

Answer 15

those eligible and registered to vote in a given election

Question 16

turnout

Answer 16

% of qualified voting age population who vote in an election

Question 17

differential turnout

Answer 17

national turnout % often obscures significant regional variations

Question 18

political apathy

Answer 18

lack of interest/motivation in political participation

Question 19

abstention

Answer 19

voters may be interested in the political process but choose not to participate

Question 20

gender gap

Answer 20

once well-established differences in voting habits of female voters (Conservative) and male voters (Labour) in the UK

Question 21

class A

Answer 21

higher professional, managerial, administrative

Question 22

class B

Answer 22

intermediate professional, managerial, administrative

Question 23

class C1

Answer 23

supervisory, clerical, other non-manual

Question 24

class C2

Answer 24

skilled manual

Question 25

class D

Answer 25

semi-skilled and unskilled manual

Question 26

class E

Answer 26

residual, casual workers, eople reliant on state benefits