paper 1 cramming Flashcards

1
Q

name 3 positives and negatives of direct democracy

A

positives
- direct participation
- builds community - may encourage cooperation
- organisation easier in 21st century due to technology

negatives
- can divide communities
- people may not have the knowledge to make big decision
- impractical in modern day - slow

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

name 3 positives and negatives of representative democracy

A

positives
- people with expertise may decisions on behalf of the public
- more practical having a smaller population of delegates rather than the whole population
- representatives can give a voice to a minority

negatives
- delegates may act self interested
- people become lazy and do not participate in politics
- minority groups may be left unheard

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

4 features of UK democracy in 21st century?

A
  • free and fair elections
  • protects rights
  • corruption is held to account and punished
  • devolved decision making bodies
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

who cannot vote?

A
  • under 18s
  • convicted felons
  • royal family
  • those declared medically insane
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

4 methods of participation?

A
  • voting in an election
  • joining a political party
  • signing petitions
  • joining a pressure group
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

why may people be put off voting? (4 reasons)

A
  • differences between parties is blurred since 1990s
  • lack of trust in politicians due to scandals and corruption
  • people are more interested when there is an issue at hand
  • electoral system - wasted votes
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

3 reasons how to improve participation?

A
  • online voting - easier and may reach youth audience who are apathetic
  • lowering age
  • compulsory voting - seen in australia
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

what are the 3 main types of pressure groups and an example for each?

A
  • cause group - lobby for a specific cause (eg. extinction rebellion)
  • interest group - lobby in the interest of their own members (eg. BMA)
  • peak group - lobby for businesses (eg. CBI)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

name 3 methods of pressure groups?

A
  • public campaigning - demonstrations
  • civil disobedience - throwing paint on things
  • legal action - bring case to supreme court
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

3/4 factors that influence the success of pressure groups?

A
  • group size
  • insider/outsider status
  • wealth
  • public support
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

how to pressure groups enhance or threaten democracy? 3 reasons each

A

enhance
- disperse power and influence
- educate public
- another method of participation

threaten
- some pressure groups are in the hands of elitists - unfair
- may distort info encouraging people to support claim
- passive participation - not voting

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

whats a think tank, lobbyist, corporation?

A
  • think tank - experts investigating policy to influence (eg. chatham house - international affairs)
  • lobbyist - persuade politicians to favour group or cause
  • corporation - companies influencing politics
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

brief summary of 5 key developments of rights?

A

magna carta
common law
statute law
HRA 1998
equalities act 2010

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

are rights protected in UK? - 3 points each

A

for
- strong common law tradition
- subject to ECHR
- judiciary upheld independence principles even to oppose gov wishes

against
- common law sometimes set aside - can be vague
- ECHR can be repealed as parliament is sovereign
- increasing pressure on gov to change rights in interest of national security

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

3 examples of conflicting individual vs collective rights

A
  • freedom of expression vs hate speech
  • demonstrate in public spaces vs freedom of movement in a community
  • right to privacy vs report on matters of public interest
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

2 pressure groups concerned with rights?

A
  • amnesty international - human rights abuses (eg. windrush)
  • the fawcett society - gender equality
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

4 features of political parties?

A
  • people holding similar views
  • wish to gain governmental power
  • organisation into hierarchy
  • membership
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

3 functions of political parties?

A
  • educate public on issues important to them
  • improve society
  • select suitable candidates for positions
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

3 ways political parties are funded?

A
  • donations
  • fundraising - conference, festivals
  • membership subscriptions
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

should parties be funded by the state? 3 points each

A

for
- end corruption of donations (used to pressure)
- gives smaller parties more opportunities
- stop hidden forms of influence

against
- funded through tax - some may object to this
- difficult to decide on how to distribute funding - past performance?
- may lose independence - ‘organs of the state’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

3 left wing beliefs?

A
  • distribute income from wealthy to poor via taxation
  • welfare state
  • support aid to poorer countries
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

3 right wing beliefs?

A
  • low tax to encourage private enterprise and create incentives to work
  • welfare benefits low to stop dependency culture
  • national unity and patriotism
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

3 one nation conservative beliefs? + examples

A
  • noblesse oblige (eg. increased funding for schools)
  • need for welfare state
  • accepts mixed economy - encourages private enterprise
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

3 new right conservative beliefs? + examples

A
  • individual wealth shouldn’t be taxed
  • welfare state - dependency culture (eg. universal credit)
  • wary of immigration (anti-EU and pro-america) (eg. brexit)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
3 old labour beliefs? + examples
- equality through redistribution (eg. increased min wage in 2025) - rehabilitation in law - diplomacy in international matters (eg. corbyn voted against action in syria)
26
3 new labour beliefs? + examples
- mixed economy (eg. blair didn't reverse thacther privatisation) - strong criminal justice sense (eg. 2019 manifesto to recruit more police offiers) - diplomacy doesn't always work - military intervention
27
3 old libdem beliefs? + examples
- free market free trade (eg. against 2019 increase of corporation tax) - personal freedom - smaller state - spending (eg. coalition - tuition fees)
28
3 new libdem beliefs? + examples
- enabling state (eg. 2019 reverse school funding cuts) - wealth based tax system (eg. 2019 tax on corporation increase) - welfare state for freedom and eq. of opportunity
29
brief look at SNP?
left wing - scottish independence (eg. want 2nd referendum) - lifting benefit caps - investment in renewable energy
30
what are some importances and limitations of smaller parties? 3 points each
for - distribute votes to other parties - small parties split vote in marginal constituencies - affect large parties if appear threatening against - support limited to certain region - FPTP - doesn't care if vote is wide but shallow - large parties may poach ideas - taking their votes
31
evidence of a dominant party system?
- conservatives have dominated executive in recent years - even minority gov have held power
32
evidence of a 2 party system?
- FPTP ensures only conservatives or labour
33
evidence of a multi party system?
- minority parties seats are on the rise (eg. 2024 green party gained 3) - more notice of these parties
34
3 factors affecting party success?
- leadership - valence - press
35
explain the process of FPTP
- members of a constituency place 1 vote each for a representative (party) - the party with most votes over other candidates wins (plurality system) - winning party doesn't need absolute majority of votes (50%+) - used for westminister elections
36
name 4 outcomes of FPTP
- safe seats with a minority of marginal seats - discriminates against parties with wide spread votes but not concentrated in constituencies (winners bonus) - produces a strong single party government
37
name advantages and disadvantages of FPTP? 3 points each
advantages - single, clear winner with a mandate to govern - majority - prevents extremist parties from coming to power - simple to understand - more participation then more complex processes disadvantages - doesn't always guarantee a clear winner - coalition and minority parties in gov - despite few seats, extremist parties can still exert a movement and gain support - encourages tactical voting - not entirely realistic of views (eg. electoral reform society estimated 6.5 mill tactically vote sin 2017)
38
explain the process of SV voting system
- 1st and 2nd votes - if no one has 50% after 1st votes, 2nd added - 2nd round, 2nd votes for others are transferred to first 2 - previously used in London mayoral and PCC elections
39
name 4 outcomes of SV voting system
- less votes wasted - '2 horse race' - not focus restricted to 1 party - alliances between parties - adopting policies to gain secondary votes - secondary votes for parties they 'dont mind' - not extremist parties (moderate instead)
40
name advantages and disadvantages of SV voting system? 3 points each
advantages - winner has overall support - relatively simple - doesn't put people off voting - first and second choices are relevant disadvantages - still a 2 party system - discriminatory - winner may not gain majority of first choices - still wasted votes
41
explain the process of AMS voting system
- 2 votes: candidate and party - 2/3 seats allocated through constituencies voting for candidate - 1/3 selected through list system of parties putting candidates - proportional - 60% of votes = 6 seats - used in scottish and welsh parliaments
42
name 4 outcomes of AMS voting system
- small parties can win seats despite not winning constituencies - 2 types of representatives - proportionality - party reps do not have distractions of constituencies
43
name advantages and disadvantages of AMS voting system? 3 points each
advantages - proportional outcomes and fair - 2 votes - more choice - constituency representation with proportion disadvantages - more complex - can result in extremist, minority, or coalition gov - produces 2 classes of representatives
44
explain the process of STV voting system
- 6 seats available in each constituency - each party can put as many candidates up - voters rank them - winning candidates elected via quota (votes/seats + 1) - if no one reaches quota losers votes transferred - continued until 6 seats are filled - used in Northern Ireland Assembly & NI and Scottish Local Council elections
45
name 4 outcomes of STV voting system
- proportionality - multi party system - encourages power sharing - coalitions are norm - weakened constituency links
46
name advantages and disadvantages of STV voting system? 3 points each
advantages -simple choice of ranking - broadly proportional - no wasted votes - wider choice - not limited disadvantages - calculating and counting is a long, complex process - lines of accountability not clear - 6 representatives - coalitions or minority govs could be unstable
47
arguments for and against electoral reform? 3 each
for - fptp delivers unproportional results - votes are wasted in fptp - tactical voting wont be necessary against - fptp creates decisive strong stable government with strong constituency links - other systems waste fewer (SV) if any votes (STV) - complex systems may decrease participation even more
48
arguments for and against wider use of referendums? 4 each
for - purest form of modern democracy (direct) - can unite people and resolves conflicts (eg. 1998 good friday agreement) - people may be encouraged to educate themselves and participate against - some issues are too complex for public - referendums can cause societal divisions (eg. brexit) - tyranny of the majority - especially in close results (eg. brexit)
49
2 examples of referendums in the uk
2014 scottish independence for = 44.7% against = 55.3% turnout = 84.6% brexit for = 51.9% against = 48.1 turnout = 72.2%
50
why are referendums held?
- to resolve issue that had divided government - constitutional significance - public importance - another form of democracy
51
in 1997 how much of AB class voted conservative & DE class voted labour?
AB = 41% DE = 59%
52
in 2019 how much of AB class voted conservative & DE class voted labour?
AB = 45% DE = 39%
53
how is class important in voting behaviour?
- class voting and division is expressed in multiple niche, intersections of society -interlink factors - education can be reflected in class - class plays important role is campaigns and how individuals are targeted
54
the significance of age based voting
- age divisions are prominent in recent elections - reflects the methods parties may use to target their audiences - the nature of the parties ideologies can present the age groups that they may 'favour' in terms of securing votes - the issues most important
55
the significance of region based voting
- the cultural values in each region can determine how they vote (eg. the north tends to vote labour - working class background) - specific issues may sway the vote (eg. brexit)
56
the significance of gender based voting
- gender has very little impact on voting - women tend to vote labour more - perhaps due to progressive attitudes - age can play into this factor (2019 more women 18-24 voted for labour than men)
57
the significance of ethnicity based voting
- BME voters may tend to vote labour more considering conservatives anti-immigration attitudes - other factors such as wealth may overtake this factor - many asian hindu voters have become wealthier overtime and therefore lent towards conservatives more - could be influenced by representation in the parties
58
the significance of voting based on valence
- party unity - stable? - image - can you trust the leaders? - history of the leader/party - are they competent in governing?
59
the significance of voting based on party leadership
- party image - how do they collectively represent the whole party? - personality - are they likeable? - competency - their professionality and experience?
60
the significance of voting based on issues
- people may see elections as a referendum - if you vote one party they will resolve an issue in a certain way - people may consider whether the party is competent to deal with the issue
61
the significance of voting based on campaigns/manifestos
- have candidates campaigned to prove their devotion to the role? - are campaigns memorable? - have campaigns reached other voters? - whether the manifesto conforms to voters beliefs
62
4 positives and negatives of opinion polls?
positives - polls give politicians valuable info to appeal to the voters more - polls are published - creates more discourse and interest in elections (participation) - people may be encouraged to vote if parties are close negatives - can often be inaccurate (2017 - didn't pick up youth voters) - unrepresentative - some voters may not take part that couldve changed the result - people may be put off voting if one party if far ahead
63
influence of print media
- negative representation of parties and policies may encourage them to change - the press can influence voter perception - the sun 'wot won it' - politicians can write articles in newspapers expressing their attitudes - making them seem closer to the people
64
influence of broadcast media
- mainstream broadcast is usually impartial - viewers can form their own decisions - hidden bias - broadcasters have been accused of passively expressing bias - live debates
65
influence of social media
- reach wider audience - young people - can encourage passive participation - not interacting - educates people in a more digestible way