Politics Flashcards
Explanation and analysis of the rise of new fringe political parties
Ex: people may be feeling frustrated with the big 2 political parties and are looking for new alternatives that focus on issues more relevant to them e.g immigration.
Analysis: can be significant as increased membership of fringe or far left n right political parties can pressure the major political parties to adapt to some of the fringes policies into their own manifesto e.g brexit referendum in 2015 for the conservatives to sway ukip voters
More modern forms of voting explanation and analysis
E petitions
Ex: isn’t a participation crisis but instead people are using alternate forms of participation which are more modernised, therefore helps to explain why traditional forms of participation such as party membership are on the decline
An: sig bc as the younger gen grow up =more politically aware , more likely to use digital forms of activism, meaning this factor will become more sig and resonate in the long term
New forms of participation are not always effective explanation n analysis
Ex: some e petitions do not make a difference despite number of signatures
Could be a participation crisis bc as more people use these new forms , there is a real risk of their voices not concerns not being heard as well due to the potential lesser value the gov places on these new forms of participation than old forms.
An: not as significant bc the same can be said for any form of participation, traditional or new, both have limitations and don’t enable regular people to influence the decisions made by the gov
Voter turnout decreased , leading to democratic deficit as gov is less representative of the total population explanation n analysis
Ex: problem bc if voter turnout decreases , less people will have voted for the gov that is elected at a general election. This means that the gov is less representative since it won an election with less of the eligible voters voting for them, could lead to the gov not being held accountable n even an elective dictatorship
An: sig bc in a representative democracy, the main source of legitimacy is elections and therefore a decrease in voter turnout leads to the gov being seen as less legitimate leading to a democratic deficit in the uk
Voter turnout in the uk has increase explanation and analysis
Ex: anomaly= voters suffer from voter ‘happathy’ , not voting due to them being happy with Blair’s policies and his popularity = guaranteed to win a majority.
No participation crisis specifically in the uk bc most problem faced in uk are faced by other western democracies in terms of low voter turnout so the uk is normal in this trend
An: isn’t as sig however voter turnout has been since 2001 increasing , it still hasn’t recovered to the level it was in the 1990s therefore showing that there is some sort of participation crisis in uk, more recent election = people r angry and disillusioned with politics
The membership of political parties in the uk has decreased over time n makes up a very low percentage of the electorate ex n an
Ex: suggest that people r becoming less politically active n instead only passively engage in politics [ only voting in elections]
Problem bc people don’t have much of a say in what the policies of major political parties will be or who will lead them, as a very small amount of people are actually part of political parties.
An: sig as it can lead to voter apathy or low voter turnout if votes deem that both leaders of the major political parties are bad so don’t go out to vote , leading to decrease legitimacy.
Or this isn’t as important however as you can still vote without being part of a political party and that’s what ultimately matters in the uks representative democracy
Why is pluralist democracy important?
It encouraged and ensures all voices in society are heard n it is less likely for minority groups to be neglected
Why is legitimacy important for gov?
It validates the policies of those in power, as legitimacy has been derived from the support of the people.
What are the protective and developmental perspectives of democracy?
Democracy as a protection for individual freedom and doesn’t expect large scale citizen participation in politics but rather jut enough to grant the system legitimacy
The developmental perspective believes that for democracy to be successful, citizens need to engage on an active basis .
Greater citizen engagement would achieve a more open n engaging political system , also a more equal society that addresses gender and class inequalities in access to politics.
