AS revision: some definitions

A few examples of definitions in the people and participation area worked on during study leave

Define a political party

A political party is a membership based organisation of like minded people that seeks government power via elections. Members usually group together on the basis of shared ideas or ideology, for instance Labour describes itself as a democratic socialist party and its broad range of policies, such as the minimum wage or the New Deal, are expected to reflect this.

Distinguish between power and authority

Power is the ability of a group/individual to get others to do something against their will – this can be by the use of force. Recently government forced thousands to pay back tax credit overpayments. Authority implies you have the right to tell people what to do. This may be based on tradition or the personality of a leader - usually granted temporarily, e.g. unpopular Thatcher ousted in 1990

Outline two functions of a political party

Parties have an electoral function, e.g. they provide the organisation and funding necessary to run campaigns – at the 2005 election Labour and the Tories spent a combined total of £30m. They also have a representation function, e.g. the Greens represent environmentalists.

Distinguish between insider and outsider pressure groups

Insiders have regular contact with decision makers in government, i.e. ministers, and civil servants. The BMA were recently consulted on pay and conditions for GPs. Outsider groups have no such links, either because they are not compatible with government aims or because they choose not to be. The ALF are archetypal examples since they use violence.

Outline the main features of the first past the post system

At General Elections we use first past the post. Here voters are grouped into 646 single member constituencies of roughly equal population size and cast a single ballot. The winning candidate in each has one more vote than the next most popular – i.e. a plurality. It is non-preferential and does not require a majority.

Define direct democracy

Direct democracy is characterised by the absence of elections and voters directly influence policy rather than their representative. The classic example is Ancient Athens and in the UK is best exemplified by the use of referendums, e.g. the vote in the North East in 2004 on the regional assembly.

Define consensus politics

Consensus politics suggests a strong and broad agreement between the main political parties. In some senses this can mean more differences within parties than between them. The classic example is the post war consensus on the welfare state. A new consensus is said to exist, largely as a result of Blair’s changes to the Labour Party, e.g. a commitment to low inflation.

Define promotional and sectional pressure groups

Sectional pressure groups are said to work for the interest of a section of society, e.g. the NUT work for teachers, and promotional pressure groups work for the good of everyone, e.g. the RSPB’s work to protect birds benefits us all. But a better distinction may refer to whether groups work to benefit members or non-members.

Define representative democracy

Representative democracy pivots around the use of elections to determine who the decision makers on policy are going to be, and as such is distinct from direct democracy where no elections are held. In a representative democracy such as the UK, MPs and the Lords make decisions and discussion exists as to whether these are made on the “delegate”, “trustee”, or “mandate” model.

Define democracy

Democracy in its literal sense is drawn from the Greek and roughly translates as “people power”. In theory decision making ultimately is made by the people, but in large modern societies we temporarily pass this over to elected representatives, e.g. MPs. Related to this are ideas about “liberal democracy” and rights of the citizen, such as free speech.

Define with an example ‘adversarial’ politics

Adversarial politics exists when there is deep and broad disagreement between the main political parties and as such is the opposite of consensus politics. A classic example in British politics is during the 1980s, when the Tories and Labour were divided over privatisation, worker’s rights, and nuclear weapons.