Examining Board: Edexcel
Head of Department: Mr G Rosie
Graeme.rosie@portland-place.co.uk
A level Government & Politics is concerned with the study of political ideas such as the nature of democracy and popular participation in the government of a country, individual rights and responsibilities, and different political ideologies, theories and traditions (such as conservatism, liberalism and socialism). It also looks at political institutions, the executive (government), legislature (parliament) and judiciary (judges), political parties (Labour, Conservative and others) and pressure groups (Greenpeace, trade unions). The course will look in particular at the political system in the UK, but will also examine Britain’s position in the European Union, and make comparisons with political systems in other countries.
There are no prior knowledge requirements for the qualification and it is not expected that students will have taken the subject at GCSE. Government & Politics complements other A level subjects, such as History and Economics, and could lead on to further study and careers in politics, international relations, law, public administration, journalism and the media. Government & Politics can be taken as a one year AS qualification or a two year A level qualification, which examines the subject in greater depth.
ASSESSMENT
AS - 50%
Unit Method Length
Unit 1 2 structured questions 1 hour 20 mins.
Unit 2 2 structured questions 1 hour 20 mins.
A2 - 50%
Unit Method Length
Unit 4 3 short questions from 4, 1 hour 30 mins.
1 essay from 3
Unit 5 3 short questions from 4, 1 hour 30 mins.
1 essay from 3
COURSE OUTLINE
UNIT 1: PEOPLE & POLITICS
Basic concepts: Government/state
Power/authority
Legitimacy
Citizenship
Rights/obligations
Democracy: Direct and representative democracy
Major features of democracy
Elections: Different types of electoral system
(PR v. FPTP)
Electoral mandates
Referendums
Political Parties Function of political parties
Consensus/adversarial politics
Liberalism
Conservatism
Socialism
Pressure Groups Role of pressure groups
Sectional/promotional pressure groups
Insider/outsider pressure groups
Pluralism
UNIT 2: GOVERNING THE UK
The UK Constitution Types of constitutional government
Parliamentary sovereignty
The Executive Prime ministerial/cabinet government
Ministerial responsibility
Civil service neutrality
Open government
Parliament Parliamentary/presidential government
Seperation of powers
Representative government
The Judiciary Judicial independence
Civil liberties
UNIT 3: INTRODUCING POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES
Liberalism Individualism
Freedom
Rights
Toleration
Conservatism Tradition
Authority
Hierarchy
Organic society
New Right
Socialism Equality
Co-operation
Collectivism
Social justice
Marxism/social democracy
UNIT 4: OTHER IDEOLOGICAL TRADITIONS
Nationalism Nation/race
Patriotism
Self-determination
Internationalism
Fascism Leadership
Totalitarianism
Racism
Anti-rationalism
Nazism
Anarchism Utopianism
Collectivist anarchism
Individualist anarchism
Feminism Sex/gender
Patriarchy
Public/private divide
Liberal, socialist and radical feminism
Coxall & Robbins Contemporary British Politics (Macmillan 1998)
Heywood A Political Ideologies (Macmillan 1998)
Politics Review (Philip Allan Publishers Ltd)