Government and Politics

Course summary

Politics is about debate, controversy and ideas, so if you like to argue and are interested in current affairs, you will enjoy the subject. Many of the topics we study will directly affect you, such as the debate about university tuition fees and you may already have strong opinions on them. Other issues may arouse passionate opposition or support such as the use of the death penalty in the USA. Politics will suit you if you are interested in current affairs and like to debate and discuss controversial topics and ideas. Good written skills are essential too, especially the ability to weigh up different arguments and explain which are the most persuasive. One example would be to explain the benefits and drawbacks of the use of referendums and then to set out which side you are on using recent examples. What topics will I study? • UK Politics: Democracy and participation, political parties, electoral systems, voting behaviour and the media. • Core political ideas: conservatism, liberalism, socialism. • UK Government: The UK Constitution, parliament, Prime Minister and executive, relationships between the branches. • Non-core political idea: feminism • Comparative Politics USA: The US Constitution and Federalism, US Congress, US presidency, US Supreme Court and civil rights, democracy and participation, comparative theories.