Government and Politics

Course summary

We come into contact with politics daily and without realising it we form political opinions on all sorts of issues; these issues vary from where our council tax is spent to why British soldiers are deployed in conflict zones abroad, or even why the trains do not seem to run on time. In Aristotle’s words, “Man is a political animal.” There is a shift occurring in mainstream politics evidenced by the British people’s desire to leave the European Union and the success of Donald Trump in the United States, coupled with a gradual shift to the right across Europe. The role of Russia and China in international diplomacy is challenging post-Cold War Western hegemony. There is no better time than now to understand what is happening in the world. Should we ban the wearing of the burka? Is the government right to continue to cut benefits? Does the UK risk being seen as a ‘nasty place’ for trying to restrict immigration? These are the sorts of questions we debate in lessons, and the Emanuel Politics Department is known for vigorous argument and for getting students to think through their ideas. In doing this, students will develop essay writing skills and their powers of analysis and evaluation. The course is broken down into three components: UK Politics, UK Government and US Politics. The main topics covered in the UK Government are the Judiciary, the Executive, Parliament and the Constitution with an additional focus on one ideology chosen from Feminism, Nationalism or Multiculturalism. UK Politics focuses mainly on Political Participation, Parties, Electoral Systems and the Media with a focus on three ideologies: Conservatism, Liberalism and Socialism. The last component, US Politics, focuses on the power and role of the US presidency, the Supreme Court and American civil rights. We also examine the extent to which power is separated between the branches of government, using both the current president and the past president as examples. There is also a comparative element to the course, which allows pupils to critically evaluate how the US and the UK are governed.