Politics is a well-respected academic subject and fits particularly well with History, English, Economics, Business, and Psychology but would be a good subject to choose alongside most others. It gives you a very good understanding of the way politics works in the UK, and also the EU and the USA. It develops excellent skills in analysis and argument construction and is a very good preparation for careers such as law, journalism and even teaching! Politics is an ideal subject if you follow the news and have an interest in current affairs. Component 1 - UK Politics This unit introduces students to the key channels of communication between the government and the people and encourages them to evaluate the adequacy of existing arrangements for ensuring representative democracy and participation. Key concepts that will be explored are: • Democracy – Defining what we mean by democracy, looking at the different forms it takes and the strengths and weaknesses of our current system of democracy in the UK. We will also explore suggestions for reform such as lowering the voting age, making more use of referenda and changing the way we vote. • Political Parties – What are political parties and what functions do they serve? What are the traditions of political parties; what did they believe in the past, have their policies and principles changed and why? How far do our political parties believe in similar things and does this matter? • Electoral Systems – How do elections work in the UK? What different electoral systems do we use? What are the key arguments for and against keeping our current electoral system? • Voting Behaviour and the Media – Looking at the reasons that explain the outcome of elections such as party policies, campaigning techniques and the factors that affect the way people vote; for example class, gender, age, ethnicity and region. Component 2 – UK Government This unit introduces students to the major governmental processes within the UK. It encourages them to develop a critical understanding of the role and effectiveness of key institutions and the relationship among them in the context of multilevel governance. Key concepts to be studied are: • The Constitution – What is the British Constitution and where can it be found? How has the constitution changed over time and what are the main suggestions for how it could be changed in the future? • Parliament – How does Parliament work and does it work well enough? How would things be different if we had a President? What is the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords? Should Parliament be changed? • Prime Minister and Executive – What roles do the PM and the Cabinet have? What ‘rules’ govern the way they operate? Where do Prime Ministers get their power from and why do different PMs seem to have different amounts of power? • Relationships between the branches – Such as the Supreme Court, the EU and the role of the concept of sovereignty Component 3 – Representative Processes in the USA This topic looks at the representative processes of the US political system and considers their adequacy in terms of popular participation and full democracy. Key areas of study are: • The US Constitution – How does it work, how well does it work and does it protect people’s rights? • Congress – How does Congress work, what are the problems with it and can it stop the President from carrying out his wishes? • US Presidency – Where does the President’s power come from? Why do some Presidents seem to have more power than others? • Supreme Court and Civil Rights– How are Supreme Court judges appointed? What is the role of the Supreme Court? How are rights protected? • US democracy and elections – How do they work in the USA and what factors explain who wins and why? What are the key ideas of the two main political parties? • Comparative approaches – comparing the government and politics of the USA and the UK. Political Ideology We will study all of the following core political ideas: Liberalism, Conservatism and Socialism. We will also study one of the following: Anarchism, Ecologism, Feminism, Multiculturalism or Nationalism.