Democracy and Participation Flashcards
11 Pressure Group methods
- Lobbying (as an insider)
- Research and publish reports
- Give evidence at hearings
- Organise publicity campaigns
- Organise public demonstrations
- Publicity stunts
- Civil disobedience
- Strike
- Celebrity spokesperson
- Bring cases to court
- Digital campaigns
Insider pressure groups
Rely on contacts with the government
Outsider pressure groups
Are not consulted by the government
Cause groups
Focused on achieving a goal or drawing attention to an issue or group of related issues
Sectional group
Seek to promote the interests of an occupation or another group in society
Social movement
A long-term campaign for the improvement of some area in society
Direct Democracy
Individuals express opinion themselves.
- Advantages: Equal weight to all votes, encourages participation and develops sense of community, removes need for trusted representatives as citizens take responsibility
- Disadvantages: Impratical on large scale, viewpoint of minority ignored, people open to manipulation
Representative Democracy
People elect representatives who take decisions on their behalf
Advantages: pratical on large scale, brings choice to people with varied politicians, reduces chance of minority being overidden, politicians better informed and can be held to account
Disadvantages: not all votes have same weight due to constitency sizes, voter fatigue (parties + pressure groups ran by elites), minorities underrepresented
Pluralistic democracy
Government makes decisions as a result of the interplay of various ideas and contrasting arguments from competing group organisations
Advantages of British system of democracy
Devolved governments
Independent Judicary
Free media
Free and fair elections
Wide range of political parties
Disadvantages of British system of democracy
Under representation of minority viewpoint
Lack of protection for citizens rights
House of Lords lacks democratic legitimacy (92 hereditary peers after 1997)
Medai controlled by wealth
Average voter turnout between 1945-97
76%
2001 and 2019 voter turnout
58% and 69%
What dropped from 400,000 in 90s to 150,000 nowadays?
Conservative membership
Labour membership increase
190,000 to 550,000 in 2016 (£3 membership offer)
