Topic 1- Participation and Voting Behaviour

Question 1

Politics

Answer 1

Concerned with developing a knowledge and understanding of government and society. In particular, the struggle for power, and influence between competing individuals and groups

Question 2

Democracy

Answer 2

Originates from the greek word Demokratia. Demos is a union of ‘demos’ meaning people and kratia meaning power. Therefore, people power. Abraham Lincoln described it as people power. Could be translated to mobcracy/mob rule

Question 3

Authoritarian Regimes

Answer 3

Non-democratic countries in which there is a very strong central direction and control. May be elections but range of candidates limited or campaigning made difficult for those who take an alternative view to those in power

Question 4

Direct Democracy

Answer 4

Form of democracy in which the citizens themselves assemble to debate and decided issues of public importance

Question 5

Representative Democracy

Answer 5

Where the people elect representatives who make decisions on their behalf Where the people elect representatives who make decisions on their behalf

Question 6

Elitism

Answer 6

Recognition that society should be governed by an elite or small group

Question 7

Legitimate

Answer 7

System of government is one in which the authority of the government is widely accepted by those who are subject to it. We speak of the authority of an official but of the legitimacy of a regime

Question 8

Participation

Answer 8

Engagement of the population in the forms of political action

Question 9

Pluralism

Answer 9

Literally means “rule by the many” relates to society in which there are diverse and competing centres of power, which seek to exert influence over government

Question 10

Pressure Groups

Answer 10

Comprise organisations that do not stand for election themselves, but rather seek to influence those who do gain political office and are therefore in a position to shape public policy

Question 11

Electorate

Answer 11

Relates to all qualified voters

Question 12

Franchise

Answer 12

Or suffrage is the right to vote for representatives in a legislative body

Question 13

Abstainers

Answer 13

Are those who do not vote this may be for involuntary reasons or a deliberate choice not to vote, perhaps due to the reasons in the “in depth” section adjacent

Question 14

Apathy

Answer 14

Lack of interest or enthusiasm, for playing a part in the political system. Others might see it as representing broad satisfaction with things as they are, so that there is no need to exert oneself to register one’s own viewpoint or take an active role

Question 15

Alienation

Answer 15

Feeling of separateness, of being alone and apart from others. In this sense, it refers to the feeling of being estranged from the rest of the community, society or world

Question 16

Post materialist age

Answer 16

Era in which people are less concerned about their material needs such as the basic requirements of food and shelter which are available to the majority and more concerned with quality of life

Question 17

Initiative

Answer 17

Procedure through which an individual or group may propose legislation by securing the signatures of a required number of qualified voters

Question 18

Recall vote

Answer 18

Infrequently used device that enables a certain number of voters to demand a vote on whether an elected official should be removed from office.

Question 19

Opinion poll

Answer 19

Survey designed to find out the voting intentions or attitudes of members of the public

Question 20

Focus groups

Answer 20

Small groups of people whose views are probed on a range of questions

Question 21

Direct action

Answer 21

Political action outside the constitutional and legal framework

Question 22

Social capital

Answer 22

Relates to the connections between individuals and the social networks and trustworthiness that arise from them

Question 23

Socialisation

Answer 23

Instilling of political attitudes and values via agencies such as family upbringing. Education and the media

Question 24

Differential Turnout

Answer 24

This refers to the way in which the national figure often obscures significant regional variations. Such variation may result either from saliency of local issues or from the extent to which voters in different areas believe that their vote is likely to make any real difference

Question 25

Voting behaviour

Answer 25

Relates to the way that people vote and why they vote the way they do

Question 26

Psephologists

Answer 26

Specialists in the study of elections and voting behaviour

Question 27

Partisan alignment

Answer 27

Long term allegiance of voters to a particular party since the 1970s

Question 28

Social Class

Answer 28

Relates to the hierarchical distinctions between individuals or groups in society. Division of people with similar characteristics into strata or layers. Usually assessed on such characteristics as background, education and occupation

Question 29

Devolved Assemblies

Answer 29

national parliament in Scotland, the National Assembly in Wales and Assembly in Northern Ireland

Question 30

Anti-globalisation

Answer 30

relates to the political outlook of those social movements that protest against the global trade agreements and the impact they have on the world’s poorest people on the environment and on the prospects of international peace. Example is Global Justice Movement

Question 31

40:30:30 society

Answer 31

40% of the population have secure employment and are comfortably or well off, 30% in an insecure employment and 30% economically and socially marginalised, jobless or working for poverty wages

Question 32

Suffragettes

Answer 32

Supporters of the Women’s social and Political union which campaigned for the right of women to vote in the early 20th century. They used aggressive tactics.

Question 33

Partisan dealignment

Answer 33

Breakdown of long-term allegiance of voters to a particular party since the 1970s

Question 34

Class Alignment

Answer 34

relates to the strong association of membership of a social class with support for a political party

Question 35

Class Dealignment

Answer 35

Relates to the breakdown since the 1970s of the long-term association of a social class with support for a particular political party

Question 36

Instrumental

Answer 36

Voting is a one-off assessment of the parties’ policies and reputation, based on their past performance as well as their judgement about their ability to deliver what they promise

Question 37

Ideology

Answer 37

System of assumptions, beliefs and values about public issues which are part of a comprehensive vision of society. The concept is central to politics,

Question 38

Ethnic groups

Answer 38

Relates to people who share a common sense of identity as a result of kinship, culture, religion or often skin colour

Question 39

Mass Media

Answer 39

Collective name for the organisations involved in publishing, broadcasting or other forms of political communication that channel information to the electorate

Question 40

Winter of Discontent (1978- 979)

Answer 40

Was the period of widespread industrial unrest that seriously disrupted everyday life and damaged the prospects of then Labour government

Question 41

Sleaze

Answer 41

Collective name for the various financial and sexual scandals that have occurred under recent governments

Question 42

Embourgeoisement

Answer 42

Tendency of better off working people with aspirations to become more like the middle classes in their social outlook and voting behaviour

Question 43

Volatility

Answer 43

Relates to the significant changes in voting habits which have resulted in voting becoming less consistent and more unpredictable. It involves a shift of voter support between parties or between voting and abstention. A process sometimes known as churning

Question 44

Floating voters

Answer 44

Were those whose vote was liable to change from election to election

Question 45

Tabloids

Answer 45

Also known as red tops are small newspapers such as the sun that convey information in a sensational style with bold or even lurid headlines

Question 46

Broadsheets

Answer 46

Traditionally large quality newspapers that present news and information in greater depth and with greater analysis than tabloids.

Question 47

Photo opportunities

Answer 47

Carefully stage-managed events where the leading figure is set against a particular background, perhaps to demonstrate concern for the location and those who work within it.

Question 48

Bandwagon effect

Answer 48

Suggest that polls encourage voters to climb on the bandwagon of the party that is ahead, so they end up backing the victorious side

Question 49

Boomerang effect

Answer 49

Suggests that electors are encouraged to change sides and support the underdog the party behind in the polls

Question 50

Pluralists

Answer 50

Those who believe that there are and should be diverse and competing centres of power in society so that there is a marketplace for ideas

Question 51

Spin doctors

Answer 51

Specialist party consultants whose task it is to change the way public perceives an issue/event and encourages favourable media coverage for the party and it’s leaders

Question 52

Tactical voting

Answer 52

Occurs when an elector votes not not for their favoured candidate but for another candidate who has better chance of winning.