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Democracy Flashcards

(89 cards)

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1
Q

What are the 7 sources of the UK’s democratic deficit?

A

1) Queen
2) Participation
3) Constitution
4) House of Lords
5) Electoral Systems
6) Disengagement
7) Judiciary

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2
Q

What was the 2015 election turnout?

A

66%

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3
Q

What feature of the 2015 election shows low participation?

A

More people did not vote than voted for the largest party

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4
Q

Why are Judiciary not as independent as they may seem?

A

The commission that appoints them is appointed by the PM

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5
Q

What is the Judiciary not?

A

Elected nor accountable

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6
Q

What is the result of Disengagement?

A

Low Turnout

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7
Q

What can disengagement lead to?

A

Ignorance and Anger

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8
Q

How is FPP unfair?

A

Small parties are discriminated against, not proportional, wasted votes

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9
Q

What problem does AMS present?

A

The Two Tier Problem

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10
Q

What do SV and FPP have in common that leads to a democratic deficit?

A

Disproportionality

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11
Q

What two factors lead to an artificial majority and mandate?

A

Parliamentary Sovereignty and FPP

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12
Q

What doe the constitution lack?

A

Bill of Rights

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13
Q

What is the constitution not?

A

Entrenched

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14
Q

What aspect of participation has actually increased in recent years?

A

Pressure Groups such as RSPB and smaller parties, although party membership as a whole has decreased

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15
Q

What means of participation have become irrelevant through ubiquity?

A

E-Petitions

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16
Q

What proposal regarding the Second chamber would improve the UK’s democracy?

A

Elections

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17
Q

What would an elected 2nd chamber give?

A

Legitimacy and Accountability

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18
Q

What would an elected 2nd chamber allow their role to be?

A

A more effective check of government power

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19
Q

What is there to fear abbot introducing a second chamber?

A

It could be less independent and could check government excessively

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20
Q

What would electoral reform achieve regrading the number of wasted votes?

A

it would reduce the number

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21
Q

Why are wasted votes such a problem with FPP?

A

Anyone who votes for the party who gets the majority other than those necessary to secure the majority may as well not have bothered. Furthermore anyone who votes for the party who did not win is also not recognised.

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22
Q

What may electoral reform achieve in regard to the House of Commons?

A

Makes commons more politically representative

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23
Q

What would electoral reform increase a government’s?

A

Legitimacy

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24
Q

What does PR generate that reform many destroy?

A

A strong link between MP and Constituent

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25
What may electoral reform create that may cause instability?
Multi-party governments
26
What may voters not accept?
A reformed electoral system
27
What may the consequences of electoral reform fundamentally be?
Unpredictable
28
What would a codified constitution prevent?
The drift of power towards government and PM
29
What would a codified constitution protect?
The rights of individuals and freedom
30
What could a reformed constitution promote?
More political involvement by citizens
31
What key benefit of an uncodified British constitution would be destroyed with the introduction of a codified one?
Loose flexibility, limiting the potential of active government
32
In whose hands may too much power be put due to a codified constitution?
unelected judges
33
What is valuable to many about both the uncodified constitution and the British monarch?
Tradition
34
What are referendums a purer form of?
Democracy
35
What may be increased through referendums?
Education and Participation
36
What is the phenomena regarding the falling turnout associated with increased elections?
Voter fatigue
37
What sort of tyranny would increased frequency of referenda result in?
TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY
38
What may people loose respect for when referendum's frequency increase?
representative institutions
39
What may the issues of the referendums be?
Too complex for the voter
40
What is local government seen as more?
Democratic
41
What would happened to government if decentralisation occurred?
Central government's power would be eroded but government would become less remote
42
Whose role, other than central government's would be reduced when decentralisation occurs?
Parties
43
What could be strengthened by decentralisation?
Communities
44
Between whom could tensions arise due to decentralisation?
Westminster and regional governments
45
What is the general opinion often of decentralisation?
The decentralised local institutions are often taken less seriously than the national government.
46
What could be wrong with the provision airing form decentralisation?
The provision could be variable
47
Assuming that the monarch is a source of stability what could its removal mean?
Instability
48
What would the monarchy be replaced by?
An elected Head of State
49
What may an elected head of state give too much to?
Too much power to the ruling party
50
What would be increased by an elected Head of State?
Legitimacy and engagement
51
What would an elected head of state be?
Accountable
52
What could an elected head of state settle?
Political Deadlocks
53
Give three ways that democracy in the UK has recently be enhanced?
1) Increased social media campaigning 2) Pressure group membership increasing 3) Increased instances of direct action
54
Give two examples of direct action?
Anti tuition fees and anti iraq war
55
What four methods are there of participating in UK politics?
1) Standing for office 2) Voting in referendum 3) Voting in elections 4) Becoming a member of a party or pressure group
56
What 5 ways has participation in democracy declined in the UK?
1) Disillusionment with patty politics 2) Identification with parties has fallen 3) Party membership and activism has fallen 4) Referendum turnouts tend to be low 5) Identification with patties has fallen
57
What four ways are there of increasing participation?
1) E - Democracy 2) Voting at 16 3) Citizenship education 4) Compulsory voting
58
What would compulsory voting abuse?
Freedom
59
What would remain even after compulsory voting has been instigated?
Mass Apathy
60
Where is compulsory voting used?
Australia and Argentina
61
What is compulsory voting costly?
It is costly to enforce
62
What would results be after compulsory voting?
More legitimate
63
What would people get used to after compulsory voting?
Voting and engagement with politics
64
Fundamentally what would compulsory voting increase?
Turnout
65
Other than vote, what would compulsory voting force people to do?
Think about politics
66
What could the results of compulsory voting be described as?
Artificial
67
What may parties do if the voting age was lowered to 16?
Distort policies to appeal to young voters
68
What would citizenship education encourage?
Engagement
69
What may citizenship education not create in reality?
A genuine interest in politics
70
What would be improved through citizenship education?
Young people's knowledge of politics
71
What is education generally?
Expensive
72
Who would be excluded through e-democracy?
Those who lack knowledge
73
What would be removed through e-democracy?
Anonymity
74
What is very to circulate though e-deocracy?
Illicit and false information
75
What is e-democracy vulnerable to?
Fraud and hackling
76
What is the internet a big source of?
Independent political information
77
what may e-voting increase?
Turnout
78
What form of democracy coulde-deomcrayc promote?
Direct
79
How can the PM's powers be described?
Arbitrary, perforative powers
80
What does PArl. Sov. fair to do?
Protect individual rights
81
What three types of authority are there?
traditional, legal, charismatic
82
What is influence?
Being able to change how others think without using force?
83
What are the three sources of power?
Influence, political power and coercion
84
What is political power?
Sanctions, rewards, authority and persuasion
85
What is power?
The ability to exert force upon others to make them do what you want even when they do not want to do it
86
What is legitimacy?
The rich of an individual or body to be recognised and to have the right to excursive power, generally conveyed by election
87
Why coulee it be said that the 2010 government was not legitimate?
They had no majority
88
What are three features of a direct democracy?
1) Populous are consulted 2) People take the initiative in creating political change 3) People themselves make decisions - usually through referendums
89
What is the tyranny of the majority?
When a majority leads to the suppression of minority voices

AS Politics (4 decks)

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