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Democracy & Ppt flash cards

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1
Q

Key Terms

A

Power - ability to make something happen
can exist with or without authority

Authority - right to make something happen

Laws - regulate society
Serve to discourage behaviour that is detrimental to the common good

Justice- exercise of authority in a manner that is morally right or fair

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2
Q

UK Democratic?

A

No such thing as a perfect democracy
UK = more democratic than other countries
More democratic than in previous generations

JOHN LOCKE “without laws, man has no freedom”
The rights and liberties can only be upheld via the rule of law

Inevitably, some laws will restrict certain freedoms in order to ensure order within society
anti-terrorism legislation

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3
Q

How Democratic is the UK?

YES IT IS DEMOCRATIC

A 
Almost everyone has the right to vote 
Rule of Law exists 
Executive held to account by the legislature 
Free and Fair elections 
Civil Liberties are protected 
Choice of political parties is provided 
Most representatives are elected
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4
Q

NO THE UK IS NOT DEMOCRATIC

A

The Executive has too much power - Lord Halisham
‘elected dictatorship’
Parliament can restrict our freedoms by passing an Act of Parliament
FPTP = unfair to small parties
Under-representation of minorities and women
Peers are unelected & so is Head of State

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5
Q

Lincoln’s Definition of Democracy

A

“Government of the people, by the people, for the people”

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6
Q

POWER IN THE UK

A

elected politicians power is limited
Prevents them acting in a corrupt way
PM = limited by the laws of the UK , the fact he cannot continue in power - if lost election

Authority - usually based on legitimacy
In a democracy - legitimacy comes from the people

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7
Q

What is Democracy??

A 
Origins - Ancient Athenes 
5th Century 
Demos - People 
Kratia - Power 
As population size grew - direct democracy replaced by representative democracy
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8
Q

Democracy not always considered good?

A

Greek philosopher Plato “People would be swayed emotionally, rather than thinking rationally”
“The mass are unwise”

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9
Q

Direct Democracy

A

Direct Democracy exists where the will of the people is translated into public policy directly by the people

Nowadays - Referendums

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10
Q

Representative Democracy

A

Elected politicians act on behalf of the people through a system of regular elections which enable politicians to be removed from office and made accountable.

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11
Q

Representative Democracy

A

MP should act accordingly to their conscience
Winning party gains legitimacy from the people & claims a mandate to enact its manifesto
Most common & effective form of democracy
John Stuart Mill “Ideal Type”

Open & organised opposition 
Popular control of policy makers 
Political Freedoms 
Majority Rule 
Free and Fair elections 
Lawmaking by elected reps
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12
Q

Liberal Democracy

A

Liberal - Basic Freedoms & Civil Liberties
Democracy - Free and Fair elections in which 2 or more parties compete

Joins together 2 sets of principles

  1. Liberal Freedoms such as freedom of worship
  2. With a democratic means for deciding upon who will form government
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13
Q

Accountability

A

A representative is answerable to the people

The voters can ‘kick the rascals out’ at election time
Media can scrutinise their actions

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14
Q

Features of a Liberal Democracy

A 
Free and Fair elections 
Elected rep & gov held accountable 
Competitive multi-party elections 
Civil Liberties should be protected 
A variety of beliefs should be tolerate 
Must be a peaceful transition of power 
Rule of Law should prevail 
Power of elected representatives and the gov should be limited
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15
Q

Pluralism

A

“where a variety of beliefs, demand and interests are permitted to flourish together”

Dispersal of power
Reflects liberal thinking
Potential abuse of power is avoided - prevent dictatorship

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16
Q

Party Identification Theory

A

People learn their attitudes from their environment

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17
Q

Partisan Alignment

A

Psychological Attachment

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18
Q

Sociological Theory

A

Social class, ethnicity, gender, religion, region

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19
Q

Class Alignment

A

Strong association - social class to support for political party

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20
Q

Rational Choice Theory

A

Himmelweit et al - judgement based on the past performance of gov

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21
Q

Dominant Ideology Theory

A

Dunleavy & Husbands - individual choices are influenced by media misrepresentation
Newspapers & TV distort the process of political communication
Media are seen as reflecting a dominant prevailing ideology

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22
Q

Forms of PPT

A 
Petitions 
Donating Money 
Voting 
PG 
Political Party 
Protests 
Direct Action
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23
Q

Abstainers

A

Those who do not vote

Voter turnout - the % of the qualified voting age population that turns out on polling day

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24
Q

Apathy

A

Lack of interst

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25
Alienation
Feeling of separateness
26
Milbrath & Goel
Roman Gladiator Contest Gladiators - small % of activists - keen ppts Spectators - large majority who observe Apathetic - do not watch contest
27
DOES PPT MATTER !!!!!!! YES
Democracy - people have the power - people dont vote = no democracy Danger of increasing alienation & political exclusion Counter rise of political extremism Counter apathy, alienation & ignorance New forms of ppt quickly fade out of existence
28
DOES PPT MATTER!!!!!!!! NO
New forms of ppt allow views to be expressed directly Politics is not a priority in their lives Only ppt at times of crisis Little you can do to force ppt
29
WHY SHOULD PEOPLE VOTE
Chance to express their views All over the world people - fought and died for the right to vote Major symbol of citizenship in a democracy
30
Encourage greater ppt
Lower voting age Compulsory voting - Australia & Belgium Digital Democracy
31
Determinants of Voting Behaviour | LONG TERM
Party Identification & Loyalty Social Class Age, Gender, region, occupation & ethnic group
32
Determinants of Voting Behaviour | SHORT TERM
``` Appeal of Party leaders Impact of mass media Effectiveness & Style of campaigning Events leading up to elections Issues & Party images ```
33
Embourgeoisement
Tendency of better off working people with the aspirations of becoming more like the middle class in their social outlook & voting behaviour
34
CREWE
Showed main 2 parties steadily lost their once reliable supporters Inner Cities are emptying - workers Moving to towns outside London
35
Government
The party that forms the executive The institutions of the state 2 functions Protects our rights Limits our freedoms 3 branches - Exec, Leg & Judiciary
36
What are Rights?
An entitlement Can be Legal or Moral Legal - specified by a system of rules & is enforceable by the law Moral - exists only as a moral claim
37
Election Campaigns
Purpose of campaigns - reinforce the views of those committed, recruit the undecided & convert waverers in other parties Target Voters - leaders focus on constituencies which they hoped to win or keen not to lose
38
Opinion Polls
Began 1938 - 1950s - regular basis Useful for parties enabling them to find out which issues are causing greatest popular concern & which voters they should target Bandwagon Effect - polls encourage voters to climb on the bandwagon Boomerang Effect - support the underdog, behind in the polls
39
Denver
Judgemental voting media influence voters base views/ votes upon a judgement
40
Economy & voting
See success of economy in terms of mortgage interest & inflation More likely to re-elect gov which makes them feel good about the economy
41
Party Leaders & Voting
More people interested in personalities Parties conscious of the image of their leaders Blair - young , positive, dynamic & charismatic
42
Party Issues & Images & Voting
Mass coverage of politics on TV contributed to greater public awareness & understanding Crewe - Thatcherite Britain - serious unemployment - voters convinced Labour could help
43
Post War Trends in Voting Behaviour
Elections determined by floating voters Swing voters Domination of voting for main parties Rise of 3rd parties
44
Marxists
Only rich groups in society get listened to, its capitalists who hold the power in our society. Gov is a tool of capitalists
45
Problems w Direct Democracy today
Imposs to reach agreement in modern state open to Corruption Most people no knowledge // skills to make decisions Think - own interests Could lead to mob rule
46
For Direct Democracy Today
Current situ - not rep of whole population Male, white & educated Don't produce true rep in terms of seats won Direct democracy - gov directly accountable to the citizens of the state
47
Democratic Deficit
Suggests democracy might be missing in some important areas FPTP - not represent the people Elections - turnout too low BUT it is improving & PG & use of internet
48
Mandate
Thatcher always claimed her party had a mandate from the people to govern even though she never received a majority When she introduced the Poll tax - many withdrew that mandate through demonstrations & rioting Forcing her resignation in 1990 Same withdrawal of a mandate arguably happened to Blair administration over the Iraq war
49
Crewe
``` Class dealignment - showing that working class becoming smaller more people living 'middle class life' Led to more volatile electorate 2005 - 60% of voters called themselves class free ```
50
Party dealignment
DONT EXAGGERATE bc most electorate vote for 2 main parties Party alignment had never been 100% Each of 2 main parties have been supported by members of the class traditionally supported by the other
51
Conservative Party
1.3 million members 70s 250,000 in 2008 3 years of Cameron 2013 no. dropped by 40,000
52
Labour Party
Numbers halved since 1997 | By 2008 - just over 200,000 members
53
2015 Election | Geography
Conservative - South East 50.8% Labour - SE - 18.3% Conservative - North East - 25.3% Labour - NE- 46.9%
54
Partisan Dealignment
floating voters | 44% of those certain to vote had not chosen by March 2015
55
Ethnic minorities
Conservative 23% | Labour 65%
56
Scottish Independence
NO frustrated Yes voters - following 4 days SNP membership increased by 70% SNP became 3rd largest party 2015 election 56/59 seats in Scotland
57
Labour Short Term 2015
Ed - didnt look like a leader Issues w party image Bacon Sandwich Long term - Better in cities w Unis - Students more left-wing Tories - better rural
58
2015
Polls predicted hung parliament Turnout 2015 - 66.1% 2010 - 65.1% Dunbarton East - 81.9% Turnout Manchester Central - 43% Turnout 18-24 = 43%% 2017 - 18-19 = 57% 20-24- 59%
59
Media & impact
97% homes have a TV 2014 - 84% internet access Charters of BBC / ITV - require them to be impartial in their political coverage Newspapers - traditionally biased towards Tories
60
Hypodermic Model | Media
Suggests people soaked up info given to them like a sponge
61
Lazarsfeld & Minimum effects model | Media
Instead of changing views Media - reinforces Voters already have their own preconceptions
62
Birch | Media
People expose themselves mainly to communications which they are predisposed to agree & only remember the info they agree with Media may not determine what people think , but they do determine what they think about
63
Independents Effects theory
Life moved on since Lazarsfeld TV watched for son long & by so many it is common sense to suggest it must influence us TV deffo expands our knowledge
64
Political Consultants
Professional advisers - specialised in an aspect of election campaigning Advise what to do to create a good impression
65
Spin doctors
Specialist party consultants whose task it is to change the way the public perceives an issue / event & encourage favourable media coverage for the party and its leader
66
Pulzer 1967
``` women overwhelmingly more pro conservative stayed at home protected from bad working conditions women greater traditional values Cautious attitudes to change ```
67
Ethnicity & Voting
Traditionally more likely to vote labour Saggar - 1997 - 89% black 81% Asian voted Labour 2005 Labour lost voters in constituencies w large muslim population - Iraq War
68
European Elections
Turnout Low 1999 - less than 24% voted 2014 - 35.6% voted UKIP won majority Voters - uninformed Little ideas of what it can do No prospect of change - no excitement Little media interest in campaign & outcome

Democracy & Participation (3 decks)

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