This book is a companion volume to Essentials of UK Politics, 4th edition. Together they cover two of the three parts of the new AQA and Edexcel A-Level Politics specifications (for examination from 2019 onwards) – ‘Government and politics in the UK’ and ‘Political ideas’. Where helpful, references are made in the current volume to extension material that can be found in Essentials of UK Politics.
In line with the specifications, the book is organised on the basis of the major political ideologies. Part 1 considers the political ideas that have emerged in connection with the ‘traditional’ or ‘core’ political ideologies – liberalism, conservatism and socialism (Chapters 2–4). These are the ideologies that have dominated political theory and political practice since the late eighteenth century, each representing a distinctive attempt to shape or reshape industrial society. Part 2 examines the political ideas that have emerged in connection with a range of other ideological traditions – anarchism, nationalism, feminism, ecologism and multiculturalism (Chapters 5–9). These other traditions have extended ideological thinking either by using liberal, conservative or socialist ideas to explore new or more specific areas of political debate (national identity, gender relations, cultural diversity and so on), or by challenging and seeking to go ‘beyond’ liberalism, conservatism and socialism.
Chapter 1 offers an introduction to the role of political ideas and the nature of political ideologies, but the material in this chapter will not form part of any assessment. Chapters 2–9 have a common three-part structure:
1.A ‘Historical overview’ reflects on the origins and development of the ideology in question.
2.The ‘Core ideas and principles’ of the ideology are then discussed. In Part 1, this is done through an examination of the ideology’s distinctive approach to ‘Human nature’, ‘Society’, ‘The state’ and ‘The economy’. This reflects the fact that traditional ideologies are comprehensive in scope and address all major aspects of human existence. However, in view of the narrower focus of the other ideological traditions, in Part 2 this section is organised around concepts and beliefs that are specific to the ideology in question (although reference is made to human nature, society, the state and the economy, as relevant).
3.The remainder of the chapter explores differing views and tensions within the ideology in question, recognising that disagreements between supporters of the same ideology are sometimes more passionate than disagreements between supporters of rival ideologies. This is done by an analysis of the ideology’s major types or sub-traditions.
How can you ensure that your performance in Government and Politics is as good as it can be? How can you ensure exam success? Below are some helpful hints on how you can maximise your performance as you study the subject and as you prepare for the examination.
STUDYING THE SUBJECT
•Keep up to date with current affairs. This will both make the subject more interesting to study (politics never stands still) and give you useful ammunition to use in the examination. Your knowledge needs to be as up-to-date as possible, and examiners are particularly looking to reward contemporary knowledge and understanding. Use websites, read a ‘quality’ newspaper (many of which can be accessed online) and articles in journals such as Politics Review, and watch the news and current affairs programmes on television.
•Understand key terms and concepts. Much of political understanding is based on a grasp of major terms and concepts – democracy, representation, authority, freedom, justice, and so on. Make sure you have a thorough grasp of these terms, and be sure that you can define and explain them reliably in the examination itself.
•Be aware of competing viewpoints. Just about every issue in politics is the subject of debate and discussion. You need to show an awareness of the different sides of an argument – almost every statement you make in politics could be followed by ‘However…’. But you also need to develop your own views, which means being able to support a particular viewpoint on the basis of evidence – make a point and prove it.
PREPARING FOR THE EXAMINATIONS
•Draw up a revision plan. Revision is seldom done effectively if it is left until ‘the mood takes you’. Draw up a plan of which topics you are going to revise and when – and then stick to it!
•Know your specification inside out. You have an outline above of the main topics covered in each unit. But the specification itself, as well as supporting materials provided by the awarding body for students, provides you with greater detail, including the identification of key concepts and an outline of the content.
•Be familiar with past papers, marking schemes and examiners’ reports. These are all provided by awarding bodies, and they contain invaluable information about the kinds of questions that will come up and the level of performance that will be expected.
•Have as much exam practice as possible. In the run-up to the examination, frequently practise answering examination questions in examination conditions and within examination timescales. If nothing else, this will ensure that your do not get your timings wrong – the silliest of all reasons for poor exam performance.
•Pay attention to ‘command words’ and key terms in questions. These are words such as ‘define’, ‘explain’, analyse’, ‘assess’ or ‘evaluate’. You need to know what each of these words means to ensure that you carry out the ‘right’ task in answering each question. For example:
•Define – say what a word or phrase means
•Features – the parts that define what a thing is
•Functions – the roles that highlight what a thing does
•Explain – show how something works, often by identifying causes and effects
•Analyse – break something into its component parts and show how they relate to one another
•Evaluate – make judgements about something’s value, its strengths and weaknesses
•Assess – ‘weigh up’ a statement, showing an awareness of arguments in favour and against.
•Be aware of what you get marks for. This is spelled out in the three assessment objectives (AOs) that are relevant to Politics. These are:
•AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of political institutions, processes, concepts, theories and issues.
•AO2: Analyse aspects of politics and political information, including in relation to parallels, connections, similarities and differences.
•AO3: Evaluate aspects of politics and political information, including construct arguments, make substantiated judgements and draw conclusions.
•Answer the precise question set. The most common reason for exam underperformance is a failure to ‘target’ the question set. Common mistakes include providing a pre-prepared answer to a question from a previous examination, or writing generally about the topic of the question, rather than addressing the particular question itself. To help avoid these mistakes, get in the habit of regularly using the terms from the question in your answers.
