paper 2 key terms

UK government & feminism

public sphere

Life outside the home (work, society, politics).

private sphere

Domestic and family life.

essentialism

Belief that biological sex differences shape behaviour.

gender stereotypes

Social expectations of men and women’s roles.

discrimination

Unequal treatment of groups.

equality of opportunity

Equal chances for all, regardless of sex.

political equality

Equal political rights (e.g. voting, protest).

legal equality

Law applies equally to all.

reserve army of labour

Women as a flexible, secondary workforce.

gender equality

Equal treatment across society regardless of gender.

cultural feminism

Promotes women’s values over male-dominated culture.

reformist feminism

Seeks gradual, peaceful change.

waves of feminism

Shifts in focus over time (e.g. suffrage, rights, cultural, intersectional).

otherness

Women viewed as ‘different’ from the male norm.

equality vs difference feminism

Debate over whether men and women are fundamentally the same or inherently different.

intersectionality

Women’s experiences shaped not only by gender, but also by race, class, and other identities.

constitution

the set of political principles by which a state or organisation is governed, especially in relation to the rights of the people it governs.

entrenched

something that is firmly established and difficult or unlikely to change.

codified constitution

a constitution in which key constitutional provisions are collected together within a single legal document.

unitary constitution

a constitution that concentrates sovereign power in a single body.

parliamentary sovereignty

parliament is the supreme legal authority in the UK, and can create, amend any law which cannot be overruled by courts.

the rule of law

the principle that law should 'rule' in the sense that it applies to all conduct or behaviour and covers both private citizens and public officials.

statute law

laws that have been decided and approved by parliament.

common law

the legal system in England that has developed over a period of time from old customs and court decisions, rather than laws made by politicians.

conventions

unwritten understanding about how something should be done which, although not legally enforceable, is almost universally observed, like a custom or tradition.

authoritative works

books written by constitutional experts explaining how a political system is run, they are not legally binding but are taken as significant guides to how the constitution works.

treaties

a written agreement between two or more countries formally approved and signed by their leaders.

devolution

the decentralisation of governmental power, eg the powers granted to the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Parliament, Northern Ireland Assembly and the Greater London and Local Authorities.

uncodified constitution

a constitution that is made up of rules that are found in a variety of sources, in the absence of a single legal document.

federal constitution

a constitution that is based on the principle of shared sovereignty, in that there are two relatively autonomous levels of government: national and regional.

unentrenched

something not firmly ingrained that will therefore be easier to adapt or change according to circumstances.

parliament

the british legislature made up of the house of commons, the house of lords and the monarch.

house of commons

the primary chamber of the UK legislature, directly elected by voters.

house of lords

the second chamber of the UK legislature, not directly elected by voters.

confidence and supply

the right to remove the government and to grant or withhold funding, also used to describe a type of informal coalition agreement where the minority partner agrees to provide this in exchange for policy concessions.

salisbury convention

the convention whereby the lords does not delay or block legislation that was included in a government's manifesto.

parliamentary privilege

the right of MPs or lords to make certain statements within parliament without being subject to outside influence, including the law.

legislative bills

proposed laws passing through parliament.

public bill committees

committees responsible for looking at bills in detail.

backbenchers

an MP who does not hold a ministerial or 'shadow' ministerial post, so-called because they tend to sit on the back benches.

select committees

committees responsible for scrutinising the work of government departments.

opposition

the MPs and lords who are not member of the governing party or parties.

elective dictatorship

a government that dominates parliament, usually due to a large majority, and therefore has few limits on its power.

executive

the branch of government that is responsible for the implementation of laws and policies made by parliament.

cabinet

the group of leading ministers which is empowered to make official government policy.

minister

an MP or member of the house of lords appointed to a position in the government, usually exercising specific responsibilities in a department.

government department

a part of the executive, usually with specific responsibility over an area such as education, health or defence.

royal prerogative

a set of powers and privileges belonging to the monarch but normally exercised by the PM or cabinet, such as the granting of honours or legal pardons.

secondary legislation

powers given to the executive by parliament to make changes to the law within certain specific rules.

individual responsibility

the principle by which ministers are responsible for their personal conduct and for their departments.

collective responsibility

the principle by which ministers must support cabinet decisions or leave the executive.

presidential government

the tendency for political leaders to act increasingly like executive presidents, through the rise of personalised leadership.

supreme court

the highest court in the UK political system.

judicial neutrality

absence of any form of partisanship or commitment; a refuse to 'take sides' so that the decisions that are taken are objective; impartiality.

judicial independence

the constitutional principle that the actions and decisions of judges should not be influenced by pressure from other branches of government.

judicial review

the power to review actions taken by public bodies on the grounds that they are ultra vires and to review acts of parliament to see if they are compatible with the human rights act.

european union

the term adopted after the maastricht treaty of 1992 to describe the political and economic union that fosters cooperation between member states.

four freedoms (EU)

the free movement of goods, services, capital and labour are the four freedoms that are the key foundations of the single market, they are enshrined in the 1957 treaty of rome, the single european act 1986, the maastricht treaty 1992 and the lisbon treaty 2007.

legal sovereignty

refers to supreme legal authority, an unchallengeable 'right' to establish any law one wishes.

political sovereignty

sovereignty refers to absolute political power, an unrestricted 'ability' to act however one wishes.

ultra vires

literally 'beyond the power', this applies when public bodies have acted illegally because their actions have no statutory authority.