UK Politics - Unit 1: democracy and participation key words - Edexcel A-Level Politics

legitimacy

rightful use of power in line with law or convention

Direct/pure democracy

people vote directly for the rules and laws that govern them

not used in modern times due to it’s inefficiency

Representative democracy

people vote for a representative who act on their behalf to exercise political choice

pluralist democracy

coined by robert dahl. a form of democracy wherein government decisions rely on relationships between various groups and ideologies that exist within a society, and that therefore there are several ‘centres’ of power and sources of authority in society.

Democratic deficit

a flaw in the democratic process that emerges when decisions are taken by people who lack legitimacy to be there, usually due to flaws in electoral processes or because they aren’t held accountable

caused by and often creates a participation crisis

Franchise/suffrage

the ability/right to vote in public elections

think tanks

a body of experts brought together to focus on a certain topic/several topics. they investigate and offer solutions to complex social, economic, political issues

lobbyists

paid by clients to try and influence government, MPs, Lords to act in their clients’ interests. they are often paid by pressure groups or corporations to do this.

pressure groups

groups that seek to represent the interest of a certain group of people. narrow focus.

they want to influence policy but don’t seek to be in government

their purpose → GREAT P:

G - influencing the Governing process

R - Representing interests

E - seek to Educate the public

A - want Amendments to legislation

T - a form of Tension release 

P - form of non-traditional Participation

democracy

a system of government whereby the whole population/eligible members of the state have a say in how the country is run

robert dahl’s measures of democracy

require that all have equal and effective oppurtunity to:

1. participate in politics, share opinions

2. vote

3. understand choices, their outcomes

4. set the agenda; influence what’s discussed

5. inclusion; above rights are extended to all

polycracy

proposed by robert dahl. a third thing seperate from democracy and dictatorship, polycracy literally means ‘power of many’. it best represents what we call ‘modern democracies’, as they aren’t truly pure

participation crisis

where a significant number of citizens fail to engage with the political process e.g. by not voting, by not joining parties, by not standing for public office

creates and caused by a democratic deficit

liberal democracy

combines the idea of free and fair elections with the idea of respecting and promoting personal freedoms, both as individuals and as the state

western democracies follow this model closely. democratic deficits can be easily identified when one of these two pillars collapses 

initiatives

when people propose law or constitutional amendments rather than parliament.

a very pure form of democracy that could help increase participation if introduced in the UK

but exposes minorities to rights abuses

citizens assemblies

small microcosms of society who convene to discuss an issue in depth and report back to government to try and drive change in a way that represents the people more accurately

recall elections

a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office before their term is over.

if an MP commits a crime or breaches the Code of Conduct, and 10% of constituents vote to have a recall election, one is held

making it easier to hold recall elections better represents the view of the people but may create vast power vacuums with bad consequences e.g. if an MP is the PM

1832 Great Reform Act

enfranchised all male middle-class property owners 

expand electorate to 6% of population

1867 Second Reform Act

gives all settled (i.e. not homeless) men in boroughs (urban areas/towns) the vote

working class can vote for the first time

1884 Third Reform Act

extends the franchise to male householders and tenants in rural areas 

1918 Representation of the People Act

abolished property requirements to vote; universal suffrage for men

women over 30 who meet certain property requirements can vote

1928 Equal Franchise Act

lowers voting age for women to 21, abolishes property requirements

universal adult suffrage achieved

1969 Representation of the People Act

lowers the voting age to 18 from 21

2014, 2020, 2025

2014 - Scotland lowers voting age for its parliamentary and council elections to 16

2020 - wales does the same

2025 - government commits to lowering voting age to 16 by next general election (2029 at the max)

interest/sectional group

pressure group that seeks to advance/protect the interests of its members e.g. trade unions

peak group

an association of groups (usually sectional pressure groups) with a common, but slightly broader interest. they pool their resources together to maximise the chance of achieving a goal e.g. the Trades Union Congress

cause/promotional group

pressure group who seek to promote a shared value. what they achieve does not necessarily benefit its members. e.g. greenpeace

insider groups

groups that enjoy close association with government agencies and officials. the government will consult them on legislation and policy.

• core insiders are regularly consulted with

• peripheral insiders rarely consulted with due to how niche their cause is 

outsider groups

groups that are not regularly in discussion with government either because government won’t talk to them (usually due to their use of civil disobedience) or because they won’t talk to government (want neutrality, don’t want cause to be diluted)

access points

the channels through which pressure groups try to assert their voice and garner public support e.g. civil disobedience, rallies

1215 Magna Carta

Established that:

• no-one is above the law, not even the king

• habeas corpus - that no-one is to be deprived of their liberty or property without due process

social movements

groups of people united by a common goal. they lack a formal structure and are more general than cause pressure groups.

can sometimes create pressure groups (e.g. the movement for a free palestine creating palestine action, a pressure group)

1689 Bill of Rights

establishes parliamentary sovereignty - ultimate authority

a constitutional monarchy

provisions for regular parliamentary sessions, free elections, fair court process

1833 Abolition of Slavery Act

gave all slaves in the British Empire their freedom, entitling them to rights the 1689 Bill of Rights didn’t think they deserved

bottom-up liberation

BUT plantation owners handsomely compensated for loss of slave labour, so same dynamics enforced, just with money as the oppressor

1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights

signed by all members of the UN

established what fundamental human rights are

formalisation enables oppressed groups to seek justice for violations of their rights

1953 ECHR

signed by members of the Council of Europe

further entrenches human rights in UK constitution as government actions have to comply with the ECHR

violations considered in The Hague at ECtHR, not UK courts

1975 Sex Discrimination Act and 1976 Race Relations Act

made it unlawful for someone to be discriminated against in workplace over sex/marital status

made it unlawful to discriminate against someone for sex, nationality, race in and outside workplace

1984, 1988, 1998, 2018 Data Protection Acts

protects people’s data that is being held by public institutions.

2018 DPA gave people right to erasure of data and brought UK law in line with the EU GDPR (general data protection regulation) which ensures data is collected and handled safely, with valid reason.

2001 Freedom of Information Act

allows the public to request information from public authorities (though with exceptions, which has caused a lot of debate; gov can say no pretty easily)

has enabled for better journalism, holding the government to account

votes for prisoners

as set out by the 1983 Representation of the People Act

argument that if you break the law you have no right to make it.

but civil prisoners can vote; so you create a hierarchy of incarcerated people, resentment builds, institutionalisation grows

electronic voting

a possible solution to participation crisis

but presents massive security concerns that damage the secret ballot