Download Politics Revision Guide

What do I need to know?
The meanings of politics, power and authority
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Features of a democracy
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Features of a dictatorship
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Left and right ideologies
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Political groups
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Pressure groups
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New social movements
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Trade unions
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Political socialisation (media, peer group, family,
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workplace and location).
Voting behaviour (social characteristics and types)
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The meanings of politics, power and authority.
Using pages 226-227 in the Blundell textbook, write out the meaning for the key words below...
Politics means ______________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Power means ______________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Types of power are 1) non-decision-making meaning _____________________________
_____________________________
______________________________
2) deciding what things decisions can be made about.
3) face of power ____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
Max Weber suggested that power is based on either coercion or authority what do these mean?
Coercion means _________________________________________
Authority means ________________________________________
________________________________________
Authority comes from three different ways of telling people what to do by others.
Traditional authority _____________________________________
_____________________________________
Legal rational
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
Charismatic
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
Features of a democracy and a dictatorship
In the table are various features of either a democracy or a dictatorship. In the space
provided write which of the features is which.
A dictatorship is when the power is held by one person or a small group.
A democracy is a political system based on voting.
Feature
Elections during which people can vote freely
for whichever party they choose.
Tight government control of the press and
television.
Freedom of speech and expression.
Freedom for organisations (trade unions) to
meet.
The banning of pressure groups.
A legal system and police force that is
independent of the government.
Rule by one individual.
The denial of a fair trial
Democracy or dictatorship.
Left and right ideologies
Amongst the most common words used in politics are left and right, that is, sets of political
ideas about the way things are and the way they should be. Find the key words on the wordsearch
below, and then next to each write whether it is a feature of the right or left ideology. You might find
pages 230-231 in the Blundell textbooks helpful for this.
W
F
P
X
M
D
T
K
B
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Y
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CAPITALISM
_________________
COMMUNISM
_________________________
CONSERVATISM
_________________
SOCIALISM
_________________________
EQUALITY
_________________
FASCISM
_________________________
GREEN IDEOLOGY
_________________
INEQUALITY
_______________________
Political groups
Political parties are organisations which put up candidates at elections and which hope to
form the government. They have policies on a wider range of issues, such as the economy,
education, health defence and so on. Below, is a puzzle which once unscrambled will summarise the
key beliefs of the three political parties in Britain.
Pressure groups
Using pages 236-237 from the Blundell textbooks complete the following activities. Pressure
groups involve people trying to influence the government to change particular things.
Two ways pressure groups and different to political parties are that they ……..
1. ___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________.
2. ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________.
Pressure groups are found in many different forms……

Interest groups are
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

Promotional groups are
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Anyone can join a pressure group.
Another way of classifying pressure groups is according to how much access they have to
politicians and the government…….

Insider group
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Outsider group
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________.
Ways pressure groups try to
lobby the government…
Actions some pressure groups
that than might be against the
law include….
Some positive and negative views of pressure groups…..
Positives
Negatives
New social movements
Using pages 238-239 from the Blundell textbooks, in the space provided below design a
mindmap that include the following …… what a new social movement is , some examples, what is
different about them and some of their tactics.
Trade unions
Complete the puzzle below to have s summary of what trade unions are.
Types of voters
In politics there are three types of voter. Use page 240 in the Blundell textbook to help with
the activity below.
Picture
Type of voter
Floating
Loyal
Tactical
What this means
Some people don’t vote because.......



Political socialisation
Using page 241 from the Blundell textbooks, list the ways somebody could be socialised into
the way they vote.




Voting behaviour
Using pages 240-241 in the Blundell textbooks, design a mindmap which show the social and
political characteristics which can affect the way an individual will vote.
Practice exam questions
(b) Explain briefly how an opinion poll might be able to predict accurately the result of a
general election. (2 marks)
(c) Identify and explain one way in which an individual might try to influence government
policy other than by voting in a general election. (3 marks)
(d) ‘There is no longer a link between social class and voting behaviour.’ To what extent
would sociologists agree with this statement? (9 marks)
(b) Explain briefly why the organisers of a protest or demonstration might want coverage in
the media. (2 marks)
(c) Identify and explain one reason why an individual might join a pressure group rather than
a political party. (3 marks)
(d) To what extent would sociologists agree that it is possible for individuals to influence the
government by joining a pressure group? (9 marks)