Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Component 1 Politics - Coggle Diagram
Component 1 Politics
Rights
Rights are legally protected freedoms that everyone should have in a democracy. They are absolute and universal. The Include: Fair and equal treatment by law; Freedom of expression; Freedom of conscience; Political freedom; Freedom of movement; Freedom to join a trade union
Magna Carta
-
Foundation of rights in England when nobles established the right to trial by jury and restricted power of the king
Bill Of Rights
-
Restricted power of monarch and increase power of parliament
The European Convention Of Human Rights
-
Created by the European court of human rights that people could appeal to if they felt their rights were infringed on. This was a reaction to the horrors of ww2 and a echo to the UNs declaration of human rights
The Human Rights Act
-
Right to life, protection against torture, protection from arrest without reason and the
right to privacy
and a family life
Equalities act 2010
-
Protected 9 characteristics -
age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage/ civil partnership, pregnancy/ maternity, race, religion / belief, sex and sexuality
it is illegal to discriminate on any of these charcteristics
Civil Responsibilities
Respect and obey the law
Pay taxes
Don't act in a way to harm others
-Show respect for government institutions
Vote
Serve on jury
Carry out duties in relation to your position i.e. parent
Types of rights
Positive Rights
-
Given by a constitution or law i.e. Human Rights Act
Negative Rights
-
Rights people have as there is no law saying we don't i.e. Legal Highs
Are Rights Protected?
Liberals would say no as they are not protected under a constitution in the UK
Democracy
Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs)
Pressure Groups
Pressure Groups are organisations that have political goals in a particular part of society, they do not seek political office but intend to influence the opinions of the public and those in positions of power
Types Of Pressure Groups
Causal Groups
-
Campaign based on a particular issue i.e the environment
Often a wide range of people from different backgrounds
Easy to join with open membership
Could be a charity e.g. RSPCA or Oxfam
Green Peace -
A sectional Pressure Group that focuses on the welfare of the environment
People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals(PETA)
-
A pressure Group focuses on animal rights and their treatment
Fare Share
-
A causual group that seeks to
Generated 57.3 million meals
Sectional Groups
Campaign for and look after a particular section of society i.e. Trade unions
Membership is restricted to members in a particular group or job
Self-Interested
Status Of Pressure Groups
Insider
-
Has a relationship with the government and therefore has access to officials and the people who make decisions
Can change when there is a government change
More likely to be successful
Outsider
-
Lacks a close relationship with government which means they have to use different tactics and focus on getting public and media support
Can become insider groups, however some outsider groups will never as they provide a non mainstream idea
Different Methods
-
Public campaigns
Public Demonstrations
Publicity stunts
Civil disobedience
Strikes
Test Court Cases
Evidence at hearings
Insiders can lobby government
Why do people join
Representation
-
Some may use pressure groups to seek representation that isn't provided by political parties. Pressure groups can help with minority rights e.g. LGBTQ
Beliefs
-
Passionate about a cause that the pressure group seeks to solve
Participation
-
Can be a method of expression i.e. Anti-war marches, anti-Brexit demonstrations
Gain
-
The pressure group provides them with something e.g. National trust, AA
Protection
-
Pressure groups like job unions provide protection
Why Do some succeed and others fail
Status
-
Insider groups are more likely to succeed than outsider groups
Wealth
-
Pressure groups with more money can have more effective campaigns
Membership size
-
More members allows for more opinions to be swayed, more members means more votes
Publicity
-
Pressure groups in the public eye are more likely to be seen
Organisation
-
The better a pressure group is run allows them to be more effective
Government Position
-
Pressure groups with similar views to the government are more likely to succeed
Example of Pluralism in democracy as political power id distributed across society rather than the elite, pressure groups act as an access point for people to have a voice in the political world
Think Tanks
Think Tanks are groups of experts from different backgrounds who are brought together to investigate certain topics and provide a solution to complex social, economic or political issues.
Funding
-
Think tanks are often funded by wealthy patrons and businesses, however they can also be funded by public donations or affiliations to universities.
does this effect their legitimacy?
Think tanks will often create policy to please their donors
The Institute economic affairs is a thing tank that looks at policy based on public health, yet is funded by a tobacco company
Neutral Think Tanks
Demos
-
current political issues
Respublica
-
general policy issues
Centre for social justice
-
policy on welfare issues
The national institute of economic and social research
-
economic issues
Chatham House
-
International Affairs
Left-Wing Think Tanks
Fabian Society
-
issues concerning social justice and equality
Institute for public policy and research
-
Various left-wing policy ideas
in 2020 they scrutinised the governments budget and raised questions on the validity of reported growth, providing scrutiny in a democratic society
Right-Wing Think Tanks
Adam Smith Institute
-
Promoting free-market solutions to economic issues
The Institute For Economic Affairs
-
Free market group with close ties to the conservative party
Centre Of Policy Studies
-
Promoting ideas popular in the premiership of Thatcher
Liberal Think Tanks
The Centre For Reform
-
dedicated to promoting values of the liberal democrats
Reform
-
concerned with policies on welfare, public services and economic management
Issues With Think Tanks
Need to be inline with govt to have any impact
Often filled with young ambitious people looking for a way into politics
can be more aspirational than practical policy
-Lack academic rigour
Ed milliband started working with policy network then became a MP
Benefits Of Think Tanks
-
Saves political parties time and resources as it can delegate to a think tank to create policy and it can mean policy is developed and tested out of public eye before being adopted by a party
Lobbyists
Lobbying is the act of trying to persuade those in power to follow a particular course of action.
'lobbyists' are distinct organisations or individuals sell their expert knowledge of the political process to those who can afford to hire them.
Big Industry
-
114 firms, 2 billion a year
Governments deny the impact of lobbying but the truth is unclear
Seen as part of the old boys network as lobbyists are close with political figures
Examples Of Lobbyists
The Cicero Group
-
financial services, infrastructure companies, energy and transport
Frederic Michel
-
News International
Adam Smith
former special advisor who lobbies for paddy power
PLMR
-
political lobbying and media relations
Hanbury Straregy
specialises in people who face a currently risk or political issue
Corporations
Corporations can be sought for advice by the government to ask if a policy will work in their industry
puts pressure to the government to create favourable legislation
Nissan, Ford and Banks create mass employment and a threat of relocation can be damaging
Corporations cant campaign for candidates but did campaign against brexit
Current Systems Of Democracy and Participation
Types Of Democracy
Direct Democracy
-
Direct Democracy (Also known as Athenian Democracy) means that every tax-paying citizen has one vote that they can vote with on a specific issue
After the decline of Atheins democracy went out of favour, and direct democracy has now been reintroduced in the form of referendums
Benefits and Disadvantages
-
+Adds Legitimacy to policy
+Allows the public to decide on vital policy
+It can avoid delay in the political system
-The nature complex nature of modern politics would make direct democracy impractical
-electorate can be too easily persuaded by a charismatic individual
-imposes Tyranny of the majority where the minority is dismissed
Representive Democracy
-
Representative Democracy is where the population does not make direct political decisions, instead they vote for representative through elections.
There is Representative Democracy in the UK as MPs are elected to represent the wants and needs of their constituency
Types Of Representation
Social Representation
-
This is where a representative should be broadly inline with the population as a whole. i.e. woman should be represented as just over half of society.
This is difficult to achieve, and of course the UK democracy fails at this
Representing The National
-
Though ,any representative democracies are elected on a local or regional level, If they sit in the national parliament they are expected to represent .
Representing both the constituency and nation can lead to a clash where the views of the nation and constituency differ
Constituency Representation
-
MPs in the UK each represent a constituency, in theory these constituencies are geographically defined area with similar social and economic concerns.
They must represent the constiuency as a whole and their interests, such as funding for public services
Must represent the interests of indviduals in their constituency 'redress of grievences' is when a representative will represent a constituent who has been treated unfairly
They must also represent the constiencies interest at the national level
Party Representation
-
In modern political systems each representative tend to represent a party, these parties will have their own beliefs and agenda outlined in their manifesto