Democracy and Participation

What Democracy and Participation covers

What makes a system democratic, the case for and against deciding things directly, how the franchise was won, and the modern worry about turnout and participation.

The 8 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Democracy, Legitimacy and Direct DemocracyRecall questions on what democracy and legitimacy mean, why liberal democracy is more than majority rule, and direct democracy from ancient Athens to referendums, e-petitions and the recall of MPs.Open →
• Direct and Representative Democracy ComparedRecall questions on the tyranny of the majority, the practical objections to direct democracy and what representative democracy involves.Open →
• The Reform Acts of 1832 to 1884 and the ChartistsRecall questions on the franchise before 1832, rotten boroughs, the Reform Acts of 1832, 1867 and 1884 and the Ballot Act, and on the Chartists, their six points and why the movement mattered.Open →
• Suffragists and SuffragettesRecall questions on what separated the two movements, the organisations Fawcett and Pankhurst led, and the militant tactics used.Open →
• Who Can Vote Today, and Votes at 16Recall questions on the groups disqualified from voting, the arguments over votes at 16 and where in the UK they already apply.Open →
• Forms of Political ParticipationRecall questions on what participation means, the line between conventional and unconventional forms, and the meaning of slacktivism.Open →
• Turnout, Apathy and Proposals for ReformRecall questions on the referendum that produced exceptional turnout, the meaning of hapathy, the effect of safe seats and the reforms proposed.Open →
• Partisan and Class DealignmentRecall questions on what partisan and class dealignment mean, the evidence for them and their causes, and how dealignment has increased volatility, split-ticket voting, support for minor parties and the importance of campaigns.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Democracy and Participation further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Direct democracy vs Representative democracy

  Direct democracy: citizens decide issues themselves. Representative democracy: citizens choose decision-makers.

• Positive rights vs Negative rights

  Positive rights: entitlements requiring active provision. Negative rights: freedoms protected from interference.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What does the word democracy literally mean?

   Model answer

   It comes from the Greek demos, meaning the people, and kratos, meaning rule or power, so it means rule by the people.

2. 2

   State three features a political system must have before it can reasonably be called democratic.

   Model answer

   It must hold regular free and fair elections, allow genuine competition between parties and candidates, and hold those in power accountable to the electorate.

3. 3

   What is meant by political legitimacy?

   Model answer

   Legitimacy is the rightful authority to govern, accepted as valid by the governed, which in a democracy is normally conferred by winning a free election.

4. 4

   Explain why liberal democracy involves more than simply majority rule.

   Model answer

   Liberal democracy also requires limited government, the rule of law, an independent judiciary, a free media and protected rights, so that majorities cannot override minorities.

5. 5

   Define direct democracy.

   Model answer

   Direct democracy is a system in which citizens themselves take political decisions rather than delegating them to elected representatives.

6. 6

   Which ancient city-state is usually cited as the model of direct democracy, and who was excluded from it there?

   Model answer

   Athens in the fifth century BC, where women, slaves and foreign residents were all excluded from the citizen assembly.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Democracy and Participation revision questions

What does Democracy and Participation cover in AQA A-Level Politics?

8 subtopics: democracy, legitimacy and direct democracy, direct and representative democracy compared, the reform acts of 1832 to 1884 and the chartists, suffragists and suffragettes, who can vote today, and votes at 16, forms of political participation, turnout, apathy and proposals for reform and partisan and class dealignment. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Democracy and Participation organised?

By the AQA 7152 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.