Citizenship is full legal membership of a state, carrying a settled set of rights against that state and duties owed to it.

Give three ways a person can acquire British citizenship.

A person can acquire it by birth in the UK to a parent who is a citizen or settled here, by descent from a British parent, or by naturalisation after a qualifying period of residence.

Name three requirements an adult must satisfy to be naturalised as a British citizen.

The applicant must complete a qualifying period of lawful residence, satisfy a good character requirement, and demonstrate knowledge of language and of life in the UK.

What happens at a citizenship ceremony?

The new citizen swears or affirms allegiance to the monarch and pledges loyalty to the United Kingdom and respect for its rights, freedoms and laws.

WJEC A-Level Government and Politics 603-1979-3

The British Constitution

Topic overview The nature of the constitution: uncodified, unitary and flexible Statute law as a source of the constitution Common law and works of constitutional authority Constitutional conventions Parliamentary sovereignty The rule of law Parliamentary government and constitutional monarchy Constitutional reform since 1997 The debate on a codified constitution The UK, the European Union and Brexit The UK, NATO and the United Nations

The Judiciary and the Supreme Court

Topic overview The constitutional role of the Supreme Court The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and the creation of the Court The Supreme Court as the highest court of appeal The separation of powers in the UK Judicial independence Judicial neutrality and the appointment of judges Judicial review and the doctrine of ultra vires Supreme Court rulings on constitutional matters A separate legal jurisdiction for Wales

The UK Executive

Topic overview The core executive The roles of the Prime Minister The powers and resources of the Prime Minister The royal prerogative The composition of the Cabinet The roles and functions of the Cabinet Collective ministerial responsibility Individual ministerial responsibility Prime ministerial government and its limits The civil service

Parliament and the Accountability of Government

Topic overview The composition of the House of Commons The House of Lords: composition and powers The functions of Parliament The legislative process Private members' bills and delegated legislation Select committees Questions, debates and confidence in the government Backbench MPs and peers The role of the Opposition Parliamentary privilege Parliamentary sovereignty in practice Executive dominance and where power lies

Government and the Senedd in Wales

Topic overview The First Minister of Wales The Welsh Government and its Cabinet Collective and individual ministerial responsibility in Wales The powers and resources of the Welsh Government The origins and structure of the Senedd The composition and election of the Senedd The legislative competence of the Senedd The legislative process in the Senedd Plenary and the business of the Senedd Senedd committees Members of the Senedd and the Opposition Debates over the effectiveness of the Senedd

Devolution and the United Kingdom

Topic overview The nature and forms of devolution The origins of devolution in the UK The Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government The Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive Devolution in England Asymmetry in the devolution settlement The West Lothian question and English votes for English laws Funding devolution and the Barnett formula Devolution, sovereignty and the union Debates over the future of the union

Citizenship and Rights

Topic overview The meaning of citizenship Global citizenship Freedom, equality and active citizenship The rule of law and protection under the law The rights of minorities Positive discrimination and positive action The sources of rights in the UK Equality legislation on race and gender Freedom of expression, association and religion Privacy, liberty and the right to a fair trial Conflicts between rights Debates over a British Bill of Rights

The Protection of Human Rights

Topic overview The courts and the protection of rights Judicial review: grounds and remedies Judicial review in practice The Universal Declaration of Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights The Human Rights Act 1998 The Human Rights Act in the courts Enforcing equality law Ombudsmen and commissioners Pressure and campaigning for rights Debates over the protection of rights in the UK

Democracy and Participation

Topic overview Direct democracy Representative democracy Comparing direct and representative democracy Turnout in Wales and the UK Apathy, abstention and the participation crisis Legitimacy and the mandate Pluralism and elitism Who participates and why Widening participation and franchise reform

Electoral Systems in the UK

Topic overview The functions of elections and the language of electoral systems First Past the Post: how it works First Past the Post: advantages and criticisms The Additional Member System and Senedd elections The Single Transferable Vote Party list systems The supplementary vote and the alternative vote Proportionality, fairness and effects on party systems Coalition and minority government Key elections in Wales Referendums in Wales and the UK

Voting Behaviour in the UK

Topic overview The sociological model and social class Party identification and partisan dealignment The rational choice model The valence model and governing competence Age, gender, ethnicity and education Region, nation and voting in Wales Election campaigns and party leaders The media and voting behaviour Turnout, tactical voting and volatility

Political Parties in Wales and the UK

Topic overview The functions of political parties The Labour Party: origins and ideology The Conservative Party: origins and ideology The Liberal Democrats and the centre ground Plaid Cymru and the Welsh party system Smaller and minor parties Party organisation and the role of members Leadership selection in the main parties Candidate selection and representation Manifestos, platforms and the mandate Party funding, cash for influence and reform

Pressure Groups and Social Movements

Topic overview Pressure groups and how they differ from parties Sectional and promotional groups Insider and outsider groups Access points in Wales and the UK Lobbying and direct contact with decision-makers Direct action and public campaigning Using the media and new technologies Factors in pressure group success Pressure groups and the health of democracy Social movements: nature, membership and methods The women's movement and the environmental movement

Liberalism

Topic overview Origins of liberal ideas Human nature, reason and progress Individualism, liberty and natural rights Toleration, pluralism and justice The social contract and the liberal state Constitutionalism, the rule of law and liberal democracy Negative and positive freedom Classical liberalism and laissez-faire economics Modern liberalism and the enabling state The New Right and libertarian views of the market Equality of opportunity and equality of outcome Liberalism and Welsh political parties and movements Liberal ideas in global politics

Conservatism

Topic overview Origins of conservative ideas Human imperfection, pragmatism and tradition Organic society, hierarchy and natural inequality Authority, order and property Traditional and one-nation conservatism Authoritarian conservatism Moral conservatism, the family and the church The New Right: neo-liberalism and neo-conservatism Conservative debates on immigration and integration Conservative debates on minority rights and welfare Economic conservatism, the market and state intervention Conservatism and Welsh political parties and movements Conservative ideas in global politics

Socialism and Communism

Topic overview Origins of socialist ideas Human nature, community and cooperation Class, class conflict and the proletariat Equality and social justice Marxism and historical materialism Communism in theory and in practice Revolutionary and parliamentary roads to socialism Social democracy, revisionism and the Third Way Democratic socialism and ethical socialism Socialist views of capitalism Public ownership and the means of production Collectivism and the redistribution of wealth Socialism and the Welsh labour movement Socialist ideas in global politics

Nationalism

Topic overview Origins of nationalist ideas Defining the nation and the nation state National consciousness and the role of history Language, culture and national symbols National sovereignty and self-determination Civic nationalism Ethno-cultural nationalism Liberal nationalism Conservative nationalism Chauvinism, xenophobia and expansionist nationalism Political nationalism, citizenship and the state Separatism, secession and anti-colonial nationalism Nationalism and Welsh political parties and movements Nationalist ideas in global politics

The US Constitution and Federalism

Topic overview The Declaration of Independence and the founding principles Writing the Constitution and its compromises Separation of powers and checks and balances The amendment process Enumerated, implied and reserved powers Theories of federalism The changing balance of federal and state power Fiscal federalism and federal grants Federalism before the Supreme Court Debates about the Constitution

Rights and Liberties in the USA

Topic overview The Bill of Rights: origins and importance The First Amendment: speech, press and assembly The First Amendment: religion The Second Amendment and gun ownership Rights of the accused and due process The death penalty and the Eighth Amendment Privacy and the Constitution The Fourteenth Amendment and incorporation Civil rights and the struggle for racial equality Affirmative action and contemporary equality debates

The US Congress

Topic overview The constitutional basis of Congress The House of Representatives The Senate Congressional leadership The committee system How a bill becomes law The filibuster and Senate procedure Parties, partisanship and gridlock Congress and the executive Representation and the member's role

The US Presidency

Topic overview The constitutional office of President The powers of the President The President as chief executive The President and legislation The President, foreign policy and the armed forces Executive orders and unilateral action The Cabinet The Executive Office of the President Constraints on presidential power The imperial presidency debate

The US Supreme Court

Topic overview The constitutional role of the Supreme Court Judicial review and Marbury v Madison Jurisdiction and how a case reaches the Court Nomination and appointment of justices Tenure and proposals for reform Judicial activism and judicial restraint Originalism and the living Constitution Precedent and legal reasoning The Court and the protection of rights The political significance of the Court and its composition

US Elections and Voting Behaviour

Topic overview The invisible primary Primaries and caucuses The national nominating conventions The ticket and the general election campaign The electoral college Congressional and midterm elections Money in US elections PACs, super-PACs and campaign finance law The media and social media in campaigns Long-term determinants of voting behaviour Short-term factors, swing states and independents

Political Parties in the USA

Topic overview The American political spectrum The Democratic party The Republican party Factions in the Republican party Factions in the Democratic party Party organisation and candidate-centred campaigns Why two parties dominate Third parties and independent candidates Realignment, decline and polarisation

Citizenship and Rights

12 subtopics
36 things to know
AS Unit 2

What Citizenship and Rights covers

Citizenship and Rights is examined in AS Unit 2, Living and participating in a democracy — citizenship and rights. It covers the meaning of citizenship, global citizenship, freedom, equality and active citizenship, the rule of law and protection under the law, the rights of minorities, positive discrimination and positive action, the sources of rights in the UK, equality legislation on race and gender, freedom of expression, association and religion, privacy, liberty and the right to a fair trial, conflicts between rights and debates over a British Bill of Rights.

Where it is assessed

AS Unit 2

Living and participating in a democracy.

Check the WJEC specification ↗

The 12 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

Distinguish the competing conceptions of equality a democracy has to choose between.

Key term

Explain the tension between liberty and equality as political values.

Key term

Define citizenship.

Key term

Define global citizenship.

Key term

Give three qualities a law must have if the rule of law is to be satisfied.

Key term

Why is majority rule alone an insufficient basis for rights?

Key term

Define positive discrimination.

Key term

Which 1215 document is traditionally cited as the origin of English liberties?

Key term

What did the Equal Pay Act 1970 require?

Key term

Why are freedom of expression, assembly and religion classed as qualified rights?

Key term

How has the law of privacy developed since the Human Rights Act came into force?

Key term

Why do rights conflict with each other?

Key term

Why does devolution complicate the repeal of the Human Rights Act?

Key term

Distinguish citizenship from nationality.

Key term

Which 1948 document is most often cited as the foundation of global citizenship?

Key term

Which remedy protects a person against unlawful detention?

Key term

Why can a democratic majority itself be a threat to rights?

Numbers

Which statute sets out what positive action employers may lawfully take?

Key term

Why did the Convention not automatically give rights in UK courts?

Key term

What did the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 prohibit?

Key term

Why is freedom of expression treated as fundamental to democracy?

Numbers

Which statute governs the handling of personal data in the UK?

Key term

What is a super-injunction?

Key term

Why would entrenching a British Bill of Rights be constitutionally difficult?

Numbers

Which statute defines the main categories of British citizenship?

Key term

What is cosmopolitanism?

Key term

What kind of freedom is secured simply by the absence of interference?

Process

Define due process.

Key term

Explain how judicial protection of rights guards minorities.

Key term

In what narrow circumstance may an employer prefer a candidate from an under-represented group?

Who and when

What did the Human Rights Act 1998 do to the Convention?

Numbers

Which inquiry led to the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000?

Key term

What test must a claimant meet under the Defamation Act 2013?

Key term

Which official enforces data protection and freedom of information law?

Key term

Which inquiry into press standards reported in 2012?

Key term

How would a bill of rights affect the role of judges?

Take Citizenship and Rights further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

Equality of opportunity vs Equality of outcome
Equality of opportunity: everyone competes on the same terms from the same starting point. Equality of outcome: it means resources or results are levelled between people.
Direct discrimination vs Indirect discrimination
Direct discrimination: treating a person worse because of a protected characteristic. Indirect discrimination: applying an apparently neutral rule that disadvantages a whole group.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
Define citizenship.
Model answer
Citizenship is full legal membership of a state, carrying a settled set of rights against that state and duties owed to it.
2
Distinguish citizenship from nationality.
Model answer
Nationality is the formal link between a person and a state recognised in international law, while citizenship is the bundle of legal rights and duties that membership carries at home.
3
Which statute defines the main categories of British citizenship?
Model answer
The British Nationality Act 1981 defines them.
4
Give three ways a person can acquire British citizenship.
Model answer
A person can acquire it by birth in the UK to a parent who is a citizen or settled here, by descent from a British parent, or by naturalisation after a qualifying period of residence.
5
Name three requirements an adult must satisfy to be naturalised as a British citizen.
Model answer
The applicant must complete a qualifying period of lawful residence, satisfy a good character requirement, and demonstrate knowledge of language and of life in the UK.
6
What happens at a citizenship ceremony?
Model answer
The new citizen swears or affirms allegiance to the monarch and pledges loyalty to the United Kingdom and respect for its rights, freedoms and laws.

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The British Constitution

The Judiciary and the Supreme Court

The UK Executive

Parliament and the Accountability of Government

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AAccess is bought rather than earned.

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Statute law is enacted by the legislature.

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Citizenship and Rights revision questions

What does Citizenship and Rights cover in WJEC A-Level Government and Politics?: 12 subtopics: the meaning of citizenship, global citizenship, freedom, equality and active citizenship, the rule of law and protection under the law, the rights of minorities, positive discrimination and positive action, the sources of rights in the uk, equality legislation on race and gender, freedom of expression, association and religion, privacy, liberty and the right to a fair trial, conflicts between rights and debates over a british bill of rights. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is Citizenship and Rights organised?: By the WJEC 603-1979-3 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.

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