Key term
WJEC A-Level Government and Politics 603-1979-3
The British Constitution
Topic overviewThe nature of the constitution: uncodified, unitary and flexibleStatute law as a source of the constitutionCommon law and works of constitutional authorityConstitutional conventionsParliamentary sovereigntyThe rule of lawParliamentary government and constitutional monarchyConstitutional reform since 1997The debate on a codified constitutionThe UK, the European Union and BrexitThe UK, NATO and the United Nations
The Judiciary and the Supreme Court
Topic overviewThe constitutional role of the Supreme CourtThe Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and the creation of the CourtThe Supreme Court as the highest court of appealThe separation of powers in the UKJudicial independenceJudicial neutrality and the appointment of judgesJudicial review and the doctrine of ultra viresSupreme Court rulings on constitutional mattersA separate legal jurisdiction for Wales
The UK Executive
Topic overviewThe core executiveThe roles of the Prime MinisterThe powers and resources of the Prime MinisterThe royal prerogativeThe composition of the CabinetThe roles and functions of the CabinetCollective ministerial responsibilityIndividual ministerial responsibilityPrime ministerial government and its limitsThe civil service
Parliament and the Accountability of Government
Topic overviewThe composition of the House of CommonsThe House of Lords: composition and powersThe functions of ParliamentThe legislative processPrivate members' bills and delegated legislationSelect committeesQuestions, debates and confidence in the governmentBackbench MPs and peersThe role of the OppositionParliamentary privilegeParliamentary sovereignty in practiceExecutive dominance and where power lies
Government and the Senedd in Wales
Topic overviewThe First Minister of WalesThe Welsh Government and its CabinetCollective and individual ministerial responsibility in WalesThe powers and resources of the Welsh GovernmentThe origins and structure of the SeneddThe composition and election of the SeneddThe legislative competence of the SeneddThe legislative process in the SeneddPlenary and the business of the SeneddSenedd committeesMembers of the Senedd and the OppositionDebates over the effectiveness of the Senedd
Devolution and the United Kingdom
Topic overviewThe nature and forms of devolutionThe origins of devolution in the UKThe Scottish Parliament and Scottish GovernmentThe Northern Ireland Assembly and ExecutiveDevolution in EnglandAsymmetry in the devolution settlementThe West Lothian question and English votes for English lawsFunding devolution and the Barnett formulaDevolution, sovereignty and the unionDebates over the future of the union
Citizenship and Rights
Topic overviewThe meaning of citizenshipGlobal citizenshipFreedom, equality and active citizenshipThe rule of law and protection under the lawThe rights of minoritiesPositive discrimination and positive actionThe sources of rights in the UKEquality legislation on race and genderFreedom of expression, association and religionPrivacy, liberty and the right to a fair trialConflicts between rightsDebates over a British Bill of Rights
The Protection of Human Rights
Topic overviewThe courts and the protection of rightsJudicial review: grounds and remediesJudicial review in practiceThe Universal Declaration of Human RightsThe European Convention on Human RightsThe European Court of Human RightsThe Human Rights Act 1998The Human Rights Act in the courtsEnforcing equality lawOmbudsmen and commissionersPressure and campaigning for rightsDebates over the protection of rights in the UK
Democracy and Participation
Electoral Systems in the UK
Topic overviewThe functions of elections and the language of electoral systemsFirst Past the Post: how it worksFirst Past the Post: advantages and criticismsThe Additional Member System and Senedd electionsThe Single Transferable VoteParty list systemsThe supplementary vote and the alternative voteProportionality, fairness and effects on party systemsCoalition and minority governmentKey elections in WalesReferendums in Wales and the UK
Voting Behaviour in the UK
Topic overviewThe sociological model and social classParty identification and partisan dealignmentThe rational choice modelThe valence model and governing competenceAge, gender, ethnicity and educationRegion, nation and voting in WalesElection campaigns and party leadersThe media and voting behaviourTurnout, tactical voting and volatility
Political Parties in Wales and the UK
Topic overviewThe functions of political partiesThe Labour Party: origins and ideologyThe Conservative Party: origins and ideologyThe Liberal Democrats and the centre groundPlaid Cymru and the Welsh party systemSmaller and minor partiesParty organisation and the role of membersLeadership selection in the main partiesCandidate selection and representationManifestos, platforms and the mandateParty funding, cash for influence and reform
Pressure Groups and Social Movements
Topic overviewPressure groups and how they differ from partiesSectional and promotional groupsInsider and outsider groupsAccess points in Wales and the UKLobbying and direct contact with decision-makersDirect action and public campaigningUsing the media and new technologiesFactors in pressure group successPressure groups and the health of democracySocial movements: nature, membership and methodsThe women's movement and the environmental movement
Liberalism
Topic overviewOrigins of liberal ideasHuman nature, reason and progressIndividualism, liberty and natural rightsToleration, pluralism and justiceThe social contract and the liberal stateConstitutionalism, the rule of law and liberal democracyNegative and positive freedomClassical liberalism and laissez-faire economicsModern liberalism and the enabling stateThe New Right and libertarian views of the marketEquality of opportunity and equality of outcomeLiberalism and Welsh political parties and movementsLiberal ideas in global politics
Conservatism
Topic overviewOrigins of conservative ideasHuman imperfection, pragmatism and traditionOrganic society, hierarchy and natural inequalityAuthority, order and propertyTraditional and one-nation conservatismAuthoritarian conservatismMoral conservatism, the family and the churchThe New Right: neo-liberalism and neo-conservatismConservative debates on immigration and integrationConservative debates on minority rights and welfareEconomic conservatism, the market and state interventionConservatism and Welsh political parties and movementsConservative ideas in global politics
Socialism and Communism
Topic overviewOrigins of socialist ideasHuman nature, community and cooperationClass, class conflict and the proletariatEquality and social justiceMarxism and historical materialismCommunism in theory and in practiceRevolutionary and parliamentary roads to socialismSocial democracy, revisionism and the Third WayDemocratic socialism and ethical socialismSocialist views of capitalismPublic ownership and the means of productionCollectivism and the redistribution of wealthSocialism and the Welsh labour movementSocialist ideas in global politics
Nationalism
Topic overviewOrigins of nationalist ideasDefining the nation and the nation stateNational consciousness and the role of historyLanguage, culture and national symbolsNational sovereignty and self-determinationCivic nationalismEthno-cultural nationalismLiberal nationalismConservative nationalismChauvinism, xenophobia and expansionist nationalismPolitical nationalism, citizenship and the stateSeparatism, secession and anti-colonial nationalismNationalism and Welsh political parties and movementsNationalist ideas in global politics
The US Constitution and Federalism
Topic overviewThe Declaration of Independence and the founding principlesWriting the Constitution and its compromisesSeparation of powers and checks and balancesThe amendment processEnumerated, implied and reserved powersTheories of federalismThe changing balance of federal and state powerFiscal federalism and federal grantsFederalism before the Supreme CourtDebates about the Constitution
Rights and Liberties in the USA
Topic overviewThe Bill of Rights: origins and importanceThe First Amendment: speech, press and assemblyThe First Amendment: religionThe Second Amendment and gun ownershipRights of the accused and due processThe death penalty and the Eighth AmendmentPrivacy and the ConstitutionThe Fourteenth Amendment and incorporationCivil rights and the struggle for racial equalityAffirmative action and contemporary equality debates
The US Congress
The US Presidency
Topic overviewThe constitutional office of PresidentThe powers of the PresidentThe President as chief executiveThe President and legislationThe President, foreign policy and the armed forcesExecutive orders and unilateral actionThe CabinetThe Executive Office of the PresidentConstraints on presidential powerThe imperial presidency debate
The US Supreme Court
Topic overviewThe constitutional role of the Supreme CourtJudicial review and Marbury v MadisonJurisdiction and how a case reaches the CourtNomination and appointment of justicesTenure and proposals for reformJudicial activism and judicial restraintOriginalism and the living ConstitutionPrecedent and legal reasoningThe Court and the protection of rightsThe political significance of the Court and its composition
US Elections and Voting Behaviour
Topic overviewThe invisible primaryPrimaries and caucusesThe national nominating conventionsThe ticket and the general election campaignThe electoral collegeCongressional and midterm electionsMoney in US electionsPACs, super-PACs and campaign finance lawThe media and social media in campaignsLong-term determinants of voting behaviourShort-term factors, swing states and independents
Political Parties in the USA
Topic overviewThe American political spectrumThe Democratic partyThe Republican partyFactions in the Republican partyFactions in the Democratic partyParty organisation and candidate-centred campaignsWhy two parties dominateThird parties and independent candidatesRealignment, decline and polarisation
Conservatism
- 13 subtopics
- 39 things to know
- A2 Unit 3
What Conservatism covers
Conservatism is examined in A2 Unit 3, Political concepts and theories. It covers 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 and conservative ideas in global politics.
The 13 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Origins of conservative ideasRecall questions on Burke's answer to the French Revolution, the little platoons and the generations, Hobbes on sovereignty, one-nation ideas, and conservatism as a disposition.Open →
- Human imperfection, pragmatism and traditionHuman imperfection in conservative thought, three kinds of imperfection conservatives identify and pragmatism in politics.Open →
- Organic society, hierarchy and natural inequalityOrganic society, hierarchy as conservatives use the term and natural inequality.Open →
- Authority, order and propertyAuthority from above and law and order tradition in conservatism.Open →
- Traditional and one-nation conservatismOne-nation conservatism, post-war consensus in British politics and conservative pragmatism in economic management.Open →
- Authoritarian conservatismAuthoritarian conservatism and basis of monarchical absolutism.Open →
- Moral conservatism, the family and the churchMoral conservatism, permissive society, in conservative usage and conservative concern with civil society.Open →
- The New Right: neo-liberalism and neo-conservatismNew Right and two component strands.Open →
- Conservative debates on immigration and integrationCase made by conservatives who favour tighter control, case made by conservatives who favour a more open policy and liberal criticism of conservative integration policy.Open →
- Conservative debates on minority rights and welfareDependency culture argument and safety net conception of welfare.Open →
- Economic conservatism, the market and state interventionRecall questions on why conservatism is not committed to laissez-faire, the postwar mixed economy, monetarism, privatisation and deregulation, and the paternalist reservation.Open →
- Conservatism and Welsh political parties and movementsRecall questions on the party's nineteenth-century base and its decline, the devolution referendum and the response to it, Welsh-language policy, and the effect of the coalfield's closure.Open →
- Conservative ideas in global politicsChristian Democracy and social market economy.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
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What is economic conservatism?
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Which event provoked the first systematic statement of conservative principles?
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What is meant by human imperfection in conservative thought?
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What is an organic society?
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How do conservatives define authority?
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Which Disraeli novel of 1845 gave one-nation conservatism its name?
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Define authoritarian conservatism.
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What is the New Right?
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Why does immigration divide conservative opinion?
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Why do minority rights divide conservative opinion?
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Which social groups supported Conservatism in nineteenth-century Wales?
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Which two governments of the 1980s are most associated with the New Right in office?
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Name the 1790 work in which Edmund Burke set out his objections to the French Revolution
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Name the three kinds of imperfection conservatives identify.
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How does the organic view differ from the liberal view of society?
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What is meant by authority from above?
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Name two social measures passed under Disraeli's government of 1874 to 1880.
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Which French counter-revolutionary defended throne and altar against the Revolution?
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What is moral conservatism?
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What does neo-liberalism prescribe?
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How does the organic view of society shape the conservative approach to newcomers?
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Which 1967 Act partially decriminalised homosexual acts in England and Wales?
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How did conservatives justify the mixed economy after 1945?
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Why did Conservatism weaken in Wales during the later nineteenth century?
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What did Reaganomics involve?
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Why did Burke object to remaking a society from first principles?
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How does moral imperfection justify law and order policies?
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Why does the organic view counsel caution about reform?
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Why is order placed before liberty in conservative thought?
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What was the post-war consensus in British politics?
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What was the basis of monarchical absolutism?
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What is meant by the permissive society, in conservative usage?
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What does neo-conservatism prescribe?
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Define integration.
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Which 2004 Act created civil partnerships in the United Kingdom?
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What changed conservative economic thinking in the 1970s?
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What was the Conservative position on Welsh devolution at the 1997 referendum?
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What is Christian Democracy?
Take Conservatism further
The same content, four other ways.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Which event provoked the first systematic statement of conservative principles?
Model answer
The French Revolution of 1789, whose attempt to rebuild society on abstract principles alarmed defenders of established institutions.
- 2
Name the 1790 work in which Edmund Burke set out his objections to that revolution.
Model answer
Reflections on the Revolution in France.
- 3
Why did Burke object to remaking a society from first principles?
Model answer
He held that inherited institutions carry the accumulated practical wisdom of many generations, which no individual reasoner can reproduce from scratch.
- 4
How did Burke describe the relationship between the generations?
Model answer
As a partnership between those living, those who have died and those yet to be born, so the present generation holds society in trust rather than owning it.
- 5
What did Burke mean by the little platoons?
Model answer
The small local attachments of family, parish and neighbourhood, through which people first learn loyalty to the wider society.
- 6
Why did Burke accept the English settlement of 1688 but reject the French Revolution?
Model answer
He saw 1688 as restoring existing rights and institutions, whereas the French revolutionaries were destroying them and starting again.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Conservatism revision questions
- What does Conservatism cover in WJEC A-Level Government and Politics?
- 13 subtopics: 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 and conservative ideas in global politics. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Conservatism organised?
- By the WJEC 603-1979-3 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Conservatism, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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