Define the term referendum.

A referendum is a vote in which the electorate is asked to settle a single question of policy or constitutional change directly.

Explain why a referendum counts as direct democracy even though a government decides when to hold one.

The question itself is settled by voters rather than by their representatives, even though the timing and the wording are set by government and Parliament.

Under the Recall of MPs Act 2015, what share of registered electors must sign a recall petition for a seat to fall vacant?

At least 10% of the registered electors in the constituency must sign, after which the seat is vacated and a by-election follows.

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

Democracy and Participation

9 subtopics
27 things to know
AS Unit 2

What Democracy and Participation covers

Democracy and Participation is examined in AS Unit 2, Living and participating in a democracy — participation through elections and voting. It covers 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 and widening participation and franchise reform.

Where it is assessed

AS Unit 2

Living and participating in a democracy.

Check the WJEC specification ↗

The 9 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Numbers

Set out how the franchise in Wales has been widened since 2020.

Numbers

Give one argument for and one argument against compulsory voting.

Key term

What is direct democracy?

Numbers

Which eighteenth-century MP set out the trustee model in an address to the electors of Bristol?

Evaluation

Give two disadvantages of direct democracy.

Key term

Define turnout.

Key term

Define legitimacy.

Key term

Which American political scientist is most associated with pluralist theory?

Key term

Which social characteristics are most strongly associated with higher participation?

Key term

Which ancient political system is usually taken as the original model of direct democracy?

Key term

What is meant by descriptive representation?

Evaluation

Give two advantages of representative democracy.

Key term

Why can a turnout figure understate the level of non-participation?

Key term

Define apathy.

Key term

Distinguish legitimacy from power.

Key term

Define polyarchy.

Key term

Explain why turnout is lower among younger voters.

Numbers

Which Act lowered the voting age to 16 for Senedd elections?

Key term

Name three devices of direct democracy in use in the UK.

Key term

Why is party usually the strongest influence on how an MP votes?

Evaluation

Give two criticisms of representative democracy.

Numbers

At which devolved Welsh election was turnout lowest, and what was it?

Key term

Define abstention.

Key term

Explain how elections confer legitimacy.

Key term

Define elitism.

Key term

What effect does education have on participation?

Key term

Which institution was renamed by the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020?

Take Democracy and Participation further

The same content, four other ways.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is direct democracy?
Model answer
Direct democracy is a system in which citizens take political decisions themselves rather than choosing others to take those decisions for them.
2
Which ancient political system is usually taken as the original model of direct democracy?
Model answer
The Athenian polis of the fifth century BC, where citizens debated and voted on policy in the Assembly, is the usual model.
3
Name three devices of direct democracy in use in the UK.
Model answer
Referendums, e-petitions to Parliament and to the Senedd, and the recall of MPs are three devices of direct democracy in use in the UK.
4
Define the term referendum.
Model answer
A referendum is a vote in which the electorate is asked to settle a single question of policy or constitutional change directly.
5
Explain why a referendum counts as direct democracy even though a government decides when to hold one.
Model answer
The question itself is settled by voters rather than by their representatives, even though the timing and the wording are set by government and Parliament.
6
Under the Recall of MPs Act 2015, what share of registered electors must sign a recall petition for a seat to fall vacant?
Model answer
At least 10% of the registered electors in the constituency must sign, after which the seat is vacated and a by-election follows.

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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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Wyn developed it.

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AAccess is bought rather than earned.

BWealthy interests are heard disproportionately.

CMuch of it happens where the public cannot see it.

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Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Statute law is enacted by the legislature.

TrueFalse

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Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

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Democracy and Participation revision questions

What does Democracy and Participation cover in WJEC A-Level Government and Politics?: 9 subtopics: 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 and widening participation and franchise reform. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is Democracy and Participation 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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