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
Nationalism
- 14 subtopics
- 42 things to know
- A2 Unit 3
What Nationalism covers
Nationalism is examined in A2 Unit 3, Political concepts and theories. It covers 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 and nationalist ideas in global politics.
The 14 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Origins of nationalist ideasRecall questions on the French Revolution and the general will, Herder on language and spirit, the addresses of 1808, 1848 and Mazzini, and the settlement of 1919.Open →
- Defining the nation and the nation stateNation state, multinational state and stateless nation.Open →
- National consciousness and the role of historyNational consciousness, invention of tradition and political use of a founding myth.Open →
- Language, culture and national symbolsLanguage revival and cultural nationalism.Open →
- National sovereignty and self-determinationNational sovereignty, national self-determination and pooled sovereignty.Open →
- Civic nationalismCivic nationalism, american civic creed and constitutional patriotism.Open →
- Ethno-cultural nationalismEthno-cultural nationalism, jus sanguinis and jus soli.Open →
- Liberal nationalismRecall questions on extending liberal reasoning from persons to peoples, the case against empires, self-determination in the 1919 peace, the League, and where the interwar years tested it.Open →
- Conservative nationalismRecall questions on why national identity is valued, the organic view behind it, its defensive character and attitude to immigration, resistance to supranational authority, and the standard criticism.Open →
- Chauvinism, xenophobia and expansionist nationalismExpansionist nationalism and integral nationalism.Open →
- Political nationalism, citizenship and the statePolitical nationalism, citizenship ceremony and citizenship test intended to achieve.Open →
- Separatism, secession and anti-colonial nationalismRecall questions on what produces a separatist movement, the referendums in Quebec, Scotland, Catalonia and South Sudan, Gandhi and Garvey, and why conflict often follows independence.Open →
- Nationalism and Welsh political parties and movementsParty's earliest priorities and tryweryn controversy.Open →
- Nationalist ideas in global politicsRecall questions on the nineteenth-century unifications, the fall of the multinational empires, decolonisation and pan-Africanism, the breakups of 1991, and whether nationalism builds or destroys.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
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How does the debate between civic and cultural nationalism appear in Wales?
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Which revolution first identified the nation with the sovereign people?
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Define national consciousness.
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Why do nationalists treat language as central to nationhood?
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Define national sovereignty.
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Define civic nationalism.
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Define ethno-cultural nationalism.
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Define liberal nationalism.
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How does the organic view of society support conservative nationalism?
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Define chauvinism.
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Define political nationalism.
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Define separatism.
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Which two European states were created by nineteenth-century unification movements?
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In which 1762 work did Rousseau set out the idea of popular sovereignty?
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Define a state.
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How is national consciousness distinguished from nationalism?
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What is language revival?
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Distinguish internal from external sovereignty.
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Who can belong to a nation on the civic view?
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Which thinker's ideas about a people's spirit support ethno-cultural nationalism?
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Why do liberal nationalists support the break-up of empires?
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Which nineteenth-century Conservative leader tied national feeling to social reform?
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Define xenophobia.
Evaluation
Give one criticism of citizenship tests.
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Distinguish secession from devolution.
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What were Plaid Cymru's earliest priorities?
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Which figures are associated with the achievement of Italian unification?
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What was the levée en masse of 1793?
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What is a nation state?
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How does a shared history create collective identity?
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Give an example of a successful modern language revival.
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Define national self-determination.
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Which revolution supplied the model for civic nationalism?
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Define jus sanguinis.
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What relationship did liberal nationalists expect between free nations?
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How did nationalism serve conservative purposes in the nineteenth century?
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Define expansionist nationalism.
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How do nationalists use citizenship to define who belongs to the nation?
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What conditions typically produce a separatist movement?
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What happened at Penyberth in 1936?
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How did Bismarck use nationalism in the German case?
Take Nationalism further
The same content, four other ways.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Which revolution first identified the nation with the sovereign people?
Model answer
The French Revolution of 1789, which transferred sovereignty from the monarch to the nation and made citizens of subjects.
- 2
How did Rousseau's idea of the general will feed into nationalism?
Model answer
By locating legitimate authority in the collective will of a people rather than in a ruler, it made the people the unit that ought to govern itself.
- 3
In which 1762 work did Rousseau set out that idea?
Model answer
The Social Contract.
- 4
What was the levée en masse of 1793?
Model answer
The mass conscription of French citizens to defend the revolution, which tied military service to national belonging rather than to a monarch's service.
- 5
How did the Napoleonic wars spread national feeling across Europe?
Model answer
French occupation provoked resistance movements that defined themselves as nations, particularly in the German and Italian lands.
- 6
Which German thinker argued that each people has its own distinctive spirit?
Model answer
Johann Gottfried Herder, who held that every people expresses a Volksgeist through its language, songs and customs.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Nationalism revision questions
- What does Nationalism cover in WJEC A-Level Government and Politics?
- 14 subtopics: 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 and nationalist ideas in global politics. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Nationalism organised?
- By the WJEC 603-1979-3 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Nationalism, 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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