What makes these places different from one another?

Aleppo, Syria Copenhagen, Denmark

Learning objectives

Explain why politics and political engagement mattersExplore a proven route through the course Engage with a major issue in current affairs

Why does Politics make the difference?

"Politics presupposes a collective agreement about the use of force . . . Violence can be used as a tool to draw prepare into ongoing relationships of authority and obedience. That is control through violence ... But the other side of politics is control of violence. Politics allows people to reach agreement about how to deal with violence, about who should have access to it and the circumstances under which it should be used.”

Prof. David Runciman

Key questions

• Who does politics most affect? • Who engages most with politics? • Who has most political power? • Who has least political power? • Cui bono?

2014-15 will be a landmark year in British Political History

• Referendum on Scottish Independence – September 18, 2015

• UK General Election – May 15, 2015

Course outline

Unit 1: People, politics and participation

Unit 2: Governing Modern Britain

Course outline

Unit 2: Governing Modern Britain• The British Constitution• How Parliament works• Policy-making & the Executive• Devolved Government• Relations with the EU

What are the challenges?

1) Things change . . . all the time

2) All of the topics are inter-connected

3) The most rewarding parts of the course are

not necessarily the most rewarded

What are we really studying?

G&P involves the study of three distinct but inter-related topics:

• Political theory• Political science• Current affairs

Independent research

• In pairs, prepare a short biography of the political figure you have drawn.

• Each biography should be at least 500 words long.

• Biographies should focus on their political careers (rather than their personal lives) and should include details of any significant political policy or position they support or have supported.

1 David Cameron

2 Nick Clegg

3 Ed Miliband

4 Nigel Farage

5 Gordon Brown

6 Tony Blair

7 John Major

8 Margaret Thatcher

Should Scotland be Independent?

• Watch this except from the Question Time special on Scottish Independence, broadcast on July 10th.

• As you watch, try to identify (a) the points of political principle at issue; (b) the implications for government; and (c) any other areas of current affairs that affect or are affected by Scottish Independence.

Why does this matter to us?

What are we doing?

Read through your article

• Try to highlight the issues of political principle – What’s at stake?

• Try to highlight the issues of government – How will it work?

What is politics?

Politics is fundamentally about three things:

• Power • Justice• Legitimacy

What is democracy?

STUDENT RESOURCES

Political principles (Political Theory)

Political principles are the value judgments that underpin how we behave politically. In the social sciences, we call this normative theory. Political principles arise from our sense of justice. Political theory deals with questions such as: What makes a government legitimate? Should there be limits to freedom of speech? How do we balance the rights of the individual against the security of the community? Political theories and principles are often associated with specific political parties or specific political thinkers.

Government (Political Science)

Political science is concerned with the machinery of government. Political science deals with question such as: How do voting systems work? What are the responsibilities of the Prime Minister? What are the limits to judicial independence? These questions are often approached by comparing political systems. Political science is less concerned with suggesting how politics should be and more concerned with describing how politics actually is. In social sciences, we call this positive theory.

Current affairs

Current affairs are the major news stories of the day. These will typically provide evidence with which to substantiate arguments about either political principles or the mechanics of government.

• Scottish Independence• Terrorism/Project Prism • Rotherham • Election 2015

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