Government and Politics

Course summary

Government & Politics is about understanding how the world is governed. Students will investigate in detail how people and politics interact. They will explore the emergence and development of the UK’s democratic system and the similarities, differences, connections and parallels between direct and indirect democracy. They will focus on the role and scope of political parties that are so central to contemporary politics, including the significance of the manifestos they publish at election time and their relevance to the mandate of the resulting government. Students will also learn about core political ideas and how they apply in practice to human nature, the state, society and the economy as well as the divisions within each idea and their key thinkers. Additionally students will study the different approaches to global politics, learning how the UN and other international government organisations operate. This will include discussion of important issues such as terrorism, nuclear weapons and the changing nature of war.