Government and Politics


Students will acquire knowledge and understanding of the structures of authority and power within the United Kingdom and how these may differ from those of other political systems around the world. Students will also learn about our individual rights within society as a whole and explore different beliefs, attitudes and perceptions in order to make judgments on a wide range of political concepts.

AS Units

Unit 1:

·      The Government and Politics of Northern Ireland

·      The Government of Northern Ireland.

·      The Northern Irish political parties.

·      The Northern Irish electoral systems.

Unit 2:

·      The British Political Process

·      The British political process.

·       The inter relationships of the Prime

·       Minister, Parliament and the Law.

·      How membership of the EU affects UK Parliament and Laws.

A2 Units

Unit 1: Comparative Government: The United Kingdom and the United States of America:

·      Constitution, Supreme Court and the legal rights of US citizens.

·      US Congress/UK Parliament.

·       President/Prime Minister.

Unit 2: Political Powers:

·      Theories of political power.

·      World regimes and how the exercise of their political powers differs from UK.