PoliticsQ&A by dot point

An overview of the Higher Politics assignment: the independent research report on a chosen political question, the research and production stages, the use and evaluation of sources, the structure and the marking, and the source-handling skills assessed across the course.

Political campaign management: the strategies parties use to win elections, including the air war and ground war, the role of the media and social media, targeting and the use of data, spin and the permanent campaign, and how far campaigns influence the result.

The role and functions of political parties, the ideology and key policies of the main parties (Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and SNP), and how internal party factions and the centre ground shape what parties stand for.

Theories of voting behaviour: long-term factors such as social class, partisanship, age, region and identity, short-term factors such as the economy, issues, leaders and the media, and the debate between sociological and rational-choice explanations.

The European Union political system: the main institutions (Commission, Council, European Council, Parliament and Court of Justice), how EU law is made, the elected European Parliament, and the debate over the democratic deficit.

The political system of the People's Republic of China: the dominance of the Communist Party, the parallel party and state structures, the executive and the National People's Congress, the absence of competitive elections, and how it differs from a liberal democracy.

The Scottish political system: devolution and the division of reserved and devolved powers, the Scottish Government and First Minister, the Scottish Parliament, the Additional Member System, and how Holyrood scrutinises the government.

The UK political system: the uncodified constitution and parliamentary sovereignty, the executive (Prime Minister and Cabinet), the legislature (Commons and Lords), the FPTP electoral system, and how Parliament scrutinises the government.

The US political system: the codified constitution, separation of powers and federalism, the executive (President), the legislature (Congress), the Supreme Court, and the system of checks and balances.

The core ideas of conservatism, including tradition, pragmatism, human imperfection, order, hierarchy and property, the divide between traditional conservatism and the New Right, and the contribution of theorists such as Burke.

The meaning of democracy, the difference between direct and representative democracy, the arguments for and against each, and related concepts such as participation, consent and the mandate.

The core ideas of fascism, including anti-rationalism, struggle, leadership and the cult of the leader, ultranationalism and totalitarianism, and the difference between Italian Fascism and German Nazism.

The core ideas of liberalism, including individualism, freedom, reason, equality, tolerance and consent, the split between classical and modern liberalism, and the contribution of theorists such as Locke and Mill.

The core ideas of nationalism, including the nation, self-determination, identity and culture, and the differences between civic and ethnic nationalism and between liberal, conservative and expansionist forms.

The core concepts of power, authority and legitimacy, the different forms power can take, Max Weber's three types of authority, and why legitimacy is central to stable government.

The core ideas of socialism, including community, cooperation, equality, common ownership and class, the divide between revolutionary socialism (Marxism) and reformist social democracy, and the contribution of theorists such as Marx.