How is power distributed in society, what shapes voting and political participation, and how do social movements and the state exercise and challenge power?
Politics (Component 3, Section B option): defining power, authority and the state; theories of the distribution of power (pluralism, Marxism, elite theory, feminism); voting behaviour and the social bases of party support; political participation, parties, pressure groups and new social movements; and ideology and power.
The WJEC A-Level Sociology Component 3 option on politics: defining power, authority and the state, pluralist, Marxist, elite and feminist theories of the distribution of power, voting behaviour and the social bases of party support, political participation through parties, pressure groups and new social movements, and the relationship between ideology and power.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this dot point is asking
Politics is one of the four options in Component 3, Section B. You need to define power, authority and the state, command the theories of how power is distributed (pluralism, Marxism, elite theory, feminism), explain voting behaviour and the social bases of party support, analyse political participation (parties, pressure groups, new social movements), and understand the link between ideology and power.
The answer
Power, authority and the state
Theories of the distribution of power
Voting behaviour
Explanations of how people vote have shifted:
- Social bases (alignment) - class, region, ethnicity and age shaped a stable vote (class and partisan alignment).
- Dealignment - class and partisan dealignment describe the weakening of these ties.
- Short-term and rational factors - issue voting, party image, the media and rational choice increasingly influence the vote.
Political participation and social movements
Participation takes many forms. Political parties seek to win power; pressure groups seek to influence policy on particular issues; new social movements (around the environment, gender, identity) mobilise outside conventional politics and challenge established power. Levels and forms of participation are unequal across social groups.
Ideology and power
Examples in context
Dispersed or concentrated power? The pluralist points to free elections, a free press and thousands of pressure groups as evidence that power is shared: any group can organise and influence policy, and the state referees between them. The Marxist replies that this is surface appearance: real power lies with those who own the economy, and the state ultimately serves capitalism, so elections change governments but not the underlying distribution of power. The elite theorist agrees power is concentrated but argues a ruling elite is inevitable in any society. A top essay uses this three-way contrast as its spine, weighs the evidence on unequal participation and influence, and judges that pluralism captures genuine competition while conflict and elite theories better explain the concentration of power.
Try this
Q1. Distinguish between power and authority. [4 marks]
- Cue. Power is the ability to get others to do what you want; authority is power that is seen as legitimate, as in Weber's three types.
Q2. Explain what sociologists mean by class dealignment. [6 marks]
- What the marker wants. The weakening of the link between social class and voting, so class no longer reliably predicts party support, with issue and media factors rising.
Q3. Evaluate the Marxist view of the distribution of power. [16 marks]
- What the marker wants. The Marxist claim that a ruling class holds real power and the state serves capitalism, weighed against pluralism and elite theory, with a supported judgement.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
WJEC specimen (30)Evaluate the pluralist view of the distribution of power in society. [30 marks]Show worked answer →
A high-tariff essay, so set out the pluralist account and test it against rival theories before judging.
Explain pluralism: power is widely dispersed among competing groups, no single group dominates, the state acts as a neutral referee, and pressure groups and elections give citizens influence, so power is shared.
Evaluate with Marxism, which argues a ruling class holds real economic and political power and the state serves capitalism; with elite theory, which argues a small elite always rules regardless of democracy; and with feminism, which argues power is patriarchal and politics is male-dominated. Note evidence of unequal political participation and influence.
Conclude with a judgement: pluralism captures genuine competition and participation, but conflict and elite theories better explain the concentration of power and the unequal influence of different groups.
WJEC specimen16 marksEvaluate sociological explanations of voting behaviour.Show worked answer →
An evaluation question, so weigh the main explanations of how people vote and judge.
Explain the explanations: long-term social bases such as class, region, ethnicity and age (class and partisan alignment); the idea of partisan and class dealignment, where these ties have weakened; and shorter-term factors such as issues, party image, the media and rational choice.
Evaluate which best fits modern voting, noting that dealignment and the rise of issue voting and media influence suggest social position alone no longer determines the vote, though it still shapes it.
Conclude with a judgement that social bases still matter but interact with short-term and rational factors, so no single explanation is sufficient.
Related dot points
- The main sociological perspectives applied across all components: functionalism (consensus, value consensus), Marxism (class conflict, ideology), feminism (patriarchy, its strands), interactionism (meanings, labelling), postmodernism (diversity, choice) and the New Right; structure versus action and consensus versus conflict.
The core sociological perspectives required across every component of WJEC A-Level Sociology: functionalism and value consensus, Marxism and class conflict, feminism and its strands (liberal, Marxist, radical), interactionism and labelling, postmodernism and the New Right, plus the underlying structure versus action and consensus versus conflict debates.
- Social differentiation and stratification (Component 3, Section A): systems of stratification; dimensions of inequality (social class, gender, ethnicity and age); theories of stratification (functionalist, Marxist, Weberian and feminist); social mobility and life chances; and the changing class structure.
The compulsory Section A content of WJEC A-Level Sociology Component 3: systems of stratification, inequality by social class, gender, ethnicity and age, functionalist, Marxist, Weberian and feminist theories of stratification, social mobility and life chances, and debates about the changing class structure.
- Crime and deviance (Component 3, Section B option): defining crime and deviance; theories of crime (functionalist and strain, subcultural, Marxist, interactionist and labelling, realist, feminist); the social distribution of crime by class, gender, ethnicity and age; the problems of measuring crime; and crime control, punishment and social order.
The WJEC A-Level Sociology Component 3 option on crime and deviance: defining crime and deviance, functionalist, strain, subcultural, Marxist, interactionist, realist and feminist theories of crime, the patterning of crime by social class, gender, ethnicity and age, the problems of measuring crime, and crime control, punishment and the maintenance of social order.
- Health and disability (Component 3, Section B option): the social construction of health, illness and disability; the biomedical and social models; inequalities in health and life expectancy by class, gender, ethnicity and region; the medical and social models of disability; the power of the medical profession; and sociological perspectives on health.
The WJEC A-Level Sociology Component 3 option on health and disability: the social construction of health, illness and disability, the biomedical and social models, inequalities in health and life expectancy by class, gender, ethnicity and region, the medical and social models of disability, the power of the medical profession, and functionalist, Marxist, feminist and interactionist perspectives.
- World sociology (Component 3, Section B option): defining development and global inequality; theories of development (modernisation, dependency, world-systems, neoliberal); the role of aid, trade, transnational corporations and global institutions; globalisation and its consequences; and gender, the environment and development.
The WJEC A-Level Sociology Component 3 option on world sociology: defining development and global inequality, modernisation, dependency, world-systems and neoliberal theories of development, the role of aid, trade, transnational corporations and global institutions, the causes and consequences of globalisation, and the place of gender and the environment in development.
- Mass media (Component 1, Section C option): ownership and control of the media; the selection and presentation of news (agenda setting, gatekeeping, moral panics); representations of class, gender, ethnicity and age; media effects and models of the audience; new media and the digital age; and perspectives on the media.
The WJEC A-Level Sociology Component 1 option on the mass media: ownership and control, the social construction of the news through agenda setting, gatekeeping and moral panics, representations of class, gender, ethnicity and age, models of media effects and the audience, the rise of new and digital media, and pluralist, Marxist, feminist and postmodernist perspectives.
Sources & how we know this
- WJEC GCE AS and A Level in Sociology specification — WJEC (2015)