2. Welcome to a2 politics
POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES

3. Politics A2 – Core textbook
Key Resources
Politics A2 – Core textbook
It is essential that you have your own copy of the core textbook:
Andrew Heywood – Political Ideologies An Introduction (5th edition)
Additional Resources
Edexcel Revision Guides - These would be useful but are not essential.
Student’s aiming for high grades should make use of original texts by key political thinkers such as Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill and Edmund Burke.

4. Course Structure
Unit 3 – Introducing Political Ideologies (Sept – Dec)
Liberalism
Conservatism
Socialism
Anarchism
Unit 4 – Other Ideological Traditions (Jan – April)
Nationalism
Feminism
Ecologism
Multiculturalism
Revision – May/June

5. Assessment for Unit 3 and Unit 4
Each examination lasts one hour thirty minutes.
You will answer:
Three fifteen mark questions from a choice of five
One 45 mark question from a choice of three

6. 15 Mark Questions AO1 (knowledge) = 5 marks AO2 (analysis) = 7 marks
AO3 (communication) = 3 marks
Structure
Define term, 3/4 key points Focus of A2 Politics is far more on analysis. (This involves analysing arguments for and against. Evaluate strengths and weaknesses of arguments/weigh the evidence)

7. 45 Mark Questions AO1 (knowledge) = 12 marks AO2 (analysis) = 12 marks
AO2 (synoptic) = 12 marks
AO3 (communication) = 9 marks
Structure
Ensure you have detailed introduction and conclusion
You must have a clear sustained line of argument
Evaluate and discuss throughout
Synoptic Links – This involves referring to key ideologies. You need to identify competing viewpoints/perspectives, and show insight into how they affect the interpretation of political events/issues and shape conclusions.

8. Showing awareness of competing viewpoints or perspectives.
Synoptic links – 12 marks
Showing awareness of competing viewpoints or perspectives.
The synoptic skills that are assessed by the 45 mark essay questions in Units 3 and 4 are:
The ability to identify alternative viewpoints or perspectives on an issue or question
An awareness of the nature and extent of rivalry between these viewpoints
An awareness of the significance of the viewpoints for an understanding of the issue or question.

9. The importance of ideologies
Can be seen in the significance of Labour’s Leadership since September 2015
‘We don’t have to be unequal. It does not have to be unfair, poverty isn’t inevitable. Things can, and they will change’
Q) How has Corbyn’s leadership symbolised a changing shift of ideology within the party
Q) What impact has this change had on policy ideas?

10. The Importance of Ideologies
Can be seen in the stance of the new Conservative Prime Minister
In Theresa May’s first speech as PM she vowed to lead a "one nation" government that works for all not just the "privileged few“
She promised to give people who were "just managing" and "working around the clock" more control over their lives.
"That means fighting against the burning injustice that if you're born poor you will die on average nine years earlier than others," she said.
"When it comes to opportunity, we won't entrench the advantages of the fortunate few, we will do everything we can to help anybody, whatever your background, to go as far as your talents will take you.“
She has promised a radical programme of social reform, underpinned by values of One Nation Toryism, to promote social mobility and opportunity for the more disadvantaged in society.
Q) How has does this show a shift of ideology within the party?
Q) What impact might this have on policy ideas?

11. Unit 3 Ideologies
Each ideology emerged out of the economic, social and political upheavals that brought the modern world into existence.
They provide contrasting answers to questions about how society should be organised.
They are ideologies that can be categorised on the basis of the left/ right divide, reflecting differing attitudes to issues such as equality and economic organisation.
These issues also reflect differences within each ideology; e.g. the individualist and collectivist aspects of anarchism can be seen as an example of both extreme right-wing thinking and extreme left-wing thinking..