• Nelson Mandela

Politics

Edexcel’s GCE in Government and Politics comprises of four units and contains an Advanced Subsidiary subset of two AS units.

The full Advanced GCE award consists of the two AS units (Units 1 and 2), plus two A2 units (Units 3 and 4) which make up the other 50 percent of the Advanced GCE. Students wishing to take the full Advanced GCE must, therefore, complete all four units.

Unit 1: People and Politics

This unit introduces students to the key channels of communication between government and the people and encourages them to evaluate the adequacy of existing arrangements for ensuring representative democracy and participation.

Unit 2: Governing the UK

This unit introduces students to the major governmental processes within the UK. It encourages them to develop a critical understanding of the role and effectiveness of key institutions and the relationship amongst them in the context of multilevel governance.

Unit 3: Key Themes in Political Analysis

This unit introduces students to key themes in political analysis.

Students will need to study one of the following topics:

  • Topic A: UK Political Issues
  • Topic B: Introducing Political Ideologies
  • Topic C: Representative Processes in the USA
  • Topic D: Structures of Global Politics

Unit 4: Extended Themes in Political Analysis

This unit extends students’ understanding of key themes in political analysis.

Students will need to study one of the following topics:

  • Topic A: EU Political Issues
  • Topic B: Other Ideological Traditions
  • Topic C: Governing the USA
  • Topic D: Global Political Issues

In addition, synopticity will be assessed through the essay questions in Unit 4. Students will therefore be required to show:

  • 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.

This examination will be marked out of a total of 90 marks.