Student Resources - Chapter one
- Chapter Summary
- Matching Exercise
- Further reading
- Internet links
- Multiple Choice Quiz
- Worksheet 1
- Worksheet 2
- Worksheet 3
Chapter One: The State and the Citizen
SETTING THE SCENE
This first chapter introduces you to some initial points about the two building blocks of politics: the state and the citizen. This, then, is yet another introduction, but it is rather different from the last one. The whole of this book centres around these two themes. From below, the political system in Britain is based on the citizens of the country, who uphold the state. Without citizens, there would be no political system at all. Looked at from above, it is the state which, in its turn, rules the citizens. Binding citizen and state together in Britain is our belief in democracy, and this is the subject, one way or another, of the whole book.
KEY TOPICS
- The citizen's rights and obligations
- The state, the government, power and authority
- Liberal democracy: uniting the citizen and the state
Are any of the terms below unclear to you? If so, perhaps you should look over this chapter or use the searchable glossary to familiarise yourself with these terms.
- Citizen
- Civil rights
- The state
- Justice
- Liberty
- Equality
- Political power
- Authority
- Democracy
- Liberal Democracy
Matching Exercise: Chapter One
| Citizen | the ability to get things done, to change something in the country or to decide to keep it the same |
| Civil Rights | the quality possessed by a political leader or a government which has legitimacy or a right to rule |
| State | a country which is independent of all others; the permanent political authority within an independent country |
| Political power | the Individual Member of the State |
| Authority | A state where the people rule themselves but in addition the rights of the citizen are protected by law |
| Democracy | the system of government where the people rule themselves |
| Liberal Democracy | special freedoms which citizens of a country enjoy and which are protected by the law |
Further reading for Chapter One
A. Heywood, Politics (Macmillan, 1997): a valuable, straightforward introduction to the main concepts covered in this chapter.
Websites
- www.citizenship.org.uk (Centre for Citizenship Studies in Education)
- www.hansard-society.org.uk (Hansard Society)
- www.politicsassociation.co.uk (Politics Association)
Multiple Choice Quiz 1
Click here to access the Multiple Choice Quiz for this Chapter.
Worksheet 1
Download Worksheet 1 Power and Authority - handout
Worksheet 2
Download Worksheet 2 British Political System - handout
Worksheet 3
Download Worksheet 3 what a State We're in - handout
