Year 13 A2 Core Political Ideas

Political thought , the study of politics as a way of seeing and understanding the world, and the ways in which people construct their political world view. Political thought, then, can be thought of as a lens for seeing and understanding the world, either as it really is or as we perceive it to be. Apolitical doctrine or political ideology is,, a more or less coherent set of ideas that provide a basis for organised political action.


All political ideas questions will follow a familiar format:

  be worth 24 marks, 

There will be a choice of two questions but- they could be on the same ideology so learn all three

They will use the command “To what extent…

”and either:

 They will  ask students to examine the political idea’s view on the economy, society, the state or human nature/the individual, or a combination of these, e.g. to what extent do modern and classical liberals agree over the role of the state? 

Or:  Ask students to examine the divisions within the political idea from a particular perspective, 

 “You must use appropriate thinkers you have studied to support your answer and consider both sides in a balanced way” instructions

 students will be expected to refer to at least two thinkers in their answer (these must be named thinkers from the specification for the relevant political idea

Some Useful Texts