Pressure Groups Compared | AQA A-Level Politics (7152)
Pressure Groups Compared
- 21 questions
- 2 subtopics
- Paper 2: comparative politics
- Paper 2
Why the American system offers groups so many more points of entry, how executive dominance narrows the British ones, and how methods, targets and the revolving door compare..
It covers access Points and Group Power Compared and group Methods and Targets Compared.
Sample questions from Pressure Groups Compared
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Access Points and Group Power Compared
What typologies are used to classify groups in each country?
Show the answer
Both distinguish promotional or cause groups from sectional or interest groups, and UK analysis adds the insider and outsider distinction based on access to government, which American analysis uses far less. -
Access Points and Group Power Compared
Explain what an iron triangle is and why the UK has no real equivalent.
Show the answer
An iron triangle is the mutually beneficial relationship between an interest group, a congressional committee and a federal agency, which cannot form in the UK because parliamentary committees do not control spending and the civil service is politically neutral. -
Group Methods and Targets Compared
Why are US pressure groups often judged more powerful than their UK counterparts?
Show the answer
Weak and undisciplined parties leave individual legislators dependent on outside money and organisation, which groups can supply or withdraw. -
Group Methods and Targets Compared
How do groups use the media in each country?
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Both court the media, but UK groups aim at newspapers and broadcasters bound by impartiality rules while US groups can simply buy broadcast advertising.
The 2 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Access Points and Group Power Compared | Recall questions on why the USA offers more access points, how executive dominance limits UK groups, the typologies used and the role of the courts. | 8 |
| Group Methods and Targets Compared | Recall questions on how far methods coincide, whom groups mainly target, the value of legislative committees and the revolving door in each country. | 13 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
AQA A-Level Politics Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 2,215 questions with their answers.