1. the First Is to Write Your Treatise on Politics and Government

Rushcliffe A-Level Politics
bridging work.

You have 3 tasks to do:

1. The first is to write your treatise on politics and government.

This requires you to design a political system for your own country, explaining your reasons. You should consider the following, plus anything else that will be important/ significant.

• Who is going to rule- e.g. an elected official? By inheritance/ birth?
• How will this person be selected? E.g. if this is by an election, what system will you use to select people?
• How will they rule? Job for life? Elected every 5 years?
• Rights of citizens/ subjects. What can they expect? Maybe education is a privilege, maybe education is compulsory from age 7 to 21.
• Government structures- e.g. the justice system, who will ensure your rules are enforced? How?

2. Read the short articles on John Locke and Thomas Hobbes.

Both men are seen as incredibly important in the development of political ideas. Locke on Liberalism, Hobbes for Conservatism.

Write 2 separate responses: one from Locke, one from Hobbes as their response to your personal treatise on politics and government.

This should be a detailed response, but less than one page of typed notes.

Context: The English Civil Wars (Wars of the three Kingdoms) were a brutal and bloody series of battles from 1642 to 1649, where King Charles I went to war with Parliament. The reasons and issues for war were complex but it was a struggle for power and how a nation should be run. Families were sometimes divided in their loyalties and on occasion ended up fighting on different sides. The wars had a profound impact on society- beyond the fighting, people felt that the norms of society had fallen apart.

Both activities are due in- your first Politics lesson in September.

Good luck, we hope you enjoy the task and we look forward to teaching you in September, Mrs Purnell and Ms Jenkins.