"A small, unpopular party whose success was due solely to the determination of the leader to seize power" Examine this assessment of the Bolshevik party's success in the USSR 1917-1924.

"A small, unpopular party whose success was due solely to the determination of the leader to seize power" Examine this assessment of the Bolshevik party's success in the USSR 1917-1924. This assessment of the party is based around one of many views on how the Bolsheviks gained power and consolidated their rule. This particular assessment focuses on the "brutalisation" of the party and Lenin's constant concessions in the face of danger despite contending his ideology. The Bolsheviks came to power in October 1917, after the capture of the Winter Palace; the consolidation of their rule included the calling of a constituent assembly, signing of the Brest-litovsk and the introduction of the NEP after War Communism. What I now have to analyse, is the validity of each point in the above assessment, was the party small? Or unpopular? And if so why? Firstly the size of the party has to be considered, before the February revolution the party's size in comparison with other parties was relatively little. The largest parties were those who directly contended the Tsarist regime in towns and villages, one party in particular was the Social Democratic party, as written by Susan Hasler (1989) "Nevertheless, Marxist theories did spread quite widely in Russia, especially through The Social Democratic Party," This shows how the Marxist ideology spread to the common people of Russia,

  • Word count: 1137
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
Access this essay

"A written constitution, rather than gradual reform, is now essential for the UK to claim to be a modern democracy."

"A written constitution, rather than gradual reform, is now essential for the UK to claim to be a modern democracy." This essay will look at how a written constitution, according to some, would make Britain a modern democracy and it is therefore essential that the meaning of this phrase is fully understood before it can be explored in sufficient depth. A written constitution would outline the structures and powers of government in broad terms and the relationship between the different parts of government and citizens. Gradual reform, on the other hand, has no written record of the powers of government or a clear relationship between government and citizens; however, these are determined by laws that evolve with the current views and morals of Britain. A modern democracy can be interpreted differently by people and that is a fundamental reason for this conflict of interest. Some people, such as the Liberal Democrats, believe that the constitution would make Britain a 'modern democracy' because the basic principles of Britain would be defined and that there would be no loop holes in the law as to how the government can enforce new proposals. However, some political parties, such Labour and the Conservatives, believe that gradual reform is more effective as laws can be easily enforced that meet the needs of society and that a written constitution would be difficult to edit and

  • Word count: 1544
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
Access this essay

"An admirable and enlightened example of international co-operation.' Does the congress System (1815-25) deserve to be so described?

"An admirable and enlightened example of international co-operation.' Does the congress System (1815-25) deserve to be so described? When the Napoleonic Wars came to the end, the European countries held the Congress of Vienna to settle down the problems. After that, the European powers decided to hold conferences in the coming years to maintain the peace of Europe and solve the problems by talking, discussing, but not by wars. These congresses, which included Congress of Vienna (1814-15), Congress of Aix-la Chapelle (1818), Congress of Troppau (1820), Congress of Laibach (1821), and Congress of Verona (1822), formed the Congress System, which can be also called Metternich System or the Concert of Europe. This essay is going to have a look that if the Congress System is an admirable and enlightened example of international co-operation. First of all, the definition of admirable and enlightened should be stated. Admirable means excellent, and deserves others to respect with pleasure and satisfaction. Enlightened means free from prejudice, ignorance. Based on these definitions, the Congress system should be admired if it had reached its aims, which were maintain the peace of Europe and solving the problems by discussing and without war, unless the latter was a necessary and unavoidable. The Metternich System was an enlightened one if it was a new system which is better than the

  • Word count: 1624
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
Access this essay

"An emphasis upon the differences between the UK and US constitutions neglects their more fundamental similarities" Discuss

"An emphasis upon the differences between the UK and US constitutions neglects their more fundamental similarities" Discuss The question requires us to see the difference between the UK and US constitutions of the political systems and then analyse whether there is actually a difference between the two. Constitution specifies the powers of the state and the institutions or offices, which have and excise state power. "A state is a human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory" (Max Weber). There are two types of constitutions negative constitutions which goes beyond principles that are beyond people's wishes this is common in the US constitution. Whereas the positive constitution is an example of the British constitutions constructed so that public wishes are kept. In the conclusion After the independence the American leaders had to create a new national congress and known as the Constitutional Convention of 1787 however they had a starting point of using the British constitutional system .The differences between US and UK constitutions is that the US constitution is codified meaning that it is written, federal constitution which means authority of American government shared between Washington and the other states. Which operates according to the principles of federalism and separated institutions

  • Word count: 840
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
Access this essay

"Analyse and compare the gains predicted by economic theory from theremoval of (a) tariff barriers (b) non-tariff barriers wi

"Analyse and compare the gains predicted by economic theory from the removal of (a) tariff barriers (b) non-tariff barriers within the Single European Market" Autumn Term: Vanessa Fry EC 329 Economics of the European Union 2004 By: Partthepan Shivacanthan BSc Economics In this essay I have been asked to analyse and compare the gains predicted by the economic theory from the removal of tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers within the Single European Market. In order to answer this question we must first have an understanding of the history and the purpose of the Single European Market and why measures such as tariff and non-tariff barriers play a major role when talking about trade. The creation of the European Union was seen as a major stepping stone towards creating a united "super power"; within which there was political harmony, economic stability and social co-operation between its member countries. The moves to complete the Single European Market (SEM) and the progress towards an economic union focused attention on the European Union; who was seen as a key player in the process of European integration. It all dates back to 1952, where the foundations were laid of a European Community when the Treaty of Paris created the European Coal and steel community (ECSC) whose objective was to withdraw the French and German basic industries from the national authority

  • Word count: 2860
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
Access this essay

"Assess the sociological contribution of Karl Marx to an understanding of contemporary society"

"Assess the sociological contribution of Karl Marx to an understanding of contemporary society" This essay will discuss how the Karl Marx contributed his knowledge to the understanding of contemporary society. Karl Marx is often referred to as the 'intellectual father of modern day Marxist economics'. Karl Marx was a philosopher, a social scientist and also a historian. He is also known as a revolutionary whose ideas and theories are known as scientific socialism or Marxism. Marxism helps us to understand society and the way in which individuals within society behave and the reasoning behind this behaviour. Marx explained how employers can exploit and alienate their workers; this is described in more detail and is known as 'the labour theory of value'. Marx also goes on to explain how in a business falling rate of profit can lead to an inevitable crisis, revolutions can emerge and then finally leading to the socialist state. Marx also goes on to explain that if workers start to earn more money and gain more wealth then he becomes poorer in values and the more his production increases in power and range of materialistic substances. One of Marx's sayings to support this theory was "The worker becomes an ever cheaper commodity the more commodities he creates". Karl Marx was largely ignored by his scholars during his lifetime; however his theories and ideologies came to surface

  • Word count: 1139
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
Access this essay

"At the heart of liberalism is a fear of unchecked power."

"At the heart of liberalism is a fear of unchecked power." "An illiberal tendency of our new government is the move towards government by regulation. Our government is determined to draft legislation which imbues the relevant minister with wide and unchecked powers to make regulations which have the force of law. In practice, this amounts to government by executive decree. We know this odious creature well, as a particular favourite of the old National Party. The ANC are not naïve to the fact that delegated legislation removes the scrutiny of Parliament and opposition parties from the law-making process." Tony Leon, South African liberal A simple definition of power could be the ability both to demand that people do something, and to say how a thing should be done or organised. Authority, however, is where power is granted by consent; and when an individual or committee is said to have authority, the reason that justifies this authority is known as legitimacy. In general, the government has authority because it has legitimacy through: tradition, as Parliament has existed for hundreds of years; charisma, as many people may follow present PM Tony Blair through the strength and attraction of his personality; and democratically through the people, as they vote in elections for the MP or party they wish to form the government. An example of an organisation that has power but

  • Word count: 1379
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
Access this essay

"At the heart of New Right thought, lies the paradox of libertarian and authoritarian belief". To what extent do you support this quotation?

"At the heart of New Right thought, lies the paradox of libertarian and authoritarian belief". To what extent do you support this quotation? The New Right is a form of conservatism which formed in the 1980s and took a very different view of elements of society such as family, education and crime. In the United Kingdom, New Right more specifically refers to a strand of Conservatism that the likes of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan influenced. Thatcher's style of New Right ideology, known as Thatcherism was heavily influenced by the work of Friedrich Hayek (in particular the book, The Road to Serfdom). Margaret Thatcher said in her 1995 memoirs, The Downing Street Years; "The most powerful critique of socialist planning and the socialist state which I read and to which I have returned so often is F.A.Hayek's 'The Road to Serfdom'". They were ideologically committed to neo-liberalism as well as being socially conservative. Key policies included deregulation of business, a dismantling of the welfare state or 'Nanny State', privatisation of nationalised industries and restructuring of the national workforce in order to increase industrial and economic flexibility in an increasingly global market. The paradox of New Right thought is that it combines both liberal views and conservative views into one coherent ideology. As the New Right supports both these views it is hard to

  • Word count: 1679
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
Access this essay

"Compare the successes and failures of Castlereagh and Canning's Foreign Policies"

"Compare the successes and failures of Castlereagh and Canning's Foreign Policies" The Tory Foreign affairs between 1814 and 1830 was dominated by Lord Castlereagh, foreign secretary between 1814 and 1822 and his successor George Canning, who occupied the same post between 1822 and 1827. During this period, both Castlereagh and Canning were faced with various international problems and I am going to explore their successes and failures with issues they confronted. Initially, I shall examine the achievements and failures of Lord Castlereagh and then moving onto Canning's era, which I shall compare with the previous period of 1814 to 1822. Lord Castlereagh knew that for him to be a successful Foreign Secretary, he needed to settle some outstanding issues. Thus, his policies included an appropriate settlement for France, balancing of territorial interests of major powers and the formation of a system of regular consultation to deal with disputes between them. The first thing that Castlereagh dealt with was France. He knew that France was potentially the greatest of all European powers with enough manpower to undertake renewed conquests. Therefore, he restored the Bourbon monarchy in France and the country had to pay an indemnity as well as support an army occupation in. The French frontiers were pulled back to those of 1790 and states on either side of France were

  • Word count: 1249
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
Access this essay

"Critically Discuss the Prospective Economic and Political Impact of Turkish Accession to the European Union"

Coursework for EC0902A The Political Economy of the European Union Lecturer: Dr. Charles Maddison Title: "Critically Discuss the Prospective Economic and Political Impact of Turkish Accession to the European Union" Submitted by: Sonja Ambrosius Student No. 0404332 'Turkey is part of Europe.' (Walter Hallenstein, 1963) 'Is Turkey European?' (Claude Cheysson, 1984) Introduction These two quotes give a good start for an essay about the prospective political and economical effects of an accession of Turkey to the European Union (EU). In 1963 Turkey signed the European Association agreement, normally seen as a prelude to membership, as the second country ever. The Ankara agreement included three phases which would bring Turkey to full economic integration in the EU. Nowadays it seems like the process got stuck and some members of the EU, like the quote of the former French minister for foreign affairs shows, feel less attached to the thought of Turkey as a member of the EU then people did in 1963. Turkey has a customs Union with the EU and the status of an associate member since 1963. Turkey first applied to fully join the EU in 1987. The stumbling of the integration of Turkey found its peak in 1997 at the European Council Summit in Luxembourg where accession negotiations were opened to all applicants except Turkey. The Turkish reaction was not to participate in the

  • Word count: 2870
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
Access this essay