What is the significance of the distinction between primary and Caucus?

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN PRIMARY AND CAUCUS? A Caucus is a series of meetings held by party members rather than open elections. They are also used to select a party's candidate for the presidency. States that usually use caucuses to select their candidates include Minnesota, North Dakota, Iowa, Hawaii and Nevada. A primary is an election held within a political party to decide which of a number of competing individuals should be the official candidate of that party in a public election. It is most commonly used in the USA by political parties to select their preference for a presidential candidate. Most states use the 'primary' to nominate their President. New Hampshire is usually the first state to hold the primary season in February or March and the rest follow over the next three or four months. There are several different types of primaries. These include closed primaries, open primaries, blanket primaries, winner-take-all primaries, proportional representation primary, advisory primary and mandatory primary. A closed primary offers a greater degree of participation than caucuses. A disadvantage of such primary is that only party members can vote. Hence, voting can be biased as some candidates might be given priority over the others. However, an advantage is that the party members would know who is the suitable candidate to run for presidency.

  • Word count: 817
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Discuss the indepedence of the UK Judiciary

'Discuss the independence of the UK judiciary' Judicial independence can be defined in three basic points, these are; the independence of judges from the two other branches of government, that is the legislature and executive; the independence from various political ideologies, public and media pressure; and the independence of an individual judge from superiors in the judicial hierarchy, so that a judge can decide each case solely upon his or hers best view of what the law requires. So basically for the judiciary to be independent it must be exempt from interference in its conductivity by the other two branches of government, the legislature and executive, and also pressure exerted from various outside opinions e.g. media, public. In the 1740's a French political philosopher, Baron de Montesquieu came up with the idea of the 'separation of powers'. He suggested that in a democracy no single individual should serve in more than one branch of government, this in result would eliminate the possibility of dictatorship. He believed there were three essential elements of the government: the legislature (which makes the laws); the executive (which administers these laws); and the judiciary (which judges according to these laws). Montesquieu argued that as long as these three branches were kept separate the democracy would survive as a well organised political system. In contrast

  • Word count: 2374
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Is “reason” helping?

Philosophy Adrian Edwards Is "reason" helping? 3/9/02 Enlightenment thinkers thought that almost all of the world's problems were in direct result of the lack of reason. With the development of reason they thought many problems were solved. But that was only a theory, an idea that has not helped anything. It is constant, everyone in the world wants to make a model society, and make things better, a natural inclination, which has nothing to do with reason. The question of deciding whether or not "reason" is helping people and nations today is a hard one. Which country does on need to look at to decide? Looking at America, some could decide that, yes, reason is helping, where others could say no. If we were to look at, say , the Congo in Africa, and all the massacres, then some would say where was reason then? Now what is "reason"? Reason is the be00nlief and idea that more educates people will make better decisions. Now has "reason" helped the United States? Yes for the most part, intelligent people have created a free-based country, made a constitution meant for change, and overall that believes in the good of the world. Now the United States is not all good, our country is based off of slavery for a long time and women couldn't vote for a long time, only about 40 years ago did they get the vote. At the same time though, look at Enron. All the executives of the

  • Word count: 725
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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This report will outline the various factors which could be used as a source of reasoning behind the decline of power and membership of trade unions since the 1970's.

To: Chairman of Trade Union Council From: Sir Nitesh Patel R.E: The decline in membership of the trade union since the 1970's This report will outline the various factors which could be used as a source of reasoning behind the decline of power and membership of trade unions since the 1970's. In order to achieve a formidable conclusion, I have taken upon studying the following factors in greater depth which may contribute to the reasons for the decline in trade union membership, they can be briefly described by; The rise in part time workers; the change in the UK's dominant industry; the change in un/employment; the rate of employment in a particular firm (i.e. sole trader); hostile legislation brought about by the government; the age group; the willingness for unions to accept new members. Through the 1970's upon present, it has been recorded through census surveys and polls that there is an increase in the number of part time workers in comparison to full time workers. The drop in union density can be found in the increase of 'atypical' forms of employment, especially between 1995 and 2001. The number has increased by 58,000 people (part time). Through opinion polls, it has been found that part time workers are less reluctant to join trade unions as they feel it is either "a waste of money". The reasoning behind this expression is that if the trade union and its members

  • Word count: 1429
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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How far is religion the main cause of the conflict in the Middle East since 1914?

How far is religion the main cause of the conflict in the Middle East since 1914? The conflict in the Middle East has been unsolved for years and since then there has been much violence and suffering. Arabs and Jews both have a claim to the land that we now call Israel. In biblical times God promised Abraham the land of Canaan, now Israel if he and his followers spread the word of God. The Jews settled there. "Then the Lord appeared to Abraham and said 'To your descendants I will give this land'". (Genesis 12:7). Over the next 700 years different societies had control over the land. When the Romans took control, the Emperor Hadrien pushed the Jews out of Israel and they became a scattered people. In the early Middle Ages, the Arabs controlled a huge empire covering the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Western Europe. Gradually this declined but the Arabs still kept Palestine. An important religious development took place during the 7th Century when most Arabs converted to Islam, after the death of their leader Muhammed. Jerusaluem, in the heart of Palestine, became a holy Islamic city as many Arabs believed this is where their great leader Muhammed had ascended to heaven. This made Jerusaluem a great religious centre for Arabs. In 1896 a Jew named Theodor Herzl published the Jewish State which says that the Jewish people needed a homeland. He wanted to call for

  • Word count: 1765
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Why are there laws to protect workers at British Airways and who is responsible for making and administrating the laws

Employment laws Why are there laws to protect workers at British Airways and who is responsible for making and administrating the laws? There are laws at British Airways for workers so that they are: * Treated fairly- not bullied at work or mistreated in any way. * Not discriminated- Making sure that a person is not treated differently because of that person's sex, race or any disability. * Safe at all times- Making sure that workers are in a safe environment at all times so no incidents occur. The main laws that effected employees at British Airways are: . Employment acts, 1980 and 1982- These acts reduced the power of trade unions in the workplace. * They allowed employers to refuse to negotiate with unions. * Striking employees were allowed to picket only their own place of work. 2. The trade union act, 1984- This act required trade unions to allow its members at a workplace to vote by secret ballot before the union could take industrial action such as strike action. 3. Employment act, 1990- Closed shops (workplaces where employees had to belong to a trade union) were made illegal under this law. Also, employers were allowed to sack employees who took strike action without first conducting a secret ballot. 4. Trade union reform and employment rights act, 1993- This act required unions to give an employee a week's notice of industrial action. The idea was to

  • Word count: 635
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Lowering the Legal Drinking Age In New York State

Lowering the legal drinking age In New York State the legal age to purchase and publicly consume alcohol is twenty-one. Many laws at the state and federal level require that people be only eighteen to do certain things. For example, when someone who is eighteen is accused of a crime they are tried in a court of law as an adult. However, when it comes to purchasing alcohol, eighteen doesn't cut it. In many European countries there is no legal drinking age. In most of these countries there is less alcoholism and abuse of alcoholic substances than in the United States. The legal drinking age should be lowered to eighteen. One reason to lower the drinking age is to keep laws fair and consistent in our state. To drive after nine o'clock in New York a licensed driver must be eighteen - years - old. One must be eighteen to enter a bar or nightclub, or to tend a bar, according to state laws. If someone wants to purchase "adult" material or enter an "adult" club in New York that person must be eighteen. Lastly, to purchase cigarettes (a more addictive and physically dangerous drug) a person in New York needs only to be eighteen years old. In the United States all eighteen-year-old men are required by law to sign up for the draft. If the U.S. were to become involved in a war, any or all of these men could be forced to fight in it. Our federal government feels it is okay

  • Word count: 496
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Albert Einstein.

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is." - Albert Einstein - Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany on Mar, 14, 1879. Einstein's parents, who were non practicing Jews, moved from Ulm to Munich when Einstein was a baby. When the family's business, the manufacture of electrical parts, failed in 1894, the family moved to Milan, Italy. At this time Einstein decided legitimately to relinquish his German citizenship. Within a year, still without having completed secondary school, Einstein sat an examination that would have allowed him to pursue a course of study leading to a diploma as an electrical engineer at the Swiss Polytechnic, a top technical university, but he failed the arts component of the examination. His family sent him to the Swiss town of Aarau to finish high school. It was at this school that Einstein first started to develop a love for physics. In 1896, Einstein returned to the Swiss Polytechnic, where he graduated in 1900 as a secondary school teacher of mathematics and physics. After two years of teaching, Einstein obtained a post at the Swiss patent office in Bern. While he was employed at the office (1902-1909), Einstein completed an astonishing range of publications in theoretical physics. The year 1905 was known as "Annus Mirabilis" - Einstein's "Miracle Year". Einstein's

  • Word count: 1787
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Media a threat?

Threat? What does it actually mean? A threat is a warning that states your intention to hurt or punish somebody. So, my question is: when has any type of media actually 'THREATENED' the government? Let's talk about what a Democratic Government means. "Demo" is Greek for "people" and "Cratic" is Greek for "rule". As we all know, this type of government is elected and indirectly ruled by the society. We give them the permission to use our money on government spending. Therefore, shouldn't we have the right to know where OUR money is going, what is happening to OUR country? We do, and how do we get hold of such information? through the media. If the government is doing something wrong, the media will tell us what is going on, and let me just emphasise that this is not a threat but is actually healthy criticism which helps the democratic government know the public's opinion. The media is there to enhance the public's awareness about governments, their doings and to express their opinions regarding current issues in politics. As we all know, there are many different Newspapers. Such as: 'La provincia', 'El pais', 'El mundo'. Now do you really think that all these Newspapers share the same view? I'm afraid not. El pais criticises Zapatero for example whereas La provincial agrees with all his views, so we do get a balanced view about our president's actions and ideas. And now,

  • Word count: 400
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Should a country join the EU?

Should a country join the EU? Executive Summary The topics of European Union integration and the EURO are often discussed on TV and in the newspapers. People try to use different perspectives to analyse the advantages and disadvantages of joining the European Union. However, discussions tends to be biased, either pro European integration or eurosceptic. Both arguments for and against the European Union integration has been suggested to provide a fair, well balanced analysis. The main point from the result of my analysis suggests that European Union membership will be favourable for the economy, but it would be foolish to argue that it is bound to lead to a further reduction of unemployment or an increase in economic growth. Therefore the jury for the European Union integration is still out. Introduction This report will examine the background to the European Union, evaluate the benefits & costs, and examine the economic problem that European Union is likely to face in its future evolution, namely enlargement of the European Union to see whether a country should join the European Union, studying the situation via a neutral perspective. Background European Union (EU) is an integration of different European countries. An economist named Healey suggested that "... it helps to remove the boundaries which separate activities in one nation to another." The EU has grown

  • Word count: 1168
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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