Year 12 WJEC Politics: Key Terminology Quick Revision Guide | WJEC 政治 Year 12 关键术语速记指南

📚 Year 12 WJEC Politics: Key Terminology Quick Revision Guide | WJEC 政治 Year 12 关键术语速记指南

Mastering the vocabulary of politics is the first step towards confident analysis and top-tier essays. This guide breaks down the essential terms from the Year 12 WJEC Government and Politics specification, pairing each concept with a concise definition you can memorise quickly. Use it beside your notes to test yourself, or skim a section before an exam to solidify your mental glossary.

掌握政治学词汇是迈向自信分析与高分论文的第一步。本指南拆解了 Year 12 WJEC 政府与政治课程中的核心术语，为每个概念配上简洁的定义，方便你快速记忆。可以配合笔记进行自测，或在考试前重温某个单元，巩固你的脑中术语库。

1. Democracy and Participation | 民主与政治参与

A healthy democracy relies on citizens engaging beyond the ballot box. In WJEC Unit 2, you are expected to evaluate the quality of UK democracy and recognise the tension between direct and representative models.

健康的民主依赖公民在投票之外也积极参与。在 WJEC 第二单元中，你需要评估英国民主的质量，并识别直接民主与代议民主之间的张力。

Legitimacy: The rightful claim to exercise power, normally secured through free and fair elections and acceptance of the constitutional rules of the game.

合法性：行使权力的正当性，通常通过自由公正的选举以及对宪法规则的接受而获得。

Direct democracy: A system where citizens vote on specific policies or laws themselves, for example through referendums and petitions.

直接民主：公民自己对特定政策或法律进行投票的制度，例如通过全民公投和请愿。

Representative democracy: A system in which citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf; accountability is enforced through regular elections.

代议民主：公民选举代表代为决策的制度，通过定期选举来落实问责。

Democratic deficit: A perceived gap between what citizens expect from a democracy and the reality of limited political influence, often linked to low turnout or unaccountable institutions.

民主赤字：公民对民主的期待与现实政治影响力有限之间的落差，常与低投票率或缺乏问责的机构相关联。

Participation crisis: The idea that falling electoral turnout, declining party membership and political apathy indicate a serious problem for contemporary democracy.

参与危机：指投票率下降、政党成员减少与政治冷漠的迹象表明当代民主面临严重问题的观点。

Pluralist democracy: A model in which power is widely dispersed among competing groups and no single elite dominates, allowing multiple voices to influence policy.

多元民主：权力广泛分散于竞争性群体之间、没有单一精英主导，使多种声音都能影响政策的民主模式。

Mandate: The authority granted by voters to a winning party or candidate to carry out the programme outlined in their manifesto.

选民授权：选民赋予胜选政党或候选人执行其竞选纲领的权力。

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2. Electoral Systems | 选举制度

The mechanics of translating votes into seats shape party competition and representation. WJEC requires you to compare FPTP, AMS, STV and SV with an eye on outcomes for smaller parties and proportionality.

将选票转化为席位的机制影响着政党竞争与代表性。WJEC 要求你比较简单多数制、附加议员制、单记移转式投票和补充投票制，并关注它们对小党和比例代表性的影响。

First-past-the-post (FPTP): The electoral system used for UK general elections; the candidate with the most votes in each constituency wins, even without an absolute majority.

简单多数制 (FPTP)：英国大选使用的选举制度；各选区得票最多的候选人胜出，即使未获绝对多数。

Additional Member System (AMS): A hybrid system mixing constituency FPTP with regional lists to achieve greater proportionality. Used for elections to the Senedd Cymru and the Scottish Parliament.

附加议员制 (AMS)：混合选区简单多数制和地区政党名单以提升比例性的选举制度，用于威尔士议会和苏格兰议会选举。

Single Transferable Vote (STV): Voters rank candidates in order of preference; seats are filled when candidates reach a quota. Used for Northern Ireland Assembly and Scottish local elections.

单记移转式投票 (STV)：选民按偏好排列候选人顺序；候选人达到选举额度即当选，用于北爱尔兰议会和苏格兰地方选举。

Supplementary Vote (SV): Voters mark a first and second preference; if no candidate wins 50%+ of first preferences, the top two enter a run-off using second preferences. Used for directly elected mayors and Police and Crime Commissioners.

补充投票制 (SV)：选民标记第一和第二选择；如无人获得过半数第一选择票，则对前两名按第二选择票进行决选，用于直选市长和警务专员选举。

Proportional representation (PR): An electoral formula designed to ensure that a party’s share of seats in an assembly closely matches its share of the vote.

比例代表制 (PR)：旨在使政党在议会中的席位比例尽可能接近其得票比例的选举公式。

Safe seat: A constituency where one party consistently wins by a large margin, making the outcome highly predictable.

安全议席：一个政党始终以较大优势胜出、结果高度可预测的选区。

Marginal seat: A constituency held by a small majority, where a swing can easily change the result; parties target them intensely during campaigns.

边缘议席：由微弱多数保持、选情摇摆极易改变结果的选区，政党在竞选期间大力争取的目标。

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3. Political Parties | 政党

Political parties aggregate interests, recruit candidates and provide voters with a clear set of policy choices. WJEC expects you to understand ideology, party systems and the internal discipline that holds parties together.

政党汇聚利益、推举候选人并向选民提供明确的政策选项。WJEC 期望你理解意识形态、政党制度以及维系政党凝聚的内部纪律。

Ideology: A coherent set of beliefs and values about how society should be organised, such as conservatism, socialism, liberalism or nationalism.

意识形态：关于社会应如何组织的一套连贯信念与价值体系，例如保守主义、社会主义、自由主义或民族主义。

Left-wing: A political stance favouring greater equality, state intervention in the economy and progressive social reform.

左翼：主张更高程度的平等、国家干预经济和进步性社会改革的政治立场。

Right-wing: A political stance emphasising individual liberty, free markets, tradition and a limited role for the state.

右翼：强调个人自由、自由市场、传统以及限制国家角色的政治立场。

Two-party system: A party system dominated by two major parties that regularly alternate in government, although smaller parties may still exist.

两党制：由两大党主导、定期轮替执政的政党制度，尽管小党依然可能存在。

Dominant-party system: A system in which one party continuously wins elections and governs for an extended period, despite competitive elections.

一党独大制：尽管选举具有竞争性，但一个政党持续赢得选举并长期执政的政党制度。

Manifesto: A document published before an election outlining a party’s policy pledges; it forms the basis of its mandate.

竞选纲领：选举前发布的、列出政党政策承诺的文件，构成其选民授权的基础。

Party whip: An official responsible for ensuring MPs attend votes and follow the party line; also refers to the instruction sent to MPs before a vote.

党鞭：负责确保议员出席投票并遵循本党立场的官员，也指投票前发至议员的指令。

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4. Voting Behaviour and the Media | 投票行为与媒体

Understanding why people vote as they do involves social class, partisan attachment, issue salience and media exposure. WJEC includes both long-term structural factors and short-term campaigns in its model explanations.

理解选民为何如此投票，需考虑社会阶级、党派归属感、议题显著性以及媒体接触。WJEC 的模型解释涵盖长期结构性因素和短期竞选影响。

Class dealignment: The weakening of the traditional link between social class and party support, resulting in fewer class-based voting patterns.

阶级脱钩：社会阶级与政党支持之间传统联系的减弱，导致阶级投票模式减少。

Partisan dealignment: A decline in strong, long-term identification with a political party, making floating voters more common.

党派脱钩：对政党强烈且长期的认同感下降，导致浮动选民更为普遍。

Valence issue: A topic on which voters largely agree about the desired outcome (e.g. economic growth, low crime) and judge parties on their competence to deliver it.

共识议题：选民对预期结果看法基本一致的议题（如经济增长、低犯罪率），并根据政党实现该目标的能力对其进行评判。

Salience: The importance a voter attaches to a particular issue at a given election; high salience can sway voting intention.

议题显著性：在特定选举中选民赋予某一议题的重要性；高显著性可能左右投票意向。

Opinion poll: A survey of a sample of the electorate designed to gauge voting intention and public attitudes before elections.

民意调查：针对选民样本进行的调查，旨在选举前测量投票意向和公众态度。

Floating voter: A voter with no fixed party allegiance who can switch support between elections, often decisive in marginal seats.

浮动选民：没有固定政党倾向、可在不同选举间改变支持的选民，常在边缘选区中起决定性作用。

Echo chamber: A situation amplified by social media where users are exposed mainly to views reinforcing their own, reducing exposure to opposing arguments.

信息茧房：社交媒体放大的情境，用户主要接触强化自身观点的信息，减少了与对立观点的相遇。

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5. Pressure Groups and New Social Movements | 压力团体与新社会运动

Between elections, pressure groups and movements provide a crucial channel for political influence. WJEC examines their aims, methods and the extent to which they enhance or corrupt pluralist democracy.

在两次选举之间，压力团体与社会运动为政治影响提供关键渠道。WJEC 考察它们的目标、手段以及在多大程度上促进或损害多元民主。

Sectional group: A pressure group that represents a specific section of society, such as a trade union or professional body, and seeks to advance its members’ interests.

部门团体：代表社会某个特定群体的压力团体，如工会或专业团体，旨在增进其成员的利益。

Promotional (cause) group: A pressure group campaigning for a particular cause or issue rather than for the economic interests of its members, e.g. environmental or human rights groups.

倡导性（事业）团体：为某项事业或议题而运动的压力团体，而非为其成员的经济利益，例如环保或人权组织。

Insider group: A pressure group that has regular, privileged access to government decision-makers and is often consulted during policy formulation.

内部人团体：享有定期、优先接触政府决策者权限的压力团体，常在政策制定过程中被征询意见。

Outsider group: A pressure group that lacks access to government and must rely on public campaigns, direct action or media stunts to influence policy.

外部人团体：缺乏接触政府渠道的压力团体，必须依赖公共运动、直接行动或媒体噱头来影响政策。

Lobbying: The act of attempting to persuade legislators or officials to support a particular policy or interest, often undertaken by professional lobbyists.

游说：试图说服立法者或官员支持某一政策或利益的行为，通常由专业说客实施。

Direct action: Non-violent or disruptive protest methods such as strikes, sit-ins and blockades, used to draw attention to a cause and pressure decision-makers.

直接行动：罢工、静坐和封锁等非暴力或扰乱性抗议手段，用以引起公众对某事业的关注并向决策者施压。

Pluralist argument on pressure groups: The view that competing groups empower citizens, disperse power and make government responsive.

多元论对压力团体的论点：认为相互竞争的团体使公民赋权、分散权力并使政府更具回应性的观点。

Elitist critique: The argument that well-resourced insider groups dominate access, skewing policy towards the powerful and undermining equality of influence.

精英主义批评：资源充足的内部人团体独占接触渠道、使政策偏向强者并侵蚀影响力平等的论点。

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6. The Constitution | 宪法

The UK’s uncodified constitution is a central topic in WJEC Unit 1. You need to weigh the virtues of flexibility and evolved tradition against calls for clarity and entrenched rights.

英国的不成文宪法是 WJEC 第一单元的中心议题。你需要权衡灵活性、演化传统的优点与成文清晰性和固牢权利吁求之间的张力。

Codified constitution: A single written document setting out the fundamental laws, principles and limits of government, usually with a special amendment procedure.

成文宪法：一部单一的书面文件，阐明政府基本法律、原则与权限，通常设有特殊的修订程序。

Uncodified constitution: A constitution based on multiple sources including statute law, conventions, common law and authoritative works, rather than a single text.

不成文宪法：以成文法、惯例、普通法和权威著作等多种渊源为基础的宪法，而非单一文本。

Parliamentary sovereignty: The doctrine that Parliament can make, amend or repeal any law and that no other body can override its legislation.

议会主权：议会可以制定、修改或废除任何法律，且任何其他机构不得推翻其立法的原则。

Rule of law: The principle that everyone, including the government, is subject to the law and that laws should be clear, fair and applied equally.

法治：包括政府在内的所有人皆受法律约束、且法律应明确、公正并平等适用的原则。

Constitutional convention: Non-legal rules of political conduct that are considered binding, for example the Salisbury Convention concerning Lords behaviour.

宪法惯例：被视为具有约束力的非法律性政治行为规范，例如约束上院行为的索尔兹伯里惯例。

Devolution: The transfer of legislative and executive powers from central government to regional bodies, such as the Senedd Cymru, without sovereignty being surrendered.

权力下放：中央政府将立法和行政权力移交给地区机构，如威尔士议会，但主权并未让渡。

Unitary state: A state where sovereignty is concentrated in a single central government; the UK remains unitary even after devolution.

单一制国家：主权集中于单一中央政府的国家；即便经历了权力下放，英国依然是单一制。

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7. Parliament | 议会

Parliament is the sovereign legislative body of the UK, but its functions stretch well beyond law-making. You must know the distinct roles of the Commons and Lords, and the tools available for scrutiny.

议会是英国拥有主权的立法机关，但其职能远不止立法。你需要了解下议院和上议院各自独特的角色以及可用于审查的工具。

Bicameral legislature: A legislature with two chambers, in

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