𝐈 - 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬

• define active citizen.


  a person who actively takes responsibility, becomes involved in areas of public concern and tries to make a difference.
• define active citizenship.


  participating in society to bring about change.
• define advocacy.


  representing or supporting a person or organisation by writing, speaking or taking action on behalf of that person or organisation.
• define British values.


  a set of standards which reflect the ideals of the British society.
• define by-election.


  an election to a public office that occurs when a post holder dies or resigns between elections.
• define campaigning.


  actions or events organised by an individual or group of people to achieve an aim.
• define censorship.


  the control of information or ideas within a society.
• define charities.

  local, national or international organisations which are set up to help those in need. the term also has a legal status as charities registered with the government receive some tax benefits.
• define citizenship.


  being a citizen of a country and being vested with the rights and responsibilities of that state.
• define civil law.


  law that deals with disputes between individuals or groups. there are civil courts which award damages (a money payment).
• define civil service.


  individuals who are employed by the government.
• define commonwealth.


  an international association between the UK and the countries which were previously part of the British empire.
• define council of Europe.

  an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1949, which encourages European countries to cooperate with each other. it is an independent body and should not be confused with the European union, which is a completely separate organisation. the European court of human rights is the best known body in the council of Europe.
• define criminal law.


  law which deals with individuals who break the law, and which punishes offenders because they have broken laws that parliament has stated we must all obey.
• define democracy.


  a system of government, where the citizens are able to vote in regular and fair elections for representatives, who will make laws and decisions on their behalf.
• define demonstration.


  a public meeting or march protesting against a specific issue.
• define devolution.


  the transfer of some powers from the government to the Welsh assembly, the Northern Ireland assembly and the Scottish parliament.
• define direct democracy.


  where the people decide on the policy directly, for example through a vote or referendum on each issue.
• define equal opportunities.


  allowing all people access to the same opportunities, regardless of their disability, religion, age, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.
• define executive.


  the branch of the government, which is responsible for putting laws or decisions into effect.
• define EU (the European union).


  an economic and political union between a number of European countries, who work closely together.
• define first past the post.


  the voting system used in the UK to elect members of some local councils and members of parliament, whereby the candidate with the most votes in a constituency wins.
• define general election.


  when the citizens of a country vote to elect a new government. a general election in the UK usually happens once every five years.
• define government.


  the individuals who have been elected to run the state, led by the prime minister (pm) in the UK.
• define house of commons.

  an elected body currently consisting of 650 members of parliament. it is the lower house of parliament and meets in the palace of Westminster.
• define house of lords.

  the upper house of parliament, meeting in the palace of Westminster. it comprises of life peers and hereditary peers, who scrutinise the bills approved by the house of commons.
• define human rights.


  basic rights and freedoms which all people are entitled to.
• define immigration.


  the process of people moving from one country to another to live and work.
• define interest group.


  an organisation which tries to influence the government to adopt certain policies on a particular issue.
• define judiciary.


  branch of the state that is responsible for enforcing the law. it comprises judges and other legal officials.
• define juries.


  a group of local people who are chosen randomly to make a decision in a legal case.
• define justice.


  the fairness as a result of the application of a law, usually by a judge, in society.
• define legislature.


  the law making body of the state ie. the parliament.
• define lobbying.


  a person or group of people meeting or taking action (ie. writing letters, demonstrating, petitioning) to try to persuade a politician to take up their cause.
• define local government.


  a system of government that operates at a local level providing services to its community.
• define localism.


  when people in a particular local area are able to make decisions about policies which affect their local area.
• define the media.


  a means of communication.

  ~ mass media: television, radio and printed media which can reach a large number of people.

  ~ new media: the internet and social media.
• define migration.


  the movement of people between different countries.
• define monarchy.


  a form of government in which a king or queen reigns as the head of state. the UK is a constitutional monarchy.
• define multiple identities.


  when an individual is able to assume a range of different identities. these identities may clash.