Paper 3 USA · Comparative approaches
UK and US politics compared - sentence stems
4 point and counter pairs - the opening lines that lock a balanced paragraph.
How to use these. Each pair is the opening line for a balanced paragraph - a Point and a Counter on the same theme. Read both aloud, cover one and recall it. Every paragraph carries both before its interim judgement.
Structural theory
Point - the case for
Structural theory explains behaviour from institutional design - FPTP producing two parties, codified entrenchment protecting rights, separation of powers creating checks.
Counter - the case against
But structure alone cannot explain why similar rules produce different politics; incentives and culture also shape outcomes.
Rational theory
Point - the case for
Rational theory explains behaviour from strategic choice - US House members on a two-year cycle vote more cautiously than UK MPs.
Counter - the case against
But rational choice underplays the deep cultural values that make some policies easy in one country and impossible in the other.
Cultural theory
Point - the case for
Cultural theory explains cross-national differences - US individualism makes universal healthcare polarised, UK communitarianism makes it uncontroversial.
Counter - the case against
But culture is hard to measure and risks circularity, where structures and incentives give firmer predictions.
Combining the lenses
Point - the case for
On Supreme Court politicisation all three combine: structure (lifetime tenure, judicial review), rational (each seat shapes law for decades), culture (tolerance of strong rights claims).
Counter - the case against
But a top answer must still judge which lens does most work for the specific question.