ACTUAL 2025 AQA A-LEVEL POLITICS Paper 2 Government and Politics of the USA and
Comparative Politics
Question Paper & Mark Scheme (Merged) Thursday 5 June 2025 [VERIFIED]
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Section A – US Government, Politics and Comparative Theory
Answer questions 1, 2 and 3.
0 1 Explain and analyse three informal powers of the president.
[9 marks]
0 2 Explain and analyse three factions within the Democratic Party.
[9 marks]
0 3 Explain and analyse three ways that rational theory could be used to study the
relationships that US presidents and UK prime ministers have with their respective
legislatures.
[9 marks]
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Section B – Extract Question
Read the extracts below and answer question 4 that follows.
Congress; the broken branch of government? Extract 1
Is Congress broken?
The idea that Congress is ‘broken’ is misleading. Congress is the national government’s most
democratic political institution. Some may wish to award this distinction to the president, who, of
course, can claim to be the only official elected by the people as a whole. Nevertheless, it is
Congress that collectively reflects the diversity of the nation. At its core, the congressional policy-
making process and its committees and subcommittees hearings are open to the public and to the
press. In the contemporary Congress, floor debate is not an empty exercise.
Many of the characteristics of Congress with which Americans are so impatient stem directly from
the institution’s democratic nature. Members of Congress are elected individually and are likely to
bicker, delay, and compromise because they represent a variety of different groups and interests
that demand that their perspectives be voiced.
Extract taken from the website Yale University Press blogs, December 2019.
Benjamin Ginsberg and Kathryn Wagner Hill are academics from Yale University.
Extract 2
Our democracy can’t work without a functioning Congress.
Congress is broken. In the Senate, filibuster abuse has repeatedly allowed a minority of senators to
frustrate congressional efforts to address the serious issues facing our country. At the same time,
Congress as a whole has fallen short in providing strong oversight of the executive branch. When
Congress is controlled by the president’s party, it often fails to use its authority, looking the other
way in the face of potential abuses of power. And when it is controlled by the opposition, partisan
investigations often focus more on scoring political points than on uncovering the truth.
The Brennan Center for Justice is urging reforms to create a Congress that works. Senate
dysfunction undermines the proper operation of our government – which was meant to function
with three branches, not two. We promote reforms to the filibuster rule so that legislative
minorities can’t paralyse the Senate indefinitely. And we urge Congress to bolster its over-sight role.
Extract taken from an article that appeared on the website of the Brennan Center for Justice,
published in October 2020. The Brennan Center is an independent, non-partisan law and policy
organisation.
0 4 Analyse, evaluate and compare the arguments in the above extracts regarding the extent to
which Congress is broken.
[25 marks]
Turn over for Section C
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Section C – Comparative Government and Politics Essay Questions
Answer either question 5 or question 6.
In your answer you should draw on material from across the whole range of your course of study in
politics.
Either
0 5 ‘Both the US and UK constitutions are outdated and in need of significant reform.’
Analyse and evaluate this statement.
[25 marks]
or
0 6 ‘US pressure groups are more effective than those in the UK in promoting and protecting civil
rights and liberties.’ Analyse and evaluate this statement.
[25 marks]
END OF QUESTIONS
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Comparative Politics
Question Paper & Mark Scheme (Merged) Thursday 5 June 2025 [VERIFIED]
for more: 7152/2
tyrionpapers.com
IB/G/Jun25/G4
004/E7
, 2
Section A – US Government, Politics and Comparative Theory
Answer questions 1, 2 and 3.
0 1 Explain and analyse three informal powers of the president.
[9 marks]
0 2 Explain and analyse three factions within the Democratic Party.
[9 marks]
0 3 Explain and analyse three ways that rational theory could be used to study the
relationships that US presidents and UK prime ministers have with their respective
legislatures.
[9 marks]
for more: tyrionpapers.com
IB/G/Jun25/7152/2
, 3
Section B – Extract Question
Read the extracts below and answer question 4 that follows.
Congress; the broken branch of government? Extract 1
Is Congress broken?
The idea that Congress is ‘broken’ is misleading. Congress is the national government’s most
democratic political institution. Some may wish to award this distinction to the president, who, of
course, can claim to be the only official elected by the people as a whole. Nevertheless, it is
Congress that collectively reflects the diversity of the nation. At its core, the congressional policy-
making process and its committees and subcommittees hearings are open to the public and to the
press. In the contemporary Congress, floor debate is not an empty exercise.
Many of the characteristics of Congress with which Americans are so impatient stem directly from
the institution’s democratic nature. Members of Congress are elected individually and are likely to
bicker, delay, and compromise because they represent a variety of different groups and interests
that demand that their perspectives be voiced.
Extract taken from the website Yale University Press blogs, December 2019.
Benjamin Ginsberg and Kathryn Wagner Hill are academics from Yale University.
Extract 2
Our democracy can’t work without a functioning Congress.
Congress is broken. In the Senate, filibuster abuse has repeatedly allowed a minority of senators to
frustrate congressional efforts to address the serious issues facing our country. At the same time,
Congress as a whole has fallen short in providing strong oversight of the executive branch. When
Congress is controlled by the president’s party, it often fails to use its authority, looking the other
way in the face of potential abuses of power. And when it is controlled by the opposition, partisan
investigations often focus more on scoring political points than on uncovering the truth.
The Brennan Center for Justice is urging reforms to create a Congress that works. Senate
dysfunction undermines the proper operation of our government – which was meant to function
with three branches, not two. We promote reforms to the filibuster rule so that legislative
minorities can’t paralyse the Senate indefinitely. And we urge Congress to bolster its over-sight role.
Extract taken from an article that appeared on the website of the Brennan Center for Justice,
published in October 2020. The Brennan Center is an independent, non-partisan law and policy
organisation.
0 4 Analyse, evaluate and compare the arguments in the above extracts regarding the extent to
which Congress is broken.
[25 marks]
Turn over for Section C
for more: tyrionpapers.com Turn over ►
IB/G/Jun25/7152/2
, 4
Section C – Comparative Government and Politics Essay Questions
Answer either question 5 or question 6.
In your answer you should draw on material from across the whole range of your course of study in
politics.
Either
0 5 ‘Both the US and UK constitutions are outdated and in need of significant reform.’
Analyse and evaluate this statement.
[25 marks]
or
0 6 ‘US pressure groups are more effective than those in the UK in promoting and protecting civil
rights and liberties.’ Analyse and evaluate this statement.
[25 marks]
END OF QUESTIONS
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IB/G/Jun25/7152/2
