Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457): Topic: Political power and action – Study Guide

This guide covers the topic Political power and action from the Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025). It draws on section 2 (aims, skills and assessment objectives), section 3 (the topic list and the meanings of issue, perspective, research, evidence and argument) and section 4 (details of Components 1, 2 and 3, and the command words). Political power and action is one of the 22 topics in the topic list, which the syllabus says is for all three components: the Written Exam, the Individual Report and the Team Project.

Read this first. The syllabus states plainly that knowledge of content is not assessed. You will not gain marks for knowing how many seats a parliament has. This page shows you how to use the topic to practise the skills that are assessed: research, analysis, evaluation, reflection, communication and collaboration.

Use it with the revision notes and the practice questions. For the whole course, see the Global Perspectives hub and the 0457 checklist.

Coverage table

Syllabus reference	What you must be able to do (from the document)	Where assessed
Section 2, AO1 Research, analysis and evaluation	Identify and analyse issues, arguments and perspectives; use evidence to support claims; analyse and evaluate evidence, reasoning and sources; develop a line of reasoning to support a course of action	Component 1 (100% AO1), Components 2 and 3
Section 2, AO2 Reflection	Consider different perspectives objectively and with empathy; justify your own perspective with evidence and reasoning	Components 2 and 3 (not Component 1)
Section 2, AO3 Communication and collaboration	Present arguments, evidence and perspectives clearly with structure; include citations and references; contribute to the Team Project	Components 2 and 3
Section 3, topic list and definitions	Use “Political power and action” as a context for global issues; understand issue, perspective, research, evidence and argument	All components
Section 4, Component 1	Analyse sources; evaluate research and suggest how to test a claim; evaluate arguments; assess actions. Understand bias, claim, fact, generalisation, opinion, prediction, value and vested interest	Written Exam, 1 hour 25 minutes, 70 marks, 35%
Section 4, Component 2	Devise a global research question on an issue that divides opinion; local and/or national and global perspectives; causes, consequences, courses of action; propose one course of action	Individual Report, 1500-2000 words, 60 marks, 30%
Section 4, Component 3	Identify a local issue; research different perspectives; plan, carry out and measure an action; reflect	Team Project, 70 marks, 35%

The issues inside this topic

An issue in the syllabus is “an important subject or problem for discussion”. Political power and action is about who makes decisions, how they get the right to make them, and how other people try to influence or challenge those decisions. Sort issues by level, because Component 1 sources and Component 2 reports both use personal, local and/or national and global perspectives.

• Global: who holds power in international bodies. Five permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) each hold a veto. Some states argue the council should be reformed; others argue the veto keeps major powers inside the system.
• National: who may vote and whether they must. Australia made voting compulsory in federal elections in 1924. Austria lowered the voting age to 16 for national elections in 2007. Scotland allows 16-year-olds to vote in Scottish Parliament and local elections.
• Local: how ordinary residents shape decisions near them. Porto Alegre in Brazil began participatory budgeting in 1989, letting residents help decide how part of the city budget is spent.

Key terms

Term	Meaning
Power	The ability to make decisions or influence what others do
Authority	Power that people accept as rightful, for example because it was won in an election
Legitimacy	The belief that a government or decision has a right to be obeyed
Participation	Taking part in political life: voting, petitioning, protesting, joining a council
Turnout	The share of eligible voters who actually vote
Referendum	A vote by citizens on one question rather than on representatives
Lobbying	Trying to influence decision-makers on behalf of a group or interest
Civil society	Groups outside government, such as charities, unions and campaign groups

Perspectives and why people hold them

A perspective is “a viewpoint on an issue based on evidence and reasoning”. The syllabus asks you to understand why different people hold different perspectives, not just to list them. Take one national issue: should the voting age be 16?

• For: 16-year-olds can work and pay tax in many countries, so they should have a say. Supporters argue that first-time voters who are still at home and in school may form a voting habit.
• Against: opponents argue 16-year-olds have less experience and may be more easily influenced by parents or teachers. Some point out that the age of adulthood is 18 for many other rights.
• Why the difference: the two sides often value different things. One stresses fairness and inclusion. The other stresses maturity and consistency in the law.

Evaluation of the real examples. Austria gives researchers years of national elections with voters aged 16 and 17, so claims about turnout can be tested. A limitation is that one country’s results may not transfer to a country with a different school system or political culture. This is the kind of reasoning AO1 rewards.

Worked example (Component 2 style paragraph)

From a national perspective in Austria, the change to voting at 16 in 2007 shows that a country can widen the vote without wider disruption [knowledge]. For my question, this matters because supporters in my own country use Austria as their main example [application]. However, Austria has its own school system and political culture, so the same change might not produce the same result elsewhere [analysis]. I therefore treat Austria as evidence that the reform is workable, but not as proof that it would raise youth turnout in every country [evaluation].

Causes and consequences

The Individual Report must analyse “causes of problems and the consequences/impacts of the issue”. With political topics, a good habit is to link each cause to a consequence and say who is affected.

Example issue: low turnout among young voters in many democracies.

• Possible causes: feeling that politicians ignore young people; moving home often, so registration lapses; little teaching about how voting works; distrust of parties.
• Possible consequences: parties may focus their promises on older groups who vote more; young people’s priorities get less attention; the elected body may be seen as less legitimate.

Note the word “possible”. Each causal link is a claim that needs evidence. Saying “young people don’t vote because they are lazy” is a generalisation and an opinion, not an explanation.

Sources, evidence and reasoning

Component 1 states that candidates “will benefit from an understanding of the following: bias, claim, fact, generalisation, opinion, prediction, value and vested interest”. Political sources are full of all eight.

Term	Political example to spot
Fact	“The election was held on 4 May.” It can be checked.
Opinion	“This is the worst government in decades.”
Claim	“Votes at 16 increase turnout.” It needs testing.
Prediction	“If voting becomes compulsory, extremist parties will grow.”
Generalisation	“Politicians never keep promises.”
Value	A belief about what matters, such as freedom or equality
Vested interest	A party, campaign group or company that gains from a particular outcome
Bias	One-sided presentation, often but not always linked to a vested interest

How to judge a political source. Ask who wrote it, what they gain, how they collected the evidence, how many people it covers, and whether the conclusion follows from the evidence. A campaign group’s survey is not useless because it has a vested interest; it simply means you need independent evidence before you accept its claim.

Evidence in the syllabus is “information about a global issue that helps to develop understanding or prove that something is true or false”. Official election results are usually stronger evidence of turnout than a poll of what people say they will do, because people often over-report their intention to vote.

Testing a claim

Question 2 of the Written Exam asks you to “evaluate the research or evidence and suggest ways to research or test a claim”. Practise on a claim such as “local residents trust decisions more when they vote on the budget themselves”.

A sound plan names: the method (a before-and-after survey of residents); the sample (a large random sample, not just people at a council event); a comparison group (a similar area without participatory budgeting); the measure (a fixed trust question asked both times); and a limitation (other events between the two surveys could change trust).

Courses of action

The syllabus wants you to consider several courses of action and judge them. For political issues, typical actions include:

• Compulsory voting (as in Australia). Raises turnout, but critics argue it forces people who know little to vote, and fines may fall hardest on poorer citizens.
• Lowering the voting age (as in Austria). Widens inclusion, but whether it builds a lasting habit is debated.
• Citizens’ initiatives and petitions. In Switzerland, 100,000 signatures collected within 18 months can force a national vote on a constitutional change. The UK Parliament’s petitions site promises a government response at 10,000 signatures and considers a debate at 100,000. Petitions are cheap and open, but a debate is not a decision.
• Participatory budgeting (as in Porto Alegre). Gives residents direct power over part of a budget, but participation can be low and may favour people with more free time.
• Citizens’ assemblies. Ireland has used assemblies of randomly selected citizens to consider constitutional questions before referendums. They allow deep discussion, but members are not elected and governments are not bound by their advice.

Judge every action against the same criteria: effectiveness, cost, fairness, who it helps or excludes, and whether it lasts (sustainability).

Worked example (Question 4 style paragraph)

One course of action for low youth turnout is compulsory voting, which Australia introduced for federal elections in 1924 [knowledge]. In the sources, the council’s worry is that young residents do not vote at all, and compulsion would address that directly [application]. However, compulsion raises the number of votes without necessarily raising interest, and a fine may hit students with little income [analysis]. Because the sources show the main barrier is that young people do not know how to register, an easier registration system is likely to be more effective and fairer than compulsion, although it would raise turnout more slowly [evaluation].

Individual Report question ideas

The global issue “should be one that divides opinion”. The question must allow local and/or national and global perspectives. Possible questions:

• Should voting be compulsory in democratic countries?
• Should the voting age be lowered to 16?
• Should the veto in the UN Security Council be reformed?
• How far should governments limit protest to protect public order?

A weak title is “Democracy” (a topic, not a question). A strong title names an issue, invites more than one answer and can be answered in 1500-2000 words. Your teacher will confirm whether your chosen question is feasible.

Team Project ideas

The team chooses a local issue. Ideas linked to this topic:

• Low turnout in student council elections at your school.
• Young residents who do not know how to take part in a local council consultation.
• Few young people registered to vote in your area.

Keep the action non-partisan. The syllabus notes that Cambridge International is politically neutral, and schools usually have rules about political activity, so explain how to take part rather than telling people whom to support. Your teacher will confirm what is allowed. Plan how you will measure success before you act, for example by comparing student council turnout before and after your campaign.

Common errors

• Writing facts about political systems instead of analysing the source in front of you. Content knowledge is not assessed.
• Calling any source with a vested interest “biased and unreliable” without explaining how the interest could affect the evidence.
• Treating a prediction (“turnout will rise”) as if it were a fact.
• Giving your own party-political view in the Written Exam instead of judging the quality of the arguments.
• Choosing an Individual Report question with only one side, such as “Why is democracy good?”.
• Proposing a Team Project action that is a campaign for a party or candidate.
• Forgetting to say how a course of action would be carried out and what its impact would be.

Where next

• Written Exam study guide and Written Exam revision notes
• Individual Report study guide and Individual Report revision notes
• Team Project study guide and Team Project revision notes
• Global Perspectives hub and 0457 checklist

Official syllabus

This guide follows the Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025). Check it, the specimen papers and your teacher’s advice for the final word on what is assessed.