Most popular in Society, Politics & Law

The Fifteen Billion Pound Railway: The Final Countdown Copyrighted image Icon Copyright: Crossrail Ltd BBC Two

Society, Politics & Law

The Fifteen Billion Pound Railway: The Final Countdown

Ten thousand engineers and construction workers race to complete Crossrail.

TV Programme
The Met: Policing London Copyrighted image Icon Copyright: The BBC BBC One

Society, Politics & Law

The Met: Policing London

Across London, The Met is dealing with the pressures and dilemmas of policing a city of eight and a half million people.

TV Programme
What is politics? free course icon Level 2 icon

Society, Politics & Law

What is politics?

This free course, What is politics?, introduces you to the world of politics. It is dedicated primarily to answering the question of what politics is. Although the question might seem rather simple, it elicits various, often contradictory responses. As you will realise, in politics as in much of the humanities and social sciences definitive answers are difficult to come by. What politics is and equally, who does it, and where it is done are hotly debated and highly contested. This OpenLearn course will introduce you to some of these debates, and their implications for the study and practice of politics.

Free course
15 hrs

Latest in Society, Politics & Law

Who counts as a refugee? Copyrighted image Icon Copyright: Used with permission free course icon Level 3 icon

Society, Politics & Law 

Who counts as a refugee?

The words 'refugee' and 'asylum seeker' have a wide variety of connotations in Britain, many of them negative. This free course, Who ------ as a refugee?, explores how changing social policy and terminology help to shape, and are shaped by, the experiences of people seeking asylum in the UK.

Free course
10 hrs
What does the Queen's Speech tell us about the next two years? Creative commons image Icon ukhouseoflords / Parliamentary copyright under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 license article icon

Society, Politics & Law 

What does the Queen's Speech tell us about the next two years?

Yesterday [June 21st] the Queen's Speech laid out the May government's plans for the next two years. In Ben Williams' view, it showed a wounded prime minister on the backfoot.

Article
Could international law block a deal between Theresa May & the DUP? Creative commons image Icon Chatham House under Creative Commons BY 4.0 license article icon

Society, Politics & Law 

Could international law block a deal between Theresa May & the DUP?

Theresa May has yet to seal a deal with the DUP to keep her minority administration afloat. But even if they come to terms, there may be another block to their plans.

Article
The Met: Policing London Copyrighted image Icon Copyright: The BBC BBC One

Society, Politics & Law 

The Met: Policing London

Across London, The Met is dealing with the pressures and dilemmas of policing a city of eight and a half million people.

TV Programme

Your guide to politics in 2017

General Election 2017: A collection Creative commons image Icon Coventry City Council under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 license article icon

Society, Politics & Law 

General Election 2017: A collection

An extraordinary period in British political life, as seen by OpenLearn. Dig into our election coverage from the seven-week campaign nobody was expecting.

Article
Brexit: A collection Creative commons image Icon Diamond Geezer under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 license article icon

Society, Politics & Law 

Brexit: A collection

On June 23rd, 2016, the people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. On March 29th, 2017, Theresa May sent the letter triggering Article 50, formally starting the process of leaving. We'll help you make sense of what this means for the nations, for Europe - and for you.

Article
President Trump: A collection Creative commons image Icon Michael Vadon under Creative Commons BY 4.0 license article icon

Society, Politics & Law 

President Trump: A collection

The first hours of his presidency confirmed that - whatever your opinion of him - Donald Trump is unlike any American Preident of the modern era. Here, OU experts - and others - share their commentary on Donald Trump, and his impact on America and beyond.

Article
House of Lords: an audio collection Copyrighted image Icon Copyright: BBC audio icon

Society, Politics & Law 

House of Lords: an audio collection

Dr Richard Heffernan discusses the past, present and future of the House of Lords.

Audio
30 mins