The first aim of this unit is to introduce students to the workings of Australian political institutions: the Constitution, the Governor-General and the High Court; federalism, the States and local government; Cabinet and the Prime Minister; the House of Representatives and the Senate; the public service; parties and the party system; pressure groups; opinion polls; elections and electoral systems; and the media.
The second aim is to examine arguments about: changes in the way these institutions operate (eg. the 'decline' of parliament; the 'politicisation' of the High Court; the 'convergence' of the ALP and the Liberal Party); shifts in attitudes (eg. the public's increasing 'alienation' from the political process); and how some of these institutions might be improved (eg. the debates about republicanism, Aboriginal representation and the need for 'leadership').
The third aim is to link these discussions - about what is, was, or might be - with wider debates about representation, citizenship and democracy.

We often think politically without being aware of it. When we say that some people in our society have not been treated justly or when we condemn violence and injustice in other societies, we are making political judgements and using political concepts. How does our sense of fairness or our compassion in cases such as these relate to our political judgements?
This unit explores the use of the political concepts such as those of political justice, equality, democracy and the rule of the law as well as the role of morality in political judgement. Among the selected readings for this course are the classics of political thought such as Machiavelli, Thomas More, Plato, Hobbes, Locke and Mill.

This course is an introduction to the modern study of international relations. The course is designed to give students a basic understanding of the actors, institutions, and ideas that influence international politics. The primary goal of the course is to provide students with a set of analytical tools for making sense of international political phenomena in a variety of historical periods and geographical regions. Chief among these tools are the basic theories of international politics: realism and liberalism. Special attention will be paid to Australia’s place in the international system.

This unit places recent political developments in a wider context.
Part I concentrates on the development of Australian government since federation, with the main focus on the decades since the Second World War. The areas to be examined include the changing relationships between interest groups, political parties and the institutions of government, as well as the shifting balance between the public and private sectors.
Part II will look at selected current political issues. Particular attention will be paid to alternative ways of explaining Australian politics. This unit assumes a basic knowledge of Australian political institutions. It is offered both in external and internal mode. Those who have not completed POL165 must read: G. Singleton, Australian Political Institutions (Longman, 2000).

The theories and practices of globalisation may pose special challenges for Africa. The history of many African countries has been turbulent in the post-colonial period and in many the capacity of the state to govern has been questioned. The unit examines contemporary debates about the political processes of globalisation by focussing on South Africa and its relations with other countries in Africa and the world

Terrorism and the war against it have become major international and domestic issues in the Twenty First Century. This course will introduce students not only to the politics of terrorism and counter-terrorism today, but to the historical, philosophical and importance. A particular emphasis will be placed on the changing role of the United States in the post-Cold War era of globalization, and on the nature and implications of current government policies designed to counter the terrorist thereat, both here and abroad.

This unit will examine classical and modern theories of revolution; why some revolutions have succeeded and others have only partially succeeded or failed; and the consequences of these different outcomes. The case studies will include revolutions via mass mobilisations and/or armed struggle (eg. Cuba, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Iran) and revolutions via mass mobilisations and the 'ballot box' (eg. Chile, Philippines). In discussing the case studies, we will focus on social and economic factors, sources of recruitment, role of social classes, leadership patterns, political appeals and strategies, and the influence of external factors.

What are the limits of the legitimate use of force by political authorities? How should the power of government be limited? When is a government or political regime legitimate? These and related questions have been the subject of a continuous debate in political theory since the 16th century.
This unit examines the various theories of human rights and of social contract as well as theories which reject the liberal/democratic approach to the question of legitimacy. Among the authors to be read are Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, Burke, Marx, Rawls, Schmitt, and Foucault. This online unit is offered in internal and external mode.

The primary objective of this course is to introduce students to the domestic politics of the Middle East, and to the intellectual and ideological currents which shape those politics. The first four weeks will be devoted to the examination and discussion of broad-ranging theoretical concepts necessary for an understanding of Middle Eastern political processes, and different ways of looking at those processes. The course will then move to a more detailed examination of the structure of government and the politics of the region, using some of the ideas from the earlier part of the course. Particular attention will be paid to the regions ongoing relations with the West; the rise of Arab nationalism and Zionism; the emergence and future prospects of religious fundamentalism; the Arab-Israeli dispute and its possible resolution; and the 1991 Gulf War and its aftermath in the Gulf region.

This unit will investigate the origins, evolution and demise of the 'Cold War', largely through the prism of American-Soviet rivalry in the Third World: from the politics of containment and conflict during the 1950s and 1960s, to the rise and demise of superpower 'détente' in the 1970s, to a revival of superpower conflict during the Reagan era, to the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the 1980s and the return to the world of a single superpower (United States) in the 1990s. The last part of this unit focuses on post-Cold War American policy toward the Third World. The case studies include the 1990-1991 Gulf War, Washington's Cuba policy, its involvement in Afghanistan and its confrontation with Iraq. By the end of the semester you should have a basic working knowledge of the origins and nature of the contemporary global crisis.

This unit seeks to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the politics of development (theory and practice) through exploration of the processes, practices and ideas of ‘development’ in historical perspective. The unit’s approach is an intentionally critical one, with particular focus on introducing students to inquiry into questions of identity, inequality and global poverty. Tracing the imperatives behind Western (European) colonisation and imperialism, and their enduring effects, we will look closely at the main schools of development thinking as a background to consideration of the economic, social and political issues facing the so-called ‘developing world’. We will, in particular, consider the political and ‘policy’ debates behind issues such as debt, structural adjustment, environmental degradation, international aid, gender and women in development, as well as the appropriate role of NGOs, international organizations and the wider international community.

This unit focuses on the mass media in liberal democracies, especially Australia. It aims to introduce students to key debates around media policy, bias and objectivity, audience patterns and political effects. Part I examines key issues to do with audiences, ownership, and advertising; Part II looks at the ways in which the media construct news, at debates about bias and objectivity and at media effects; while Part III discusses government and community broadcasting and state regulation of sports broadcasting and Australian content.

This unit will introduce students to the international politics of the Middle East, which includes patterns of interaction between the states of the region and also relations between the region and the world. Topics to be covered include the Arab-Israeli conflict; conflicts and interventions in the Persian Gulf; inter-Arab politics; and economic dependence and development in both their regional and international dimensions from the perspective of international relations. The first part of the course will concentrate on epistemological and historical issues involved in the analysis of the Middle East as a regional system, and its place in the international system. The course will then move on to an investigation of globalisation and democratisation in the Middle East, the prevalence of rogue states in the region and several of the endemic conflict situations that exist. The conflicts to be examined are the Israel-Palestine confrontation, the Iran-Iraq war and Operation Desert Storm. The course will also examine the impact of the 'New World Order' on the Middle East.

Why do we often think that the citizens of each state form, collectively, a nation? Why do we think that this nation 'speaks' or makes its will known through elections? How are nations related to states? Since 1914 new states have been continuously created and their existence justified on the basis of national self-determination. This unit examines the history of the principle, its theoretical justifications and its application in practice. Among the questions discussed are: What makes a group of people a nation? How did the principle of self-determination become a principle of international law? How was this principle used to justify decolonisation? Do the indigenous peoples have a right to self-determination? Is there a right to secede and form a separate state? Will this principle eventually be abandoned within a united Europe?

This unit is available for students who wish to continue study in a subject area already undertaken at 200 or 300 level and is strongly recommended for students intending to do Politics Honours. Entry is restricted to those students who have received at least a Credit grade in the prerequisite Politics unit and at least a Credit grade in one other 200 or 300 level Politics unit. Students enrolled in this unit will be supervised individually by the member of staff responsible for the prerequisite unit. Students who wish to enrol in this unit may only do so after they have obtained the agreement of the appropriate Politics discipline staff member to supervise their research project, and then obtained the approval of the unit coordinator.

The primary objective of this course is to introduce students to the complex interactions of European and Islamic civilization from the time of the Prophet right up until present day. With the end of the Cold War, some observers have claimed that Islam and, more particularly 'Islamic fundamentalism', is the new 'enemy' of Western Civilization. The course will examine the origins and substance of this claim by drawing not only on the history and politics of the encounter between Islam and Europe, but on literature, art and film as well.

This unit surveys the political and policy institutions of contemporary Australia, first within a broad comparative framework (especially Britain, USA, South Africa) and then examines examples of local policy-making, both historical and current, through the so-called 'policy cycle' of policy definition, decision, implementation and evaluation. The unit aims to explain policy-making modes through reference to the theoretical literature of the subject and to connect the study of public policy to the world of work.

This unit will discuss American foreign policy toward the Third World from the 1950s to the present. The first part investigates the policymaking process and those factors (domestic, covert, ideological, economic, etc.) that shape policy outcomes. The second part focuses on case studies, including Eisenhower and the Cuban revolution, Kennedy/Johnson and Vietnam, Nixon and Chile, Carter and Iran, Reagan and the Phillipines, and Bush/Clinton/Bush policy toward Colombia. A small number of documentary films will be shown during the course of the semester.

This unit examines the theory, structure and operation of the American political system. It also considers aspects of US foreign policy and selected contemporary problems in American politics. There is an emphasis on current political issues and events in the United States.

This unit examines Australian foreign policy, with particular emphasis on the Asian-Pacific region, in both its contemporary and historical aspects. The course is divided into three distinct sections. The first is an examination of the development of the study of international relations in Australia; the links between the study of international relations and state policy as well as broader Australian political developments are emphasised. The second section explores the traditions of foreign policy in Australia looking at key stages in its development from 1901 to the end of the 1990s, emphasising the increasing centrality to Australian policy of the Asian-Pacific region. The third section examines the most important contemporary issues in Australian foreign policy including approaches to security, economic globalisation, the United Nations and peacekeeping, developing international regimes covering human rights, the environment and disarmament as well as its key relations in the Asian-Pacific region.

This unit is centered on the question, ‘what is political science?’ Different approaches to the study of politics will be examined. In the first half of the course we will consider questions such as whether there can be a science of politics, and if so, what that would amount to; are political concepts ‘essentially contested’?; and, has a pre-occupation with methodology hindered political enquiry? The second half of the course will examine issues such as whether politics has a distinctive subject matter, the distinction between qualitative and quantitative research, and the nature of evidence in political science research. While the material is philosophically oriented, it also contains an applied element and will be of value to any students contemplating doing honours in politics.