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VCE Australian & Global Politics Unit 1 AOS 1 

Key Terms and Concepts

  • Liberal democracy: individual freedoms and rights are recognised and protected and it emphasises the separation of powers

  • Representative democracy: When the citizens elect people to represent them in the legislative branch

  • Constitutional monarchy: A political system with a monarch, and their authority and powers are defined by the constitution

  • Socialism: A left wing political ideology which revolves around the belief that the government should own production and wealth on the people’s behalf

  • Fascism: A right wing political ideology which usually has a dictatorial leader and their severe beliefs of nationalism, authoritarianism and anti-democracy

  • Authoritarianism: A system of government characterised by a strong central government and limited democratic rights and freedoms.

  • Theocracy: A governmental system that centres religious beliefs

  • Ideology: A set of values and beliefs a group of people have in common regarding how the world should be organised politically

  • Political power: The use of a state’s internal political machinery to influence citizen’s actions. Ex. legislation, executive orders

  • Authority: The power of a person or group over other people in a political power context

  • Legitimacy: When political power is widely accepted by the population, typically through democratic means

  • Federalism: A government system where law making powers are separated between a national/central government and state/regional governments

  • Separation of powers: The three branches of government (parliament, executive and judiciary) should be kept separate from each other to avoid abuse of power and power is evenly distributed

  • Representative government: A political system where the legislative and executive branches are operated by elected citizens on behalf of the people

Political Spectrum and Labelling

  • Left-wing: This political label emphasises progress, reform and social equality

  • Right-wing: This political label is based on conservative beliefs, reaction and tradition

  • Conservative: This political ideology focuses on traditional family structures and social values

  • Moderate: Rejecting extreme viewpoints and having a mainstream

  • Liberal: Believing in equality, freedom and human rights

  • Reactionary: Someone who wants to revert to traditionalism and reverse political changes

  • The Characteristics of Australian Democracy

    • A written constitution (1901)

    • Appointed head of state (King Charles III)

    • Federal Government

    • Westminster parliamentary government - Bicameral system

    • Mandatory participation in elections

    • Dominance of major parties - Australian Labor Party and Liberal Party of Australia


Political Ideologies

Socialism:

  • entails economic + political systems → support the belief that property, production and resources should be publicly owned + should be a even distribution of wealth

  • allow for equality within society and dismantle social classes

  • all members are responsible for a resource → gives them entitlement to a share

  • ideals based on the principle that independent freedom and co-dependency are reliant on each other

  • members must control production to access freedom

  • left leaning ideology → countering capitalism

Key Beliefs of Socialism:

  • production is publicly owned

  • social equality

  • self-managed economy

  • even distribution of income

Liberal Democracy

Principles + Features of Liberal Democracy

  • Principle 1: Rule of law

    • Everyone is equal before the law

  • Principle 2: Consent of the Governed

    • Government needs our permission to govern us or else the power they possess is not considered legitimate

  • Principle 3: The Separation of Powers

    • Ensures that power is evenly distributed between the three branches

    • Prevents abuse of powers or one branch dominating over the others

    • Judiciary branch: Makes judgements on law, represented by the High Court of Australia

    • Parliament branch: Make and change law, represented by the upper and lower house and the King (Governor-General)

    • Executive branch: Put law into action, represented by the King (Governor-General), Prime Minister and ministers

  • Feature: Freedom and Liberty

    • Eradicate the constraints of individual actions

    • Pursue own interests

  • Feature: Opposition to the concentration of power in one person

    • Links to the separation of powers.

    • Directly counters dictatorships or governments with one-party systems.

  • Feature: The rule of law and due process

    • Ensures that the law applies to everyone, despite factors such as socioeconomic status, gender, position of power, etc

    • Transparency and openness in processes

Authoritarianism

  • Based on the principle of blind loyal to government bodies at the expense of individual rights and freedoms

  • Power in one person or group → lack of political opposition

    • Have total control and can exercise power while ignoring pre-existing legislation

  • Policy remains consistent for the duration of the leadership

  • Citizens cannot vote in elections to alter bad policies

    • Change policies through intense measures like violence

  • Limited liberty → eg. censorship in the media

  • Lack of choice in property rights


Case Study of a Non-Democratic Party

Cuba - Socialism

  • Communist Party of Cuba is the only major party

  • Political System: One state - one party

  • Governing style: Marxist-Leninist, Socialism

  • 1959 Cuban Revolution → Made Cuba into a one-party state

  • Government controls 90% of the economy

  • Workers’ salaries are evenly distributed as a trade-off for healthcare, education, inexpensive transport, and housing, etc

  • Provided housing is in poor condition

  • Cubans create their own businesses secretly to not pay heavy taxes and pay for a government business license

  • Cuba legalised private small/medium businesses in 2021 as a result of people protesting about the economic collapse → Socialism is ineffective

China - Communism

  • Political System: Democratic dictatorship or Socialism w/ Chinese characteristics

  • The Communist Party of China

  • Political System: One-party state

  • Princeling Faction: Come from families of revolutionaries or high ranking individuals

    • Economically well-developed coastal cities

    • Financial beneficiaries

  • Populist Faction: Advance in politics through the Chinese Communist Youth League

    • AKA tuanpai → league faction

    • Representing farmers, migrant workers, urban poor, etc

  • Politburo Standing Committee: The core leadership group of CPC that enacts and amends all laws

    • Comprised of 5-7 members who make decisions on major issues

    • Highest level of executive government

    • Transfer of power in the CPC is an internal matter

    • Protections of rights and freedoms: Deemed an authoritarian society, has power over the citizens’ lives, less free and independent media outlets, prioritises economic rights over political freedoms


Tiananmen Square Case Study

  • Date: 3-4 June 1989

  • Gov. cracked down on protesters in Tiananmen Square → uni students wanted more individual rights + freedoms

  • 22 April 1989: Hu Yaobang’s CCP Secretary encouraged democratic reforms

    • Funeral: students gathered to demand gov. reform

  • Chinese premier + elder statesman insisted on sup

  • pressing protests

  • 3-4 June 1989, tanks + armed troops opened fire on people blocking their way

    • When soldiers reached the square, thousands of demonstrators left

  • 5 June 1989: Military had complete control → incident where lone protester faced down a column of tanks near the square → pulled away by 2 men

  • Chinese gov. arrested suspected people who might have opposed the gov.

  • Government kill count: 241, 7000 wounded

    • other estimates have higher death toil

  • Gov. suppresses reference to this incident


Compare the Communist Party of China’s ideologies with the Australian Liberal Party

CPC

Both

ALP

socialist values

democratic deliver economic growth

minimise interference in people’s lives

dictatorship

improving livelihood of citizens

opposing political parties

dominates Chinese political life

deliver economic growth

individual freedoms

no true opposition or toleration for oppositions

objective to have separation of powers

no separation of powers

liberalism

censorship in the media

no censorship in the media

Marxist-Leninist

economic growth prioritised over individual rights and freedoms


Formal and Informal Politics

  • Formal politics: The dominant frame of reference when considering the nature of politics.

    • Global actors who are prominent in the media and such

  • Informal politics: Power structure of personal relations between people to obtain power

    • Eg. everyday politics: Friendship group at school, workplace gossip, couple parting ways

      • Hierarchies, laws, ideologies, codes of conduct, power struggles

Power

  • Power: The ability to direct people’s behaviour and have authority over others

  • Hard power: When an actor uses force and coercion to get what they want

    • Threatened with money or a material/monetary incentive

    • Actor A wins, Actor B loses

    • Eg. North Korea’s military system → use of 25% of GDP on military

  • Soft Power: The use of appeal and attraction to achieve goals

    • Actor A appeals to Actor B so they want the same thing → Actor A strategically makes situations to make the win favourable for Actor B

    • Eg. Australia’s government system → focus on building connections with other countries with Australia’s internet at large

Key Terms and Concepts

  • Liberal democracy: individual freedoms and rights are recognised and protected and it emphasises the separation of powers

  • Representative democracy: When the citizens elect people to represent them in the legislative branch

  • Constitutional monarchy: A political system with a monarch, and their authority and powers are defined by the constitution

  • Socialism: A left wing political ideology which revolves around the belief that the government should own production and wealth on the people’s behalf

  • Fascism: A right wing political ideology which usually has a dictatorial leader and their severe beliefs of nationalism, authoritarianism and anti-democracy

  • Authoritarianism: A system of government characterised by a strong central government and limited democratic rights and freedoms.

  • Theocracy: A governmental system that centres religious beliefs

  • Ideology: A set of values and beliefs a group of people have in common regarding how the world should be organised politically

  • Political power: The use of a state’s internal political machinery to influence citizen’s actions. Ex. legislation, executive orders

  • Authority: The power of a person or group over other people in a political power context

  • Legitimacy: When political power is widely accepted by the population, typically through democratic means

  • Federalism: A government system where law making powers are separated between a national/central government and state/regional governments

  • Separation of powers: The three branches of government (parliament, executive and judiciary) should be kept separate from each other to avoid abuse of power and power is evenly distributed

  • Representative government: A political system where the legislative and executive branches are operated by elected citizens on behalf of the people

Political Spectrum and Labelling

  • Left-wing: This political label emphasises progress, reform and social equality

  • Right-wing: This political label is based on conservative beliefs, reaction and tradition

  • Conservative: This political ideology focuses on traditional family structures and social values

  • Moderate: Rejecting extreme viewpoints and having a mainstream

  • Liberal: Believing in equality, freedom and human rights

  • Reactionary: Someone who wants to revert to traditionalism and reverse political changes

  • The Characteristics of Australian Democracy

    • A written constitution (1901)

    • Appointed head of state (King Charles III)

    • Federal Government

    • Westminster parliamentary government - Bicameral system

    • Mandatory participation in elections

    • Dominance of major parties - Australian Labor Party and Liberal Party of Australia


Political Ideologies

Socialism:

  • entails economic + political systems → support the belief that property, production and resources should be publicly owned + should be a even distribution of wealth

  • allow for equality within society and dismantle social classes

  • all members are responsible for a resource → gives them entitlement to a share

  • ideals based on the principle that independent freedom and co-dependency are reliant on each other

  • members must control production to access freedom

  • left leaning ideology → countering capitalism

Key Beliefs of Socialism:

  • production is publicly owned

  • social equality

  • self-managed economy

  • even distribution of income

Liberal Democracy

Principles + Features of Liberal Democracy

  • Principle 1: Rule of law

    • Everyone is equal before the law

  • Principle 2: Consent of the Governed

    • Government needs our permission to govern us or else the power they possess is not considered legitimate

  • Principle 3: The Separation of Powers

    • Ensures that power is evenly distributed between the three branches

    • Prevents abuse of powers or one branch dominating over the others

    • Judiciary branch: Makes judgements on law, represented by the High Court of Australia

    • Parliament branch: Make and change law, represented by the upper and lower house and the King (Governor-General)

    • Executive branch: Put law into action, represented by the King (Governor-General), Prime Minister and ministers

  • Feature: Freedom and Liberty

    • Eradicate the constraints of individual actions

    • Pursue own interests

  • Feature: Opposition to the concentration of power in one person

    • Links to the separation of powers.

    • Directly counters dictatorships or governments with one-party systems.

  • Feature: The rule of law and due process

    • Ensures that the law applies to everyone, despite factors such as socioeconomic status, gender, position of power, etc

    • Transparency and openness in processes

Authoritarianism

  • Based on the principle of blind loyal to government bodies at the expense of individual rights and freedoms

  • Power in one person or group → lack of political opposition

    • Have total control and can exercise power while ignoring pre-existing legislation

  • Policy remains consistent for the duration of the leadership

  • Citizens cannot vote in elections to alter bad policies

    • Change policies through intense measures like violence

  • Limited liberty → eg. censorship in the media

  • Lack of choice in property rights


Case Study of a Non-Democratic Party

Cuba - Socialism

  • Communist Party of Cuba is the only major party

  • Political System: One state - one party

  • Governing style: Marxist-Leninist, Socialism

  • 1959 Cuban Revolution → Made Cuba into a one-party state

  • Government controls 90% of the economy

  • Workers’ salaries are evenly distributed as a trade-off for healthcare, education, inexpensive transport, and housing, etc

  • Provided housing is in poor condition

  • Cubans create their own businesses secretly to not pay heavy taxes and pay for a government business license

  • Cuba legalised private small/medium businesses in 2021 as a result of people protesting about the economic collapse → Socialism is ineffective

China - Communism

  • Political System: Democratic dictatorship or Socialism w/ Chinese characteristics

  • The Communist Party of China

  • Political System: One-party state

  • Princeling Faction: Come from families of revolutionaries or high ranking individuals

    • Economically well-developed coastal cities

    • Financial beneficiaries

  • Populist Faction: Advance in politics through the Chinese Communist Youth League

    • AKA tuanpai → league faction

    • Representing farmers, migrant workers, urban poor, etc

  • Politburo Standing Committee: The core leadership group of CPC that enacts and amends all laws

    • Comprised of 5-7 members who make decisions on major issues

    • Highest level of executive government

    • Transfer of power in the CPC is an internal matter

    • Protections of rights and freedoms: Deemed an authoritarian society, has power over the citizens’ lives, less free and independent media outlets, prioritises economic rights over political freedoms


Tiananmen Square Case Study

  • Date: 3-4 June 1989

  • Gov. cracked down on protesters in Tiananmen Square → uni students wanted more individual rights + freedoms

  • 22 April 1989: Hu Yaobang’s CCP Secretary encouraged democratic reforms

    • Funeral: students gathered to demand gov. reform

  • Chinese premier + elder statesman insisted on sup

  • pressing protests

  • 3-4 June 1989, tanks + armed troops opened fire on people blocking their way

    • When soldiers reached the square, thousands of demonstrators left

  • 5 June 1989: Military had complete control → incident where lone protester faced down a column of tanks near the square → pulled away by 2 men

  • Chinese gov. arrested suspected people who might have opposed the gov.

  • Government kill count: 241, 7000 wounded

    • other estimates have higher death toil

  • Gov. suppresses reference to this incident


Compare the Communist Party of China’s ideologies with the Australian Liberal Party

CPC

Both

ALP

socialist values

democratic deliver economic growth

minimise interference in people’s lives

dictatorship

improving livelihood of citizens

opposing political parties

dominates Chinese political life

deliver economic growth

individual freedoms

no true opposition or toleration for oppositions

objective to have separation of powers

no separation of powers

liberalism

censorship in the media

no censorship in the media

Marxist-Leninist

economic growth prioritised over individual rights and freedoms


Formal and Informal Politics

  • Formal politics: The dominant frame of reference when considering the nature of politics.

    • Global actors who are prominent in the media and such

  • Informal politics: Power structure of personal relations between people to obtain power

    • Eg. everyday politics: Friendship group at school, workplace gossip, couple parting ways

      • Hierarchies, laws, ideologies, codes of conduct, power struggles

Power

  • Power: The ability to direct people’s behaviour and have authority over others

  • Hard power: When an actor uses force and coercion to get what they want

    • Threatened with money or a material/monetary incentive

    • Actor A wins, Actor B loses

    • Eg. North Korea’s military system → use of 25% of GDP on military

  • Soft Power: The use of appeal and attraction to achieve goals

    • Actor A appeals to Actor B so they want the same thing → Actor A strategically makes situations to make the win favourable for Actor B

    • Eg. Australia’s government system → focus on building connections with other countries with Australia’s internet at large