Political Science Midterm

Liberal democracy

System with individual rights, free elections, rule of law.

Federalism

Division of power between Commonwealth and states.

Bicameralism

Two houses: House of Reps + Senate with strong powers.

Majoritarianism

Majority rule principle in elections and governance.

Terra nullius

Doctrine treating Australia as unoccupied at colonisation (overturned by Mabo).

Races power (s.51[xxvi])

Allowed special laws for certain races.

1967 Referendum

Removed s.127 of Constitution, expanded Commonwealth power over Indigenous people.

Mabo v Queensland

1992 High Court case recognising native title, rejecting terra nullius.

Voluntary union

States chose to federate in 1901 Constitution.

Vertical fiscal imbalance (VFI)

Commonwealth raises more revenue than needed; states rely on grants from commonwealth to fulfill public service budgets.

Horizontal fiscal equalisation (HFE)

Redistribution of GST for equal state service capacity. Funds distributed equally, some states argue it should be distributed equitably instead.

Executive Federalism

Cooperation between federal and state governments (e.g. COAG).

Uniform Tax Cases

1942, 1957 High Court cases centralising income tax under Commonwealth. Made it virtually impossible for states to impose income tax, allowed for Commonwealth to tie conditions to state grants, furthering centralization.

Washminster system

Hybrid of Westminster responsible govt + US federalism. Fused parliament and executive from Westminster, bicameral parliament and federalist system from U.S.

Responsible government

Executive accountable to parliament, parliament to people.

Parliamentary privilege

Free speech in parliament, powers to regulate and summon.

Double dissolution election (s.57)

Full election to resolve legislative deadlock.

Governor-General

Crown’s representative with reserve powers, assents laws.

Prime Minister

Leader of majority party; not mentioned in Constitution.

Party discipline

MPs conventionally vote with party line.

Cabinet solidarity

All ministers must publicly support cabinet decisions.

Ministerial responsibility

Ministers accountable for their departments' actions.

Principal-agent problem

Info gap between voters→MPs→executive/bureaucracy.

Preferential voting

House system: rank all candidates, majority wins after preferences.

Single Transferable Vote (STV)

Senate: quota-based proportional representation with preferences.

HTV card

How-to-vote guide distributed by parties with preference order.

Vote transfer arrangements

Deals between parties to recommend preferences to each other.

Dualism

Australian parliament gets to decide what aspects of international law are implemented into Australian political system (Parliamentary sovereignty).

Split ticket voting

Citizens can vote one way for the senate and the other way for the house. This encourages both major parties having shared power in a given government.

Malapportionment

Electoral districts that have a smaller population and can elect a single representative who has equal power to other representatives who represent electorates with smaller populations.

Astroturfing

When a political organization pretends to be a grassroots cause but is really not, often for monetary purposes.

Disclosure threshold

The minimum donation amount that must be publicly reported to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).

AEC (Australian Electoral Commission)

Federal body that regulates elections and political donations.

Dark money / undisclosed donations

Donations under the reporting threshold or delayed beyond disclosure deadlines.

Four traditions of ALP

Socialism, labourism, social democracy, and social liberalism.

Labourism

Ideology emphasizing the political representation of the working class through trade unions.

Social democracy

Ideology advocating state intervention to ensure economic fairness and social welfare.

Social liberalism

Supports individual liberties and moderate economic intervention for social good.

Democratic Labor Party (DLP)

Anti-communist splinter group from ALP (1955), led mainly by Catholics concerned with union infiltration.

Federated party

ALP’s structure linking state branches, the national conference, and national executive.

National Conference

The supreme decision-making body of the ALP.

Caucus

The parliamentary members of the ALP who elect leaders and shape government policy.

Organizational wing

The non-parliamentary structure of the party (branches, conferences, etc.) made up of party members.

Parliamentary wing

Elected representatives (MPs, Senators) who sit in parliament under the party banner.

Branch stacking

Illegitimate recruitment of members to manipulate internal votes or preselections.

Entryism

When outside groups (e.g. churches) infiltrate a party to shift its policies or leadership.

Factionalism

Division of the party into “left” and “right” factions competing for control and influence.

Free-market liberalism / neoliberalism

Economic ideology favoring small government, deregulation, and privatization.

Parliamentary sovereignty (within party)

The Coalition’s parliamentary leaders have strong autonomy in setting policy direction.

Secessionist minor party

A splinter from a major party formed to oppose certain policies (e.g., DLP).

Movement minor party

Party that originates from a social movement (e.g., The Greens).

Australian Democrats

Centrist minor party formed from Liberal breakaways, sought to represent “middle ground.”

Realignment

Process where voters or politicians switch party loyalty.

Dealignment

Disengagement from major parties; growing tendency for citizens to support independents or minor parties. Usually highly educated folks.

Interest group

Organization seeking to influence public policy on behalf of a specific interest or cause.

Sectional interest group

Represents specific professions or sectors (e.g., trade unions, business associations).

Promotional interest group

Promotes an idea or cause (e.g., environmentalism, equality).

New social movements

Social movements that emerged post-1960s focusing on identity, rights, or environmental issues.

Lobbying

Attempt to influence political decisions through persuasion or access to policymakers.

Insider strategy

Direct persuasion or consultation with policymakers.

Outsider strategy

Public campaigns or pressure to sway opinion and influence government.

Canberra centralization

Trend of interest groups moving headquarters to Canberra to gain proximity to national policymakers.

 Think tank

Research organization aiming to shape policy or public opinion, often ideologically aligned.

Peak organization / umbrella group

Coalition of interest groups that represent a sector collectively in policymaking.

Pluralism

System where multiple groups compete openly to influence government policy.

Corporatism

Alternative model where government formally consults structured representative bodies in policymaking.

Top-down interest group

Created or encouraged by government.

Bottom-up interest group

Grassroots-formed group representing citizen interests.

Register of lobbyists

Official list of professional lobbyists, introduced post-Rudd government.

Deductible gift recipient status (DGR)

Legal classification allowing donations to be tax-deductible.

Astroturfing

Pretending to be a legitimate grassroots organization when you’re really fueled by other interests. In other words, the existence of the group is not built on the concerns of regular citizens.

Social movement

Loose coalition of individuals seeking broad social change.

Trigger event

Catalytic occurrence that spurs mass mobilization (e.g., injustice or scandal).

Free rider problem

When individuals benefit from a movement without contributing.

No ticket, no start policy

Example of enforcement in unions to prevent free riders.

Rational choice model

Theory that people join movements based on cost-benefit analysis.

Civil society

Sphere of voluntary associations and organizations independent of the state (e.g., charities, religious orgs).

Political opportunity structure

The political context or timing that enables or constrains movement success.

Structural vs. non-structural conditions

Fixed (e.g., laws, regime type) vs. variable (e.g., current public sentiment) influences on movement success.

Mobilizing structures

Networks and organizations that coordinate collective action within movements.

Collective action frame

Shared interpretation and narrative that unites a movement’s participants.

Social framing

The process of defining problems, proposing solutions, and motivating action.

Co-optation

When a movement is absorbed or neutralized by being integrated into existing power structures.

Formalization

When movement goals are institutionalized into official policy or political structures.

Liberal market economy (LME)

Economy with minimal government intervention and competitive markets (e.g., Australia, U.S.).

Keynesianism

Economic theory advocating active government spending to maintain full employment and economic stability.

Supply-side economics

Growth strategy focusing on boosting production (aggregate supply).

Demand-side economics

Strategy focusing on increasing consumer spending (aggregate demand).

Protectionism

Economic policy protecting domestic industries via tariffs and restrictions on imports.

Australian Settlement / New Protectionism

Post-Federation system balancing tariffs, wage regulation, and state investment.

Stagflation

Economic condition of high inflation and stagnant growth, undermining Keynesian policy in the 1970s.

Floating the dollar (1983)

Allowing the AUD’s value to fluctuate based on global currency markets.

Inflation targeting

Monetary policy objective to maintain stable, low inflation through independent central banking.

Monetary policy

Central bank actions controlling money supply and interest rates to influence inflation and growth.

Globalization

Integration of global markets leading to increased competition and interdependence.

Virtuous cycle (postwar manufacturing)

Period of rising productivity and wages reinforcing economic growth.

Policy capacity decline

Reduction in government expertise and resources for effective economic reform.

The Whitlam Dismissal

In 1974, the Whitlam government had a majority in the House, but not in the Senate. The Senate blocked 6 bills passed by the House, and PM Gough Whitlam advised Governor General Sir Paul Hasluck to do a double dissolution election. After the election, Labor gained seats in the senate but saw a decreased majority in the House. There was still a deadlock, so they had a joint sitting, passing the 6 trigger bills. Malcolm Fraser and the opposition then started blocking appropriations bills in the Senate, stating that they’d continue to block unless Whitlam called a full election for the House. They couldn’t get supply through, Whitlam was kinda supposed to resign at this point but wouldn’t back down, so Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed him and appointed Fraser as caretaker PM.