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

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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

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• 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

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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

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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

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