Kicking the Bastards Out?
Advocates of reform want to subject their representatives to constant
scrutiny, allowing voters to judge every word spoken, coalition joined,
and compromise approved. Professor Jane Mansbridge believes that this
approach to reform is misguided. She argues that a better strategy is
to allow more discretion in office and concentrate on three goals: one,
select better legislators to begin with; two, communicate with both
legislators and bureaucrats in settings where they have a strong
inc
Divided We Stand: Political Reflections on the Federal Experiment
Was the federation of the six Australian colonies into a Commonwealth of Australia really such a good idea? What were the alternatives? Might there have been a better way of doing things? The hard and brutal fact is that the Federation in the end was a political compromise; it was a product of some ferocious horse-trading and Canberra is its monument. This lecture looks at the politics - as distinct from the legal and financial aspects - of Australia's federal arrangements. How the politica
Dialogue, Justice and Peace
Our interdependent world creates both new opportunities and new challenges. The gravest danger today is insecurity, which has taken on global proportions. In order to deal with the threat of this insecurity, it is imperative for the world community to engage in constructive dialogue, but this must be based on two foundations: a deep comprehension of civilisations, religions and cultures; and justice. Indeed, in our insecure world, full of extremism and conflict, only serious di
The Future of East Timor
In his first visit to Australia as Prime Minister of
Timor-Leste, Dr Jose Ramos-Horta discusses the current political
situation in his country.
Dr Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and
accomplished diplomat, was handed one of the biggest challenges of his
life on 10 July 2006, he became Timor-Leste’s second Prime Minister. He
came to the position amid high expectations that he restore political
stability, reconstitute the security forces, promote development,
eradicate corruption a
Korea’s Middle Power Foreign Policy in the 21st Century
This lecture starts by briefly defining the middle power and its role in the regional system. The security environment that the Korean peninsula is facing is later introduced including the North Korean nuclear weapons problem, the rise of China, and human security issues. Korea's foreign policy postures both at bilateral and multilateral levels is also provided. The lecture concludes with a brief introduction of Korea's alliance strategy, policy toward North Korea, polic
Inaugural Crawford-Nishi Lecture on Japan and Australia: A Vision for the Future
The Minister for Foreign Affairs discusses where the Australian Government is taking a relationship that Prime Minister Aso recently described as having reached the most productive time in its history. Particularly focussing on:
quick, coordinated action through the G20 to get the global economy working again
enhancing our already close economic relationship through the early conclusion of a comprehensive free trade agreement
turning our bilateral defence cooperation to efforts to improve
China and the West in the 21st Century
China’s phenomenal economic growth is paralleled in scale and speed
only by the rise of the United States between the Civil War and the
First World War in 1914. Since 1978 the economy has grown ninefold, and
is set to become the second largest within a decade. From inauspicious
beginnings, China has become a $2 trillion economy because the
Communist Party has channelled huge savings into investment, and
encouraged millions of workers into its booming cities, the biggest
migration in histor
Climate Change and the Australian Reform Agenda
This lecture is the ninth annual Sir Leslie Melville Lecture presented by the Australian National University. The introduction of an emissions trading scheme in Australia constitutes a significant economic reform. Unlike other key reforms with such a broad impact across the economy, there has not been a broad consensus within the economics profession on the merits of this reform or the general approach to how it should be implemented. In part this is due to the complex and multidimensional natur
Rising to Global Power How Australia could supply the whole world's energy needs
In this exciting presentation, he examines the question of how – by expanding our vision to consider energy supply on a massive scale – an Australian collaboration between electrical engineers, economists and chemical engineers could potentially power the entire world.
Managing the European economy after the introduction of the Euro
The Euro was first adopted as a currency in 1999, but what impact has it had on the European economy? This unit looks at the key developments in the economy since that date and examines the challenges of economic policy formation and governance of the EU's expanding economy.
9.3 Mental health practice: Bonnyrigg
This unit is intended to be of interest not only to people living in Scotland but to anyone wishing to know more about Scottish society and culture. It brings together a collection of free educational resources relevant to Scotland. The resources within this unit cover a wide range of subject areas, including education, environment, technology, history, law, literature, politics, social care and social sciences.
Constitutionalism, the politics of power and AIDS
Justice Edwin Cameron, Judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and James and Jean Davis Prestige Visitor presents a public lecture on Constitutionalism, the politics of power and AIDS.
Constitutionalism, the politics of power and AIDS
Justice Edwin Cameron, Judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and James and Jean Davis Prestige Visitor presents a public lecture on Constitutionalism, the politics of power and AIDS.
3.6 Oil industry in Scotland
This unit is intended to be of interest not only to people living in Scotland but to anyone wishing to know more about Scottish society and culture. It brings together a collection of free educational resources relevant to Scotland. The resources within this unit cover a wide range of subject areas, including education, environment, technology, history, law, literature, politics, social care and social sciences.
5 Next steps
The idea of ‘family’ is very powerful in contemporary UK culture and policy. Family lives have been the subject of many anxieties both at the personal and policy levels. How do public debates relate to people’s everyday experiences of families? In this unit, you can explore the many attempts at defining ‘family’ and why these complex and contradictory meanings are important to us. We begin to unpick questions of power and inequality, to test our everyday assumptions about families, and
Environmental Planning and Politics in New York State
Susan Riha discusses environmental issues and the role of politics in climate change and gas drilling in New York State.
Date: 05/12/2010
1 The politics of racial violence in Britain
The material presented here focuses on the politics of racial violence in Britain. The material is an audio file, originally 30 minutes in length, and examines the issues around this subject. It was recorded in 1995.
1 The politics of racial violence in Britain
The material presented here focuses on the politics of racial violence in Britain. The material is an audio file, originally 30 minutes in length, and examines the issues around this subject. It was recorded in 1995.
Process and Effects of Unification
The history of the Wall — Developments up to 1989 — The international handling of German unification — The domestic politics of unification — Enduring divisions in Germany — Conclusion
6.4 Summary of Section 6
This unit, which contains material from the current Open University second level Politics course DD203 Power, Equality and Dissent, is pitched at the intermediate level. It should take you about 8 hours to study if you attempt the recommended exercises and make summary notes of its key points. Doing so will allow you to practise the crucial academic skill of summary and précis – extracting the gist of an argument – which will be of particular help if you go on to study in related areas: p
