2006 Handbooks

Over the past three decades Australian political life has been transformed. The settled dimensions of State policy; the traditional divisions between the main parties; the primary modes of participation; even the key questions around which political argument pivots, have all been challenged by economic, social, and cultural change. In this new environment, what role does the activity of politics play? How are political conflicts and movements likely to engage with the new terrain? This unit looks at the issues raised by these transformations. It aims to place contemporary change in an historical context and is particularly concerned with the dual forces of political tradition and political language. Topics that will be covered include the problems faced by established political ideologies and organisations, the political impacts of globalisation and the rise and fall of Pauline Hanson's One Nation.