Power and the State

Course code POLI3002Units 10Level 3000Faculty of Business and LawNewcastle Business School

Power and the State provides students with a thorough knowledge and understanding of the relationship between power, politics and the state. These three terms make up much of what we understand as the substance of contemporary politics and the course seeks to apply each to a wide range of real world contexts. The way in which political power manifests itself in multiple ways, and the way in which the state must deal with multiple challenges to its authority, both at a national and international level, will be discussed in detail. The role of political leadership in directing the state, and enabling it to achieve its political objectives, will also be considered. Finally, the question of whether the state still retains a political relevance in an increasingly globalised world will also be discussed.

Available in 2014

Callaghan CampusSemester 2
OurimbahSemester 2
1. Investigate and debate contemporary issues in political science.
2. Recognise and apply the conceptual frameworks and language of political science
3. Define and distinguish between conflict and consensus and discuss the relationship between the state and power as they apply in a wide variety of real world contexts.
4. Demonstrate skills in critical analysis using examples that draw on state institutions and power as they apply in a wide variety of real world contexts.
5. Demonstrate advanced skills in presenting written arguments
6. Demonstrate highly developed research skills in evaluating and synthesizing information from diverse sources.
ContentThis course may include but is not limited to the following topics:
1. the role of state organizations
2. political leadership in the exercise of political power
3. the way in which the state is a site of contestation between competing groups in society
4. the state in an international context
5. the role of the media and e-democracy both as an instrument of state power and as a means to hold state power politically accountable
6. the role of wider social movements in relation to the state as well as wider problems of globalisation and governance.
7. the state’s mobilisation of power
8. processes of state accountability
9. the role of class, gender, ethnicity and citizenship in each of these processes of state power and state accountability.
Replacing Course(s)N/A
Industrial Experience0
Assumed KnowledgePOLI1010 Australian Politics and Government, POLI1020 Introduction to Politics, POLI2001 Ideas in Political Science
Modes of DeliveryInternal Mode
Teaching MethodsLecture
Assessment Items
Essays / Written AssignmentsTwo written assignments
ProjectsResearch Project
TutorialEngagement Exercises
Timetables2014 Course Timetables for POLI3002