Module 4: Democracy, Participation & the State

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module you should be able to:
1. Discuss issues related to representative democracies and voting practices;
2. Identify limitations and strengths in Australian democratic processes; and
3. Consider the role of political participation in a liberal democracy.

Essential Readings

Essential Readings

The following are essential readings for this module that you should review prior to class. You can access them via the Reading List.
1. Heywood, A. (2015)
'Chapter 3. Politics,
Government and the
State' in Political Theory:
An Introduction. 4th Edition, Palgrave, London.
2. Laverack, G. (2013).
'Foundations of Health
Activism' in Health Activism: Foundations and Strategies (pp. 119). London: SAGE Publications.
3. Mounk, Y. (2018). The undemocratic dilemna.Journa/ of
Democracy. 29(2). pp. 981 12.

xxxxWorkshop Revision xxxxWorkshop Revision

Here you will find the wor understanding of key moc completing the weekly ac
Workshop Slides

Reflect

Activity 4.1 Liberal democracy
Reflect on the following with reference to the reading by Heywood in particular:
1. How do social contract theorists justify the existence of government? What is their view of 'human nature'?
2. What does 'liberal' mean when describing a liberal democracy? What are liberal democracies' key features?
3. Summarise the key differences betweeen the liberal, neo-pluralist and New Right views of the State.
4. Is extensive political participation a warning sign for a liberal democracy, or an indicator of its health?
Activity 4.2: Indirect / Representative Democracy
Federal Parliamentarians in Australia are elected to the Senate and House of Representatives through different models.

Activity 4.2: Indirect /
Representative Democracy
Federal Parliamentarians in
Australia are elected to the Senate and House of Representatives through different models.
Proportional representation electoral systems are used in
Australia to elect candidates to the Senate, the upper houses of NSW, Victoria,
South Australia, and Western Australia, the Lower House of Tasmania, the ACT Legislative Assembly and many Local Government Councils. Under this system, parties, groups and independent candidates are elected to the Parliament in proportion to the number of votes they receive.
Candidates are elected if they meet a certain quota of the available vote and multiple candidates represent an electorate or region. This may also include preferential ordering by the voter.
• Majoritarian preferential
—n Austra I ia n

• Majoritarian preferential voting systems in Australian lower houses (House of Representatives and Assemblies) are majority systems where candidates must receive an absolute majority, more than 50% of the total formal votes cast, to be elected. If the absolute majority is not gained on the first count, then preferences are distributed until an absolute majority is obtained. Only 1 person is elected to represent the electorate. The term
-preferential voting- means voters can indicate an order of preferences for candidates on the ballot paper, i.e. who they want as their 1st choice, 2nd choice and so on.
After accessing the AEC and ACANZ websites (and google if needed) what are the implications of these different systems in relation to the political make-up of the different houses? Which tends to have more minor parties and independents and why?
Post your responses to the
After accessing the AEC and ACANZ websites (and google if needed) what are the implications of these different systems in relation to the political make-up of the different houses? Which tends to have more minor parties and independents and why?
Post your responses to the Module activities as a single thread in Module 4 on the
Discussion Board by Sunday 3pm WST. Make sure you are integrating the module concepts and readings into your responses and responding to other student posts.

For Your Library

These are useful publication/s to save to your personal library and refer back to throughout your degree and future public health career:

Democracy, Participation & the State
For Your Library A+
These are useful publication's to save to your personal library and refer back to throughout your degree and future public health career:
• PHAlWAts The Advocacy Toolkit is a practical resource that supports and encourages health professionals and interested organisations to engage in advocacy. The Advocacy in Action toolkit:
• Demystifies advocacy, o Includes examples and case studies demonstrating how advocacy strategies can be applied across different issues, o Offers tips to effectively work with the media, and o Provides practical tools to help you and your organisation

PHAlWAt s The Advocacy_ Toolkit is a practical resource that supports and encourages health professionals and interested organisations to engage in advocacy. The Advocacy in Action toolkit:
o Demystifies advocacy, o Includes examples and case studies demonstrating how advocacy strategies can be applied across different issues, o Offers tips to effectively work with the media, and o Provides practical tools to help you and your organisation advocate on your issue.
@PHAIVVA

Additional Resources

The following resources a
issue.

Additional Resources

The following resources a extend their learning.
The WA Local Government Local Government in West body WALGA advocates or Governments and negotia WALGA is not a governme
@WALGA
The WA Parliament website of the government, memb and Hansard (transcripts c useful!).
@WAGovernment @Ass
The Federal/National Parlia