Questions:
1. Classical Liberalism, Neoliberalism and New Liberalism hold common assumptions and significant differences on the role of the state. Discuss their variations with reference to an example from the unit.
2. Political science identifies that rights and justice are central to distinguishing liberal democracies from other more authoritarian forms of government. But do liberal democracies ensure rights and justice are delivered in practice? Identify one reason why and one reason why not that may be the case with reference to one example.
3. How do elections or electioneering affect the development of public policy? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this effect using one example.
4. Executive governments can be presidential, semi-presidential or parliamentary. Which form of executive best serves a democratic state and why?
5. Why do people come together to pursue collective action? Discuss the benefits and limitations of collective action with reference to one of the following: political parties or interest groups.
6. Indigenous knowledge is often overlooked in understanding politics, with reference to the relevant readings reflect on why this might be the case and how indigenous knowledge could be better incorporated.
7. The Royal Prerogative may be used to dismiss a government under the Westminster system of government. Boris Johnson is the first British Prime Minister to have been found to have broken the law while in office. Here is some potentially relevant contextual facts:
• Johnson leads the Conservative Party with a majority of 359 MPs in the 650 seat House of Commons.
• There are no obvious alternative leaders and the leadership candidates popular with Conservative members are deeply unpopular with voters in the wider electorate.
• The next general election is due in January 2025.
• Johnson’s unlawful behaviour relates to breaches of Covid-19 lockdown laws that his own government put in place which involved illegal parties and social gatherings at the Prime Minister’s residence, 10 Downing Street, during strict lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.
• The Royal Prerogative has been used to dismiss a prime minister in these historic cases: the Australian Commonwealth in 1975, New South Wales in 1932, in Quebec in 1878 and 1891, in British Columbia in 1898, 1900, and 1901 and the United Kingdom last in 1834.
Use only this contextual information and directly refer to the course material on normative democratic theory, parliaments, executive government, constitutions and party systems covered in weeks 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10 to answer these two questions: Why was Johnson not dismissed by the Queen? And, what deficiencies does this highlight in this governing arrangement?
