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Australian Politics - Coggle Diagram
Australian Politics
Key Terminology
Political Party: Organizes to Influence policy and nominates candidates
Interest Groups: Influence policy without seeking office
- E.G. Grassroots organisations, amnesty international
Media: Traditional and digital platforms shaping political discourse
Misinformation: False information designed to misleadDigital Divide: The gap between those with/without digital accessData Analytics: Using data to shape political strategy
Power: Control over people / institutions
Legitimacy: Accepted authority typically gained through elections
Causes / Consequences: why events happen and what effects follow
Sovereignty: States supreme authority to govern
State: political entity with sovereignty
Nation: Group with shared culture / identity
Global Interconnectedness: Trade: communication, cooperation
Positives: Cooperation, economic integration, cultural exchange
Negatives: Unequal power, loss of sovereignty, dependency risks
Political Interests: Goals for actors
Political Perspectives: Lenses for interpreting events
Political Significance: Importance of political actions
Party Discipline: Ensuring members vote along party lines to present unity and maintain control over legislative outcomes.
Policy Development: The creation of plans and ideas for what a party wants to achieve if elected
Policy implementation: Putting the plans into action once in government
Democracy Implications
Fragmentation of debate
- The national political conversation is no longer focused on a few big issues, rather small groups each care about different tropics
- Makes it harder to build broad national arguments
- It increases political division and polarisation
Politicians may begin to focus only on narrow groups instead of national interest
Echo chambers threat
- People online begin to only see opinions that match their own views - algorithms
- Voters rarely hear other sides of debates
- Makes compromise and understanding across political groups much harder
- Leads to more extreme opinions and less informed decision-making
Misinformation effects
- False or misleading information that spreads quickly online, especially during elections
- Voters may make decisions based on lies or fake news
- Public trust drops - people start doubting election results, politicians, and democracy itself
- Harder for true, accurate info to compete
Regulating without harming free speech
- Governments try to control misinformation and protect elections - they have to be careful not to limit free speech
- To much regulation = risk of censorship
- Too little regulation = risk of chaos and disinformation
- Finding the right balance is extremely difficult
Digital media = Mixed results
- Digital media has transformed political engagement
Positive:
- Easier for people (especially young people) to access information and participate
- Minor parties and independents get a bigger voice
Negative:
- False information spreads faster
- Echo chambers grow
- Harder to tell real news from fake news
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Political Parties
- Groups aiming to gain political Power
- Traditional media for mass reach
- Social media for direct, targeted engagement
- Educating voters
Contest Elections
- Running in an election
- Nominating candidates
Develop and implement policies
- Develop = Making plans
- Implementation = Acting on plans in power
Enforce party discipline
- Party members vote and act according to party values and desires
- Members vote together
Represent public interests
- Gather Opinions -> represent in policy platforms
- Political parties aggregate public interests by gathering diverse opinions and forming broad platforms. They represent these interests by advocating for policies that reflect their supporters’ views.
Media Evolution
- Three changes: Instant News Cycles, Direct voter interaction and Data - driven targeting
Instant news cycles
- The constant spread of information across multiple sights and media forms
Micro-targeting + Real time adaptation
- Tailoring messages to appeal to small groups
- Instant campaign messages that change based on voter feedback, trends etc
Rise of social media
- 1990's: TV, Radio, Speeches
- Now: Social media, livestreams, direct messaging
Traditional media's reduced control
- No longer sole gatekeepers of information
- Politicians bypass them online
- No more scrutiny before information reaches citizens
Minor Parties' Influence
- Greens: Legislative Negotiation
- One Nation: Media/populist tactics
Balance of power (e.g. The Greens)
- Ensures one single party does not have the entire majority so that all views can be accounted for
New issues introduced
- Minor parties spotlight ignored topics e.g. Immigration by One Nation
Policy influence through negotiations + pressure on major parties
- They can trade their support in exchane for changes to a law (major parties often don't have senate majority so they must negotiate with minor parties to pass laws)
- They use public campaigns, media attention and speeches to push major parties to adopt their ideas
- They highlight issues that are popular with the public to force major parties to respond
Senate success
- Proportional Voting: When seats in parliament are shared based on the percentage of votes each party gets
- Voter disillusionment: when voters feel disappointed or lose trust in political parties or politicians. Some then vote for minor parties
- Single-Issue Politics: Where a single party focusses almost exclusively on one issue during a campaign
Campaign Changes
- Shift from TV to digital platforms
Use of data analytics
- Used to profile voters, micro-target ads, and allow for smarter strategies
- Precise voter targeting
Personalized messaging > Broad messaging
Personalised: Send custom, targeted messages to small groups based on their interests, location, age, etc
Broad: Sending one general message to everyone, no matter who they are
- Personalised is now greater as it feels more relevant to voters and can swing key groups who matter most in key elections
- E.G. the labour party, in 2022, sent different Facebook ads based on what local people cared about
Digital ads vs Traditional Ads
- Digital: Cost-effective, have a younger reach
- Traditional: Better for older voters
Social media = Key to success
- Social media is key for energizing support and fundraising e.g. Kevin07
- Social media is faster, targeted and voter-driven e.g. MediScare, 2019
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Digital divide issues
- Worsens representation gaps
- Unequal engagement levels
- Need for different campaign strategies
- Risk of marginalizing digitally excluded groups
Rural areas are disadvantaged
- Rural areas have worse digital access
Age + Income gaps
- Young = Online on social media
Older = Less engaged on social media
- Poorer = Less access to political information
Offline methods still needed
- Mail-outs, door knocking, calls, radio ads, TV ads
The state as a Global Actor
- Sovereign political entity
Sources of power:
- Sovereignty
- Legitimacy
- Coercive Power (military/law)
- Recognition Internationally
Functions
- Represent Citizens
- Diplomacy, treaties
- Use hard (force, coercion, money pressure) and soft power (persuasion, attraction, cooperation)
Forms of power used
- Political Power - Can be both powers: Decision-making control
- Military Power - Hard Power: Armed forces or threats
- Economic Power - Hard Power: Trade or finance control
- Diplomatic Power - Soft Power: Negotiations, alliances
- Cultural Power - Soft Power: Influence through culture
- Technological Power - Can be both powers: Innovation and digital control
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