JSB261 Government and Democracy
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | JSB261 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite(s): | 72cp of completed study |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
|
| CSP student contribution | $2,174 |
| Pre-2021 CSP student contribution | $1,020 The pre-2021 commonwealth supported place (CSP) contribution amount only applies to students enrolled in a course prior to 2021. To learn more, visit our Understanding your fees page. |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $3,456 |
| International unit fee | $5,592 |
Unit Outline: Semester 2 2026, Kelvin Grove, Internal
| Unit code: | JSB261 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | 72cp of completed study |
| Coordinator: | Morgan Rees | morgan.rees@qut.edu.au |
Overview
In this unit you will explore how governments - democratic and authoritarian – exercise their power and function both within the Australian and international contexts. We will examine the history of the theoretical ideas concerning the operation of democratic institutions and their grounding in the ideas of authority, legitimacy, and freedom. This unit will provide you with the necessary skills to understand how governments work, and how to critically evaluate and understand factors that impact on their operation. This is essential knowledge for anyone working in policy or politics.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Discuss political theories and theories of democracy and power, and how they work in Australian and international contexts.
- Analyse contemporary political debate in Australian and international contexts to identify theories and threats to democracy.
- Communicate theories of democracy and power to non-experts in a clear and concise manner.
- Reflect on your professional practice and role in negotiating with stakeholders to identify common ground.
Content
This unit will cover the following:
- What is political theory?
- The Enlightenment
- Non-Western and Indigenous Perspectives on Power and the State
- Liberalism and Conservatism
- Socialism and Marxism
- Anarchism and Libertarianism
- Power in Democracy
- How do Democracies form?
- Authoritarian Regimes – why do they hold elections?
- The rise of fascism?
- The decline of democracy and the threat to stable and just institutions
Learning Approaches
In this unit, you will learn by engaging in the following:
- lectures (live and recorded)
- tutorials (on-campus and online)
- online learning materials
- peer and group discussions
The unit adopts an interactive and problem-based learning approach in which you are encouraged to critique and debate theories of government.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Feedback in this unit is provided to you in the following ways:
- a range of formative exercises discussed and undertaken throughout the unit
- feedback from peers as you investigate and discuss issues raised throughout the unit
- comments about summative assessment work included with your grade
- general summative assessment feedback posted to the whole cohort via the unit Canvas site.
Assessment
Overview
In this unit there are two assessments:
1. Stakeholder meeting analysis and reflection - This task draws on theories of government and your engagement in a stakeholder meeting to analyse and reflect on various stakeholder positions in an effort to reconcile diverse perspectives.
2. Podcast - This task builds knowledge of political theory and democratic institutions to deliver an informative discussion on the role of democratic institutions and the threats they face.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Stakeholder meeting analysis and reflection
You will conduct a stakeholder meeting with peers. Based on your group’s deliberation, you will individually produce a report analysing your stakeholders position and interests. You will produce a further individual reflection discussing your experience in the stakeholder meeting.
The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools is allowed to help you study and find out more about the topic; noting AI-generated content may not be accurate, reliable, or may display bias. Any content generated may not be copied and included in your final submission.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Assessment: Podcast
You have been hired by the public broadcasting company to produce a podcast for high school students that discusses the challenges to democracy and the rise of authoritarianism. The podcast must highlight the relevance to the everyday lives of the audience. The podcast will need to outline the key principles of democratic power and critically evaluate risks and weaknesses to political systems. Your podcast will be accompanied by an infographic.
The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools is allowed to help you study and find out more about the topic; noting AI-generated content may not be accurate, reliable, or may display bias. Any content generated may not be copied and included in your final submission.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
This text is required to support your successful completion of this unit.
Resource Materials
Prescribed text(s)
Andrew Heywood "Political Ideologies" - 6th edition. Available for purchase at the QUT bookshop.
Risk Assessment Statement
Students are advised that some content in justice units may be confronting. If you are concerned that the content of a unit may impact your completion of the course, please see the unit coordinator. You can also access free student counselling through QUT Counselling via the QUT Student Homepage.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.JS34 Bachelor of Justice
- Apply social and criminal justice principles to explain justice issues and contexts.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, Stakeholder meeting analysis and reflection, Podcast - Communicate justice and social issues in respectful, professional and ethical ways with other professionals and stakeholders.
Relates to: ULO3, Podcast - Facilitate discussions and collaborate with stakeholders in the justice sector.
Relates to: ULO4, Stakeholder meeting analysis and reflection - Reflect on personal values and professional practice to articulate a professional identity.
Relates to: ULO4, Stakeholder meeting analysis and reflection
Unit Outline: Semester 2 2026, Online
| Unit code: | JSB261 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | 72cp of completed study |
Overview
In this unit you will explore how governments - democratic and authoritarian – exercise their power and function both within the Australian and international contexts. We will examine the history of the theoretical ideas concerning the operation of democratic institutions and their grounding in the ideas of authority, legitimacy, and freedom. This unit will provide you with the necessary skills to understand how governments work, and how to critically evaluate and understand factors that impact on their operation. This is essential knowledge for anyone working in policy or politics.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Discuss political theories and theories of democracy and power, and how they work in Australian and international contexts.
- Analyse contemporary political debate in Australian and international contexts to identify theories and threats to democracy.
- Communicate theories of democracy and power to non-experts in a clear and concise manner.
- Reflect on your professional practice and role in negotiating with stakeholders to identify common ground.
Content
This unit will cover the following:
- What is political theory?
- The Enlightenment
- Non-Western and Indigenous Perspectives on Power and the State
- Liberalism and Conservatism
- Socialism and Marxism
- Anarchism and Libertarianism
- Power in Democracy
- How do Democracies form?
- Authoritarian Regimes – why do they hold elections?
- The rise of fascism?
- The decline of democracy and the threat to stable and just institutions
Learning Approaches
In this unit, you will learn by engaging in the following:
- lectures (live and recorded)
- tutorials (on-campus and online)
- online learning materials
- peer and group discussions
The unit adopts an interactive and problem-based learning approach in which you are encouraged to critique and debate theories of government.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Feedback in this unit is provided to you in the following ways:
- a range of formative exercises discussed and undertaken throughout the unit
- feedback from peers as you investigate and discuss issues raised throughout the unit
- comments about summative assessment work included with your grade
- general summative assessment feedback posted to the whole cohort via the unit Canvas site.
Assessment
Overview
In this unit there are two assessments:
1. Stakeholder meeting analysis and reflection - This task draws on theories of government and your engagement in a stakeholder meeting to analyse and reflect on various stakeholder positions in an effort to reconcile diverse perspectives.
2. Podcast - This task builds knowledge of political theory and democratic institutions to deliver an informative discussion on the role of democratic institutions and the threats they face.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Stakeholder meeting analysis and reflection
You will conduct a stakeholder meeting with peers. Based on your group’s deliberation, you will individually produce a report analysing your stakeholders position and interests. You will produce a further individual reflection discussing your experience in the stakeholder meeting.
The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools is allowed to help you study and find out more about the topic; noting AI-generated content may not be accurate, reliable, or may display bias. Any content generated may not be copied and included in your final submission.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Assessment: Podcast
You have been hired by the public broadcasting company to produce a podcast for high school students that discusses the challenges to democracy and the rise of authoritarianism. The podcast must highlight the relevance to the everyday lives of the audience. The podcast will need to outline the key principles of democratic power and critically evaluate risks and weaknesses to political systems. Your podcast will be accompanied by an infographic.
The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools is allowed to help you study and find out more about the topic; noting AI-generated content may not be accurate, reliable, or may display bias. Any content generated may not be copied and included in your final submission.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
This text is required to support your successful completion of this unit.
Resource Materials
Prescribed text(s)
Andrew Heywood "Political Ideologies" - 6th edition. Available for purchase at the QUT bookshop.
Risk Assessment Statement
Students are advised that some content in justice units may be confronting. If you are concerned that the content of a unit may impact your completion of the course, please see the unit coordinator. You can also access free student counselling through QUT Counselling via the QUT Student Homepage.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.JS34 Bachelor of Justice
- Apply social and criminal justice principles to explain justice issues and contexts.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, Stakeholder meeting analysis and reflection, Podcast - Communicate justice and social issues in respectful, professional and ethical ways with other professionals and stakeholders.
Relates to: ULO3, Podcast - Facilitate discussions and collaborate with stakeholders in the justice sector.
Relates to: ULO4, Stakeholder meeting analysis and reflection - Reflect on personal values and professional practice to articulate a professional identity.
Relates to: ULO4, Stakeholder meeting analysis and reflection