Einführung in die vergleichende Politikwissenschaft (VL und Übungen )

Australia stands tall as the beacon of representative democracy in the Asia Pacific region. Its political system has inherited the defining features of the Westminster System – the ‘mother of all Parliaments’. We will trial the features such as collective cabinet, party government, politicized bureaucracy, and elitist parliament. Each seminar will focus on the presentation of a case study and an open discussion of whether it lives up to the Westminster ideal. The cases include the bushfire crisis, republic movement, political assassination, and gay marriage. The seminar will develop students’ ability to contrast the Westminster model against the Presidential and Consensus models, and critique the limitation of the elites’ perspective.