International political economy (IPE): An interdisciplinary approach, incorporating the disciplines of political science and economics and relying on history, sociology, and even anthropology, to study the relationship between states in the international economic arena. Authoritarianism: In an authoritarian state, the government controls many aspects of its citizens’ lives; however, it doesn’t exercise complete control over people. Parties are crucial to Australian politics and play a critical role in Australia’s democratic system. Despite common belief, all parties are not the same. Hey, you might even decide to join a political party, or even start one! Some important groups to consider include: Separation of powers: A form of government where powers are divided between the legislative, executive, and the judiciary.

For most citizens, voting in an election is their main political action , if not the only political act. That is, the only way they participate in politics.

Is the election just about who is president?

A coalition government is formed when more than one political party come together to govern. This is usually because of a hung parliament, when no party has won enough seats to in an election to govern on their own. There are 435 voting members of the House of Representatives (six non-voting members also attend sessions representing US territories and Washington DC). Each state is allocated a different number of representatives based on their population – California is the largest with 53 while seven states have just a single representative.

One justice writes a statement called an opinion to explain the decision. Justices who disagree with the decision can write their own opinions, which are called dissenting opinions. Judges on lower courts often use Supreme Court opinions to decide later cases. Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1712–1778: Rousseau believed that people are born free and can peacefully live in a state of nature without government. Their goodness is destroyed by the advent of private property. In 1762, Rousseau’s The Social Contract was published. Another issue of divergence on gay rights is businesses choosing their customers. For example, a florist in Washington state refused to do the flower arrangement for a gay wedding. She was sued for discrimination. In a situation like this, people on the right generally support the business owner while those on the left support the customers. Congress consists of two groups called houses. One house is the Senate. There are 100 senators, two from each state. The other house is the House of Representatives, or House. There are 435 representatives in the House. The number of representatives from each state is based on the state’s population. States with large populations have more representatives than states with small populations. Multiparty system: A political system in which more than two parties have a realistic chance of winning political offices.Confederation: A confederation is a very loose organization of localities or states. In a confederation, these localities and states hold all the political power. The central government itself has none or only a few powers. Mercantilism: One of the oldest economic theories around. It, unlike economic liberalism, believes that politics and economics are related and that economics is supposed to serve a nation’s interest.