Teaching and learning

Outcome 1

Explain the sources of power and legitimacy of national political actors, and analyse the political significance of Australian political actors’ use of power in a contested domestic political issue.

Examples of learning activities

• As a class, brainstorm ideas, concepts, actions, institutions, actors and systems that underpin the term ‘politics’. Map these on a whiteboard and discuss the connections between the elements.
• Create a flowchart which shows the connections between the key concepts listed in the key knowledge. Include examples of each concept.
• Discuss the concept of power. On six separate sticky notes, answer the questions: ‘What is power?’ ‘Who / what has power?’ ‘What types of power are there?’ ‘How is power used? Why is power used?’ and ‘What makes the use of power legitimate or illegitimate?’ Collate the answers on a whiteboard and group them to demonstrate the connections between the ideas.
• Construct a survey to determine political issues, both domestic and global, that are of greatest interest to the class. As a class, collect case study information that is most relevant to the class’s interests, including news articles on recent developments and conflicting perspectives that cause or contribute to the issues, to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of the issues.
• Create a profile of a current world leader who is a key actor in a political issue of interest, including their ideology and motivations for their decisions, source and legitimacy of power, and use of power.
• As a class, identify domestic political actors in a number of countries, such as federal and state leaders, autocrats, political parties, federal courts, terrorist groups, cultural groups, protestors, local media outlets and non-government organisations. Explore each actors’ sources of power, including legal, military, economic, diplomatic, cultural and technological by investigating examples of issues within different states. Build at least one example into a case study by using guided inquiry questions to explain recent decisions, uses of power, interactions with governments, and the outcome(s) of actions.
• Discuss what makes a national political actor ‘politically significant’.
• Map Australia’s ‘separation of powers’ at both a federal and state level, including the overlap between branches, the checks and balances they put on each other, and examples of their power(s). Discuss the connection between the separation of powers and responsible government. Compare the ways in which governments are held accountable in democratic institutions such as the Australian Parliament, U.S. Congress, and UK Parliament, and in non-democratic systems such as China’s National People’s Congress and the United Arab Emirates Federal National Council. Compare the source of the Australian government’s legitimacy with that of a non-democratic state, such as China, by investigating processes and values that are the source(s) of legitimacy for that state.
• Hold a class debate on what makes the use of power by a government legitimate. Discuss teacher-provided case studies of various governments to support ideas. Alternatively or additionally, research further case studies.
• Use the AEC’s information sheets to discuss Australia’s election system, including preferential and proportional voting, to determine the way in which it provides legitimacy to political actors.
• Hold a simplified mock election using the preferential system and evaluate this voting system in terms of its ability to deliver popular sovereignty. See AEC Get Voting.
• Explore the AEC’s data from the 2022 Australian federal election to examine the legitimacy of the Labor government. Investigate the primary vote, preferences, and the history-making composition of the Parliament. Discuss the government’s mandate as a result of the data and the impact of this on their exercise of power.
• 
  Complete a contested political issue case study inquiry.

Detailed example

Contested domestic political issue inquiry

Use the who / what / where / when / why / how inquiry process to investigate a domestic political issue as outlined on page 18 of the Study Design and the political significance of key Australian political actors involved.
Create inquiry questions regarding the political issue and the power and significance of key actors using the question stems (who / what / where / when / why / how). Teachers may provide none, some or all of the questions to students to guide the inquiry.
The answers could be left in a table, or could be used to create a report that is structured using subheadings based on the points that should be addressed below. The answers should aim to explain both the political significance of key Australian political actors, and the contested political issue itself.
Sources for answers to the guided questions should include articles from a variety of news sources and websites for different groups and organisations. Information should be corroborated before being used to answer the questions.

Question stem	Question	Answer	References / resources
Who
What
Where
When
Why
How

Questions and answers should address the following:

• Origin, causes and nature of the contested political issue
• Key actors in the conflict, including individuals, political parties and organisations
• Political significance of the actors, based on their impact (or lack of impact) on the course of the issue, and the consequence(s) of their action(s) on political stability and / or change in Australia
• Competing interests of the key actors
• Sources and forms of the actors’ power
• Actors’ perspectives on the issue, based on ideologies and competing interests
• Legitimising narratives about contributions to political stability and change based on ideologies and competing interests
• Capacity of actors to achieve their interests
• Overall consequences of the contested policy conflict for political stability and / or change in Australia.
  

Outcome 2

Analyse the power, interests and perspectives of global political actors and evaluate their political significance in at least one global issue.

Examples of learning activities

• Discuss the differences between domestic and global actors. Brainstorm a list of different political actors and construct a Venn diagram to map out whether they act domestically, globally or both.
• Create a mind map of the advantages and power that are conferred on states due to the possession of sovereignty. This can be split into different types of powers such as military, economic, diplomatic, political, cultural and technological. For example, Australia generates $154 billion in export revenue from iron ore, one of the resources it has ownership of as a result of sovereignty.
• Brainstorm a list of all of the geographical features of a given state. Conduct a PMI activity on each of the features of one state as to whether they help a state maintain sovereignty or whether they create sovereignty risks. (For example, Australia’s large coastal border has been exploited by illegal groups, such as people smugglers, and has required the introduction of, and significant investment in Operation Sovereign Borders as a response; however, Australia’s island status has allowed it to have significant economic advantages such as offshore drilling for gas.)
• Investigate two institutions of global governance and find a case study for each where they have influenced global politics; for example, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Compare the results of each case study and assess the power, perspective and extent to which each global actor is politically significant.
• Investigate the background, objectives, structure, functions and activities of the United Nations (UN). Compare the structure, membership and functions of the General Assembly and the Security Council and debate which of these is more significant for the overall effective functioning of the UN.
• Create a flowchart or other graphic describing the nature of international law and the processes by which it may be created by the UN. Start your investigation by reading Our work – Uphold International Law.
• Investigate the power of the UN to facilitate cooperation between global actors by selecting three or four key treaties relating to global issues and examining the parties and signatories to the treaty(ies), non-signatories and reservations and exclusions. Go to the UN Treaty Collection and click on the Depositary tab – choose status of treaties.
• Role-play a meeting of the UN Security Council regarding one or more contemporary issues and attempt to pass a resolution on each issue. Each student represents a different member of the UN Security Council. The P5 (UN Security Council’s five permanent members) must be included if the class is smaller than 15. Afterwards, analyse which states had the most power in the room and the reasons the resolution passed or failed. Visit the Step-by-Step Outline for Organizing a Model UN session.
• Analyse a range of political sources relating to the perspectives of various global actors on aspects of a specific issue, such as climate change, human rights or poverty. Actors may include states, institutions of global governance, regional organisations, and non-state actors. Sources may include websites, speeches, submissions, white papers, statistics, graphs and tables, campaigns, tweets, cartoons, images and videos.
• In small groups, brainstorm reasons why a global actor might act in a way that is not in their interests. Discuss as a class the difference between interests and perspectives, with students explaining their own interests and perspectives. As a follow up, discuss if one global actor’s perspectives and interests can be opposed to one other’s and if so, then why? This can lead to a discussion on cosmopolitanism versus realism.
• Participate in a class debate on the perspectives of different global actors towards a global issue such as climate change. A variety of different global actors, such as the United Nations, Australia or another state, a transnational corporation and a protest group should be allotted to participants. Work in groups to develop a response to an issue from the allotted actor.
• In groups, create a table of different power types used and held by the various actors and include case study examples in order to effectively compare their capacity for and use of different types of power (for example: military, economic, diplomatic, cultural, technological, media power, etc.) As an extension, hypothesise how a global actor may gain access to a type of power that they do not currently hold / use (for example, a state may use state-sponsored terrorism or create alliances to offset military weakness).
• In groups of three, research the impact of global interconnectedness on global actors. Each group is responsible for one specific global actor from the possible range (i.e. states, institutions of global governance, regional organisations, non-government organisations, illegal non-state actors and transnational corporations). Each student from within each group researches a different example of each type of actor. For example, three different states with varying degrees of power, three different IGOs, three different NGOs of varying sizes. Students then present the results of their findings to the class, who take notes about the significance of interconnectedness for the power of global actors in general. Complete a response to the question: ‘Explain, using examples, the impact of interconnectedness on the power of global actors’, drawing  on the evidence found in this activity and extrapolating it to form an argument.
• Debate or evaluate the prompt: ‘Increased interconnectedness has benefited all global actors except states’.
• Using a class polling tool such as mentimeter, create a list of all the global actors studied so far and vote / rank them from most to least powerful. Justify choices to form the basis of some informal debate and discussion.
• Place different global actor types on cue cards (one global actor type per card) and rank, from top to bottom, the political significance that is the impact and importance of that global actor type within a given issue. Create a list of many global issues (such as health, armed conflict, terrorism, economic instability, people movement, climate change, arms control and development) and rearrange / re-rank the global actors in order of significance based on each new global issue. Discuss the trends observed across the different issues. As a class, discuss and establish the criteria for evaluating political significance.
• 
  Investigate the power, interests and perspectives of a number of global actors involved in a political issue.

Detailed example

Power, interests and perspectives of global political actors – Summary table

1. Choose an issue that will allow students to investigate the power, interests, perspectives and political significance of different global actors

   Examples of suitable issues include: climate change, conflicting perspectives and interests over the Great Barrier Reef or the Amazon rainforest, corporate tax evasion, offshoring, indentured labour in the 2022 World Cup, an emergency human rights situation (such as refugee flows in Europe or a protest in Iran), or the activities of a Transnational Corporation in a particular state (such as the pharmaceutical industry’s approach to intellectual property rights in developing countries or the activities of agricultural / mining companies in Brazil).

   Allocate a global actor type to each group (two or three students). Research the different attributes, power, perspective, interests, and political significance of two or three specific actors within that type and involved in that issue. (Not all issues will have the full range of global actors involved.)

2. Each group then creates a presentation / poster / digital resource / case study based on their findings. These can either be explained to the class or the finished resources can be placed around the room where students can move around and take notes.
3. Students, in their groups, complete a class table in order to get a broad and deep understanding of the different attributes, power, perspective, interests, and significance of a range of global actors.
   

See attachment – Power, interests and perspectives of global actors summary table for an example of the table headings that could be used. Teachers may like to select different specific actors for each type of global actor to create a pathway to their chosen option study in Unit 2 Area of Study 2 or even through to the chosen Unit 3 Global Issue or Contemporary Crisis.

Extension activity: Structured questions based on table findings

The following are examples of possible structured questions:

Lower order questions:

• Identify two global actors that have the capacity for diplomatic power.
• Outline two ways in which one global actor holds or exercises power.

Middle order questions:

• Compare the perspectives of two global actors on one political issue.
• Explain how interconnectedness has impacted the power of one global actor.

Higher order questions:

• Evaluate the extent to which one global actor has been effective in pursuing its aims.
• Analyse the political significance of two global actors.
  

Outcome 1

Analyse at least one Australian political issue and evaluate the extent to which Australian democracy and democratic principles are upheld..

Examples of learning activities

• Create a mind map of the key concepts to demonstrate the connections between them. Include definitions and examples of them in the mind map. Discuss how each of the concepts contributes to the operation of Australia’s democracy and democratic institutions and processes and add this to the mind map.
• Discuss the characteristics of Australia’s democratic system, including the Constitution, the federal system, responsible government, free and fair elections, compulsory voting, an appointed head of state, and political parties. Demonstrate the ways in which they are interrelated in a flowchart.
• Individually or in groups, create a new democratic political system using democratic principles to unpack and apply an understanding of what democracy is.
• As a class, brainstorm questions that could form the basis of inquiry into an issue that poses a challenge to Australia’s democracy and democratic institutions. Display the key inquiry questions in the classroom and answer them through activities that relate to the political issue.

Political inquiry options
Teachers can refer to the detailed option descriptions and inquiry questions. (See Option details.)

Big money and democracy

• Analyse recent political donations to political parties or candidates and /or electoral funding data. Identify the donors providing the largest donations to the major parties and to other groups like the TEAL Independents. Discuss the implications of these donations on the outcome of elections, the actions of governments, and democracy in terms of popular sovereignty and mandate.
• Explore Australia’s campaign funding and disclosure laws and compare with other Australian states and / or democratic systems. Evaluate the effectiveness of the laws in protecting accountability and transparency.
• Watch the documentary Big Deal (2021), also available in segments via the ABC’s Education website with activities and discussion prompts. Record evidence of the impact of big money on Australia’s democratic political culture in terms of:
  • equality of access to, participation in, and engagement with democratic processes
  • trust in government
  • the existence of many political parties
  • political ideology
  • the influence of the media.
• Debate the significance of the impact of big money on Australia’s political culture. Does it promote, enhance or undermine democratic principles and the ability of political institutions to carry out their roles and functions?

Australia and global citizenship

• Discuss the concept of global citizenship in terms of whether democratic principles and practices enable or limit effective global participation and relationships.
• Analyse the impact of decisions made by Australia’s federal governments in the last 10 years in terms of their contributions to political stability or change in Australia’s status as a global citizen. Consider key foreign policy actions regarding issues relating to areas such as the environment, trade, national and global security, health, and people movement.
• Discuss the significance of Australia’s participation in global forums and international organisations identified by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for establishing and maintaining global citizenship. Consider the impact of actions (and inactions) of Australia’s leaders, including prime ministers and key ministers (such as Foreign Affairs ministers) over the last 10 years.
• Identify the ways in which Australia’s approach to global citizenship has promoted, enhanced or undermined its democratic institutions and processes (e.g. free and fair elections, human rights protections). Explain different examples or case studies in terms of how Australia’s action or inaction as a global citizen has impacted its democratic system. Include various perspectives, such as those from the United Nations, the Australian Human Rights Commission, different politicians and political parties, media outlets, etc.

Australia’s First Nations Peoples: voice, treaty, truth

• Analyse the Uluru Statement from the Heart and discuss the creation and sentiment of the document as a means of active participation of First Nations Peoples in the Australian political system.
• Explain the ways in which the steps outlined in the Uluru Statement from the Heart aim to achieve equality for First Nations Peoples in the Australian political system. Include reference to the specific inequalities experienced by First Nations Peoples that are named in the Statement.
• Discuss the outcome of the 2022 federal election in terms of the mandate it gave the government to enact the steps in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
• Compare the process of achieving federal recognition of a First Nations voice, treaty and truth to that of a state’s recognition, such as Victoria’s Treaty, and South Australia’s Voice to Parliament.
• Discuss as a class the significance of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s 2022 election victory speech in determining how a democratic political culture contributes to political change in Australia.
• In groups, compile examples of strengths and weaknesses of various institutions and processes in terms of the way in which they have or have not enabled First Nations Peoples to achieve voice, treaty and truth in the last 10 years. Each group could analyse a different institution or process (e.g. the Constitution, federalism, the electoral system, the political parties and representation) and then present their findings.
• 
  Conduct an inquiry into the significance of First Nations Peoples achieving voice, treaty and truth, and the extent to which the issue has promoted, enhanced and / or undermined democratic principles, institutions, processes and a democratic political culture in the last ten years. (See Detailed example 1.)

• Examine the meaning of ‘gender equality’. Discuss the concept in terms of how it relates to political power and democratic interests such as human rights and active participation.
• Analyse data from the latest Workplace Gender Equality Agency gender pay gap report to determine the extent to which Australian political culture, institutions and processes promote, enhance or undermine democratic principles.
• Investigate initiatives aimed at increasing the participation of women in positions of political power such as party quotas.
• 
  Complete an evidence-based evaluation of equality of representation in Australia’s democratic institutions and processes, specifically the Australian parliament and parliamentary processes, the electoral system and the pre-selection methods of Australian political parties. (See Detailed example 2.)

• Examine the two key functions of the media, to report and to interpret information, in terms of how these functions uphold democratic principles and practices such as political accountability and transparency.
• In small groups, research the ownership of Australia’s largest media outlets (traditional, social and new media), and discuss the political significance of their ownership in terms of owners’ interests and perspectives. Discuss the extent to which the findings reflect the media’s capacity to be unbiased.
• Unpack the meaning of ‘disinformation’ and brainstorm or research political examples of it in Australian media. Use the examples to explain how disinformation could contribute to political stability or change in Australia’s democratic system.
• 
  Complete an inquiry to create a comparison of Australia’s traditional media outlets from across the political spectrum to examine the influence of the media’s political bias on Australia’s democratic political culture. (See Detailed example 3.)

Detailed example 1

Australia’s First Nations Peoples: voice, treaty, truth

Political inquiry:

STEP 1: Using some of the above activities as ways to engage student interest, conduct an inquiry into this issue. Encourage students to create their own inquiry questions in consultation with the teacher.

Examples of inquiry questions:

1. How democratic is the process for achieving constitutional recognition and representation for First Nations Peoples?
2. What are the challenges to First Nations Peoples achieving ‘voice, treaty and truth’?
3. What is the significance of First Nations Peoples achieving ‘voice, treaty and truth’ on a federal level in Australia?
4. How would ‘voice, treaty, truth’ impact Australian democracy?

STEP 2: Teachers guide students to formulate questions that will answer their own overarching inquiry question. These should be questions about background to the issue, power, conflict, interests, perspectives, causes, responses and impacts.

STEP 3: Research, in groups or individually depending on teacher preference, to locate and analyse sources of information that can provide answers to their questions. Students create and maintain a bibliography. They take notes using graphic organisers or note-taking tools to organise their findings.

STEP 4: Analyse the findings. Students discuss the key findings and their implications, using the relevant political thinking concepts such as causes and consequences, competing interests and perspectives, forces encouraging political stability and / or change.

STEP 5: Evaluate. Create contentions or hypotheses that answer the overarching question. Marshall the supporting arguments and evidence.

STEP 6: Communicate. Prepare an evidence-based written report based on inquiry into the political significance of First Nations Peoples achieving voice, treaty and truth, and the extent to which Australian political culture, institutions and processes have promoted, enhanced and / or undermined democratic principles in relation to the issue in the last 10 years. All evidence should be corroborated, and all perspectives should be directly attributed to the relevant key political actors in the issue.

The report should include the following:

1. An executive summary or overview of findings
2. An explanation of the political issue of First Nations Peoples seeking to achieve ‘voice, treaty, truth’
• What is the background and context of the issue?
• What context is specifically mentioned in the Uluru Statement from the Heart?
• Which political institutions have the most influence in this issue? Why?
3. An analysis of various political perspectives
• Who are the key actors?
• What are their different perspectives on the issue?
4. The extent to which responses have upheld democratic principles: popular sovereignty, human rights, active participation, and equality.
• How did the exercise of popular sovereignty in term of the outcomes of elections impact the progress of the Uluru Statement?
• How have responses to the statement contributed to achieving human rights and equality?
• How has active participation in democratic processes such as a referendum, protests, consultations and parliamentary debates, impacted the issue?
• What specific actions have promoted these democratic principles?
• What specific actions have enhanced these democratic principles?
• What specific actions have undermined these democratic principles?
5. The extent to which this issue has impacted Australia’s democratic system positively or negatively and has exposed areas in need of reform.
6. A conclusion.

Detailed example 2

Women and power: Political inquiry and evaluation

Sample Inquiry question: To what extent are Australian women effectively represented in Australian politics?

Complete an evidence-based evaluation of Australia’s democratic institutions and processes, specifically the Australian parliament and parliamentary processes, the electoral system and the pre-selection methods of Australian political parties. Students use the inquiry method as outlined in the detailed example on Australia’s First Nations Peoples: voice, treaty, truth above. This inquiry examines the ability of Australian women to participate meaningfully in the political system as representatives in Parliament, and the extent to which Australian political culture, institutions and processes have promoted, enhanced and undermined democratic principles in relation to the issue in the last ten years. The evaluation could be a report or an essay.

The evaluation should be based on consideration of the following:

Strengths of Australia’s democratic institutions and processes:

• How many women currently sit in the Parliament of Australia? What is notable about this data?
• What are examples of roles and portfolios that women MPs hold in Parliament?
• How does the above data compare to previous Australian Parliament demographics?
• What does this information say about Australia’s electoral system and the resulting representation in Parliament?
• Does this data reflect a changing or stable political culture in Australia?

Weaknesses of Australia’s democratic institutions and processes:

• What is the gender breakdown of Australia’s main political parties?
• What are barriers or hurdles to participation in politics that women have identified?
• What are the consequences of the barriers and hurdles women face in terms of political representation and participation?

An overall evaluative judgement:

• Do the strengths of Australia’s democracy outweigh the weaknesses in relation to the issue of women in politics or are reforms needed? Justify.
• How does this issue challenge Australia’s democratic institutions and processes? 

Resources:
The Guardian: Gender breakdown in Parliament
ABC News: Australia’s 47th Parliament features new, more diverse faces
The Conversation: The missing women of Australian politics
Inter-Parliamentary Union: Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments
ABC News: Politics isn't super-appealing to women in Australia right now. Is it different elsewhere?
ABC News: Australian women and girls are significantly more disillusioned with politics than overseas counterparts

Detailed example 3

Media ownership, media bias and disinformation

Inquiry into the traditional media: comparative analysis

Complete an inquiry to create a comparison of Australia’s traditional media outlets from across the political spectrum, and to examine the influence of the media’s political bias on Australia’s democratic political culture.

Example inquiry questions:

• To what extent does media ownership impact the way in which issues are reported on?
• Does the media have a positive or a negative impact on Australia’s democracy?

Work in pairs or small groups. Choose any political issue of interest that is widely reported on (e.g. climate change, cost of living, COVID-19 pandemic, people movement, etc.). Visit the website of one traditional media publication / TV show that leans towards the right of the political spectrum, one that sits in the centre, and one that leans towards the left. Find a relevant article on the chosen issue from each media outlet and summarise the main arguments. Include the headline of the article and descriptions of imagery included with the articles.

In each pair or group, discuss any similarities and differences between the reporting on the issue in terms of imagery, language used, data cited, and argument made. Present the findings to the class and identify and discuss the broader similarities and differences, with a focus on media bias, fact and disinformation.

Further discuss the impact of the differences in reporting on political issues on Australia’s democracy. Establish the extent to which media bias challenges Australia’s democracy in terms of the information Australians are receiving on political issues.

Outcome 2

Analyse at least one global challenge to the legitimacy and spread of democracy and evaluate the political significance of this challenge to democratic principles.

Examples of learning activities

Introductory activities

• Discuss the meaning of the key concepts.
• Create a mind map of the key concepts to demonstrate the connections between them – International law, rules-based order, states, nations, sovereignty, liberal democracy, authoritarianism, ideology, global governance. Include definitions and examples of them in the mind map.
• Discuss and record how each of the concepts contributes to or undermines the legitimacy and spread of democracy.
• Explore the web page Our World in Data Democracy. Define the four categories of regimes (liberal-democracy, electoral democracy, electoral autocracy and closed autocracy) and then use the data on the web page to compare the prevalence of each regime type across different regions and the globe. Draw conclusions based upon student findings.
• In groups, create a short presentation about an institution of global governance outlining a summary of its aims, decision-making processes and activities.
• In groups, brainstorm and discuss examples of possible challenges to the legitimacy and spread of democracy. Justify the examples.
• Create definitions of each of the challenges to the legitimacy and spread of democracy specified in the key knowledge and discuss the possible impact of each: authoritarianism, illiberalism, populism, media misinformation and disinformation, cyber interference, perceived western cultural bias, and problems with the current rules-based international order.
• Discuss as a group what the term political significance means. Refer to the characteristics of the study to prompt further discussion. Brainstorm the different ways that political significance can be demonstrated or measured.

Political inquiry options
Teachers can refer to the detailed option descriptions and inquiry questions. (See Option details.)

Problems with the rules-based order

• 
  Read a selection of articles on the rules-based order and answer structured questions relating to the basic principles and functioning of the rules-based order. (See Detailed example 1.)
• Compile a list of vetoed resolutions by the United Nations from the last 10 years and choose one to research further. Write a brief report on the aims and details of the draft resolution, the state responsible for the veto and the reasons why the veto was exercised by the relevant state.
• Analyse a newspaper article outlining a state’s response to a global issue that has received widespread criticism from the international community (for example, Trump moves to pull US out of World Health Organization) identifying the key national interests involved in the decision and how sovereignty has been exercised.
• In small groups, research a number of major international laws (see United Nations) and make a list of the key non-signatories for each international law. Discuss the reasons that states may repeatedly choose to not sign on to major international laws and the consequences for the legitimacy and spread of democracy.
• Participate in a mock-summit (for example the United Nations, the G-7, COP Climate Summit) where students represent states with a range of views and documented behaviours towards the rules-based international order. Perspectives should be taken from within the last 10 years.
• Conduct a class debate over the prompt: The rules-based order benefits all states.

‘Big tech’ and the media

• In groups, read the introduction to Big Tech, Big Government: The Challenges of Regulating Internet Platforms and create a concept map of how ‘Big tech’ challenges government. Students then are allocated one of the detailed essays (hyperlinked in the main article) on either geopolitical power, market power, political power or cultural power to explore in depth the specific ways ‘Big tech’ challenges international and national governance. They partake in a jigsaw and report back to their group.
• In groups, research one ‘Big tech’ company and analyse the impacts of that company on states and citizens. Share findings in a collaborative table with headings such as company name, key statistics (revenue, foreign assets, employees), activities, positive impacts on states and citizens, negative impacts on states and citizens.
• 
  Student inquiry into the challenge of ‘Big tech’ to the global spread and legitimacy of democracy. (See Detailed example 2.)
• Collect at least five different articles on the same event / issue, from various global or domestic news providers. Critically analyse how each article presents facts, opinions and perspectives on that issue and identify any misinformation. Discuss the impact and significance of misinformation on the operation of democracy.
• Write a response to the following prompt: Evaluate the extent to which ‘Big tech’ has helped to reinforce the legitimacy and global spread of democracy.

Populism

• 
  Research a populist leader, politician, candidate or public figure and compare their policies, language and perspective to that of an alternative, preferably more mainstream leader, politician, candidate or public figure. Discuss whether each individual reinforces or threatens the legitimacy of current democratic practices. (See Detailed example 3.)
• Watch the video from The Economist: Populism is reshaping our world, and explain the major forces behind the rise of populism.
• Read The Conversation: How Donald Trump’s populist narrative led directly to the assault on the US Capitol, and analyse how populism poses a threat to liberal-democracy.

• Generate a list of types of violence that can be employed by a state. Create a concept map exploring how, why and against whom states may use violence, including direct and indirect forms of violence.
• Participate in a line-up debate, from strongly disagree to strongly agree on the prompt: States are never justified in using violence against their citizens.
• Investigate a case of a state using violence in response to the exercise of or demand for democratic rights by its own citizens, and explain how this undermines democracy. Examples might include the 2018 Novichok poisoning of Sergei Skripal in England and the 2020 Novichok poisoning of Alexei Navalny in Russia by Russian state agents, the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey by Saudi state agents, or the 2017 assassination of Kim Jong UN’s brother Kim Jong Nam in Kuala Lumpur airport by North Korean state agents. There are also the cases of the 2022–2023 crackdown on protests in Iran, the treatment of Hong-Kong protestors by China, the Invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the silencing of criticism and protests inside Russia relating to the war, the grounding of Ryanair Flight 4978 in 2021 by Belarus in order to arrest dissidents.
• 
  Conduct research into an international law that relates to the use of state violence (for example: The Rome Statute or the Convention against Torture) and identify the aims, mechanisms and outcomes where the law has been used to pursue justice against the use of state violence. (See Detailed example 4.)

• Create a list of challenges to the legitimacy and spread of democracy and rank them in each of the following ways:
  1. Immediacy
  2. Long-term threat
  3. Ease of resolution.
     
• Students are assigned one challenge to the legitimacy and spread of democracy. Each group argues or debates in a mock-court that their assigned topic is the greatest challenge to global democracy.
• Write an essay evaluating the political significance of one challenge to the legitimacy and spread of democracy in global politics.

Detailed example 1

Understanding the rules-based order

1. Students read the following articles on the rules-based order / international system:

• The Atlantic: Strategic context: The rules-based international system
• GMF: What is the Liberal International Order?         
• The Interpreter (Lowy Institute): But what does “rules-based order” mean?

2. Students answer the following questions:

• Describe how World War II led to the formation of the rules-based order or what may be referred to as the rules-based international system?
• Identify the institutions that were created as part of this system and outline their roles.
• Explain how democratic values are represented within the rules-based order?
• Describe the impact of the rules-based order on citizens.
• Analyse the recent challenges to the rules-based order.

Extension: Research one of the following case studies (students could nominate their own issue) and analyse how the rules-based order has been challenged by the sovereignty and national interests of states.

• Northern Syria ‘buffer zone’
• The South China Sea
• Paris Climate Agreement
• The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
• Border conflicts
• Non-adherence to treaties, agreements or international laws

Detailed example 2

Inquiry into the challenge of ‘Big tech’ to the global spread and legitimacy of democracy

Inquiry into the challenge of ‘Big tech’ to the global spread and legitimacy of democracy

Students undertake an inquiry over the period of two or three weeks to fully investigate the role played by ‘Big tech’ in the spread of democracy, as well as its more recent trend of being used to potentially undermine democracy.

Students can choose to record their findings in a scrapbook (along with sources), table or informal notes with each inquiry question as a heading.

Example inquiry question: How have the media and ‘Big tech’ promoted, enhanced and / or undermined the legitimacy and spread of democracy globally?

STEP 1 Formulate questions: Students may choose to focus on any of the following aspects to tailor their inquiry:

• The ‘democratisation’ of information (the move away from concentrated media and state-owned media; e.g. the emergence of organisations such as Reporters Without Borders and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists)
• The immediacy of the 24-hour news cycle
• The role of technology and social media in electoral campaigns by candidates to inform electors on policies and views
• The role of technology in pro-democracy protest movements (such as Hong Kong, Myanmar, Russia and Sudan)
• Information, misinformation and disinformation (e.g.COVID vaccinations, the War in Ukraine)
• State laws versus ‘Big tech’ (e.g. US Anti-trust legislation, Australia’s media bargaining code, Western bans on Huawei 5G technology)
• Alternative social media and the creation of echo-chambers through social media algorithms (e.g.the creation of alternate social media platforms such as BitChute, Gab, Gettr, Parler, Rumble, Telegram and Truth Social – particularly in challenging the legitimacy of electoral results)
• Data collection and political manipulation (e.g. Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal 2018)
• AI technology (Chatbots such as ChatGPT replacing conventional google-searching, Deep-Fake technology)
• Concentration of mainstream media ownership (e.g. Murdoch media and influence within western English-speaking democracies).

STEP 2 Research: How has at least ONE ‘Big tech’ company had an impact on legitimacy and spread of democracy globally?

In groups or individually, depending on teacher preference, students locate and analyse sources of information that can provide answers to their questions. Students create and maintain a bibliography. They take notes using graphic organisers or note-taking tools to organise their findings.

STEP 3 Analyse: Students choose one ‘Big tech’ company and create a PMI table on the impacts of that company on democratic practices. They can begin by specifically researching if their chosen company has a record in either promoting or challenging aspects of democratic practice according to whichever question(s) they are trying to answer, for example: Facebook was key in the 2023 Australian federal election campaigning yet it was also complicit in allowing the spread of disinformation relating to COVID.

STEP 4 Evaluate: Create contentions or hypotheses that answer the overarching question. Marshall the supporting arguments and evidence.

STEP 5 Communicate: Write a response to the following: Analyse the impact of media and / or ‘Big tech’ on the global spread and legitimacy of democracy. Use evidence in your response.

Detailed example 3

Comparing populist perspectives with non-populist perspectives

1. Choose a democratic state for the purposes of this activity.
2. Identify and research different candidates with a range of political perspectives that are contesting/contested a current / recent election.
3. Record the views of the different candidates in policy areas, such as defence, healthcare, immigration, monetary policy, fiscal policy, transport, energy, environment and / or education. This can be done in a simple table.
4. View speeches, press releases, website material or social media posts from the various candidates and compare the language, themes and rhetorical devices used in these sources.
5. Analyse the ways in which populist perspectives differ to mainstream perspectives and assess their likely impacts on democratic institutions and processes.
   

Detailed example 4

International laws relating to state violence

Students choose an international law that relates to state use of violence. Examples include:

• Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948)
• The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1976)
• The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1985)
• The Rome Statute (1998)

1. Create a table of key background information including key parties and non-parties, articles / provisions, accountability / enforcement mechanisms, cases where the international law has been referenced in response to a use of state violence, cases where the law has been used successfully to achieve justice and cases where the international law has failed to achieve justice.
2. In order to observe the many facets of the rules-based international order other than international law, make a list of responses by other relevant global actors (for example, military or economic) that have not necessarily been motivated by the adherence to international law; for example, the impact of unregulated companies / groups on human rights or actions by non-party states. (Actions by non-state actors or transnational corporations are not necessarily covered under international law.)
3. With the data collected so far, write a brief report analysing the extent to which the use of state violence threatens the specific democratic principles, institutions and practices that underpin the rules-based international order.

Outcome 1

Analyse the causes and consequences of a global issue and evaluate the effectiveness of global actors’ responses in resolving the issue.

Examples of learning activities

Climate change

• Create a mind map that divides short-term and long-term causes of climate change. Demonstrate the connections between the long- and short-term causes. Add evidence from sources such as Our World in Data, the United Nations (UN) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports and news articles to support the connections. Extend further by adding specific consequences for the causes.
• As a class, brainstorm the ways in which the causes of climate change are related to global interconnectedness of people, states, organisations and corporations. For each brainstormed cause, research the impact on the issue of climate change.
• 
  Create a table of various global actors, mapping their perspectives, national interests, responses to climate change, and effectiveness of their responses.
• Read through the Paris Agreement and identify specific articles of each law that are upheld, ignored or violated by various global actors in the way that they respond to climate change. In groups or as a class, discuss and / or debate the effectiveness of the international law as a whole, as well as its specific articles, in addressing climate change.

Global economic instability

• As a class, create a mind map that unpacks the meaning of global economic instability.
• Discuss the concept of global interconnectedness in terms of its impact on global economic instability by identifying the political links between actors that result in economic interconnectedness and the benefits and limitations of these. Determine the way(s) in which this interconnectedness has resulted in economic instability for specific actors.
• Work in groups to analyse one global actor per group in terms of their ability to respond effectively to global economic instability. This could be determined by the actor’s capacity to achieve its goals in terms of addressing / not addressing global economic instability through their actions, perspectives, interests and level of interconnectedness with other actors.
• The groups should investigate and report on global actors (states, IGGs and NSAs) that fit the following categories:
  • Experiencing the consequences of global economic instability and unable to effectively respond
  • Experiencing the consequences of global economic instability and able to effectively respond
  • Contributing to the causes of global economic instability and unable / unwilling to stop
  • Contributing to the causes of global economic instability and able / willing to stop through responses
  • Not experiencing the consequences or contributing to the causes of global economic instability, but aiming to resolve the issue for other actors.
• Discuss what the resolution of global economic instability might look like if it was achieved. Using evidence, list global political, social and environmental obstacles that are currently preventing the resolution of this issue. Extend the discussion further by adding examples of economic instability being resolved in the past, with a description of how this was achieved, and whether or not the resolution could be replicated in different contexts.
• Plan an essay response for the prompt: Analyse the consequences of global economic instability for political stability and / or change.

Development

• Establish an understanding of the term ‘development’ by discussing the meaning of economic, social and human development using evidence from the work of the UN Development Programme (UNDP). Discuss the links between the types of development.
• Read through the most recent Human Development Report to identify and explain the short-term causes of the issue of development. Extend further by linking the causes to their intended or unintended consequences.
• Work in groups to examine the responses of global actors to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Each group should investigate the response of one global actor to one SDG using a specific case study. The response might effectively or ineffectively achieve the actor’s goal, and it might effectively or ineffectively achieve the aims of the SDG. Each group could present their findings to the class to contribute to a class portfolio of case study responses.
• Using case study evidence, discuss the political significance of the global issue of development for various states in terms of the extent to which they experience the consequences of ongoing development needs. Explain how different actors’ perspectives of the issue result in opportunities for or challenges to its resolution.

Weapons of mass destruction

• On a blank world map, plot the states that currently possess, or are reported to possess, weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). Create a key to denote the type/s of WMD each state has (nuclear, chemical and / or biological). Individually or in pairs, investigate the reason(s) at least one state has WMDs to determine short-term causes of this global issue and annotate these on the map. As a class, collaborate to complete annotations for each state.
• Identify the aims of at least two international laws, one of which exists to outlaw WMDs, and one which targets non-proliferation, no testing and / or disarmament. Research examples of the laws achieving their aims and not achieving their aims based on the responses of various states to the laws.
• Using case study evidence, conduct a class debate on the following topic: International laws that address the issue of WMDs are effective in achieving their aims.
• Discuss the following quote in terms of how and why it presents a challenge to the resolution of the issue of WMDs, and how the mentality contributes to political stability and change: ‘So long as any state has nuclear weapons, others will want them’.

Detailed example

Responses of global actors

Note: The table provided here can be adapted to suit any of the global issues.

Provide a table of specific global actors for each of the following categories: at least two states, at least one institution of global governance, and at least one non-state actor. In the table, map the following:

• each actor’s perspective(s) which inform their decision-making regarding the issue 
• their national interest(s) as a result of their perspective(s)
• their response(s) to the issue 
• the effectiveness of their responses in terms of whether they achieve the goal(s) of their response(s).

Extend the table further to also include:

• how the interest(s) and resultant response(s) of the actor may contribute to the causes and / or consequences (both intended and unintended) of the issue
• how the response(s) uphold, ignore or violate relevant international law(s)
• a judgement of the political significance of the actors and / or the issue. 

Use the table to plan and write an essay for the prompt: Assess the extent to which global actors are able to respond effectively to an issue.

Global actor	Perspective	Interest	Response	Effectiveness
State #1
State #2
Institution of global governance
Non-state actor

Outcome 2

Analyse the causes and consequences of one contemporary crisis and  discuss how global actors' responses have contributed to political stability and / or change.

Examples of learning activities

Human rights crises

• In relation to one specific human rights crisis case study, create a flowchart that demonstrates how long-term causes of the crisis lead to short-term causes. Include key actors, actions and events, and significant dates. Extend by adding direct consequences of the causes of the crisis.
• 
  Discuss drivers of conflict and cooperation in the resolution of a human rights crisis by comparing the perspectives of various actors.
• Categorise various actors’ responses to a human rights crisis as either a contribution to creating political stability (maintaining status quo) or as a contribution to creating political change (changing status quo). For each response, state whether pursuing political stability is causing / maintaining the human rights abuses or aiming to resolve them. Repeat for the actors pursuing political change.
• In relation to at least one specific human rights crisis case study, create a timeline of diplomatic processes that have been used in an attempt to address and resolve the crisis. Include key actors, their responses, and the challenges to the resolution of the crisis that are posed by and through diplomatic processes.
• Hold a class debate on the extent to which human rights are universal versus subject to cultural relativism, using case study evidence in support of points.

Armed conflict

• Investigate the background of a contemporary armed conflict. Categorise the causes into historical, continuing and short term. Brainstorm the likely challenges to resolution associated with each cause and provide explanations of the challenges.
• Using the jigsaw activity framework, analyse the impact of various political actors’ interests on the causes, course and consequences of a contemporary armed conflict. In the first round of the activity, groups of students become ‘experts’ on the interests of key actors in the conflict and how their actions have contributed to or aimed to cease the conflict. In the second round, new groups comprised of at least one expert on each political actor share their findings with each other to determine the overall and relative impact of each actor’s interests on the armed conflict.
• Create a table of the responses of political actors involved in an armed conflict (including at least two states, an institution of global governance and / or a regional grouping and a non-state actor) which categorises the responses as driving the conflict or driving cooperation to resolve the conflict and contributing to creating political stability and / or change (depending on the perspectives and motivations of the actors).

  Actor	Response	Conflict or cooperation to resolve	Political stability or change

• Research the successes and failures of the diplomatic processes, such as UNSC resolutions, used to address and resolve the armed conflict. Discuss the ways in which diplomatic processes enable or limit the ability for actors to respond effectively to resolve the crisis. Relevant actors include those indirectly involved in the crisis, such as institutions of global governance and allies of the states involved in conflict.
• Identify articles in at least two international laws that are being expressly violated or ignored by states involved in armed conflict. Describe the way(s) in which these articles have proven ineffective in deterring states from initiating and participating in armed conflict, with reference to examples of key decisions and events, and states’ motivating factors, including national interests and perspectives.
• Discuss the extent to which the national interest(s) of the state(s) who initiated the armed conflict poses the primary challenge to the resolution of the crisis.

Mass movement of people

• Collate a case study folio of one example of the mass movement of people that is expressly considered a crisis. Case study information should include the estimated number of people displaced internally and / or externally, the cause of displacement, the impact of the mass movement of people on multiple states and global resources, and the humanitarian (or otherwise) response of political actors to the mass movement.
• Plan an essay for the prompt: Assess the extent to which the responses of political actors to a mass movement of people crisis contribute to political stability and / or change.
  When planning, consider:
  • The perspectives and interests that motivate political actors’ decision making when responding or not responding to crises in order to achieve stability / change
  • Whether political actors’ responses have the ability / capacity to impact stability / change based on factors such as their interests, resources, and involvement in and adherence to political processes such as diplomacy and international law.
• Hold a debate on the extent to which processes such as diplomacy and international law relating to the mass movement of people are effective in driving actors to cooperate to resolve the crisis. Use case studies of action and inaction by political actors to support points.

Detailed example

Perspectives of global actors – comparison

Discuss drivers of conflict and cooperation in the resolution of a contemporary crisis by comparing the perspectives of various actors involved. Actors should include relevant states, institutions of global governance and / or regional groupings, and non-state actors.

Begin by identifying actors that are contributing to causing conflict, or responding to the crisis uncooperatively, and actors that are cooperating with the intention of resolving the crisis. This could be completed individually or in small groups.

Provide case study information, or have students, individually or in groups, research to determine the actors’ perspectives that inform their decisions and actions by examining their ideology, cultural beliefs, economic position, national interests, intentions, responses to opposing actors and perspectives, and approach to upholding / ignoring / violating relevant international laws and the international rules-based order.

Collaborate as a class on a digital platform such as Google Docs or Padlet, or physically on a whiteboard or on posters, to collate the descriptions of perspectives of various actors.

Examine the collated information to find similarities and differences in the actors’ perspectives and extend this to their resultant actions that drive conflict and cooperation in resolving the crisis.

Outcome 1

Analyse the various sources and forms of power used by a state in the Indo-Pacific region and evaluate the extent to which it is able to achieve its national interests.

Examples of learning activities

• Research your selected state and compile a case study using The CIA World Factbook, Infoplease or DFAT’s country reports covering features such as geographic area; major natural resources; population; ethnic groups within population; GDP; GDP / capita; major imports / exports; net importer or exporter; current account balance; external debt as percentage of GDP; foreign aid statistics, major industries; military spending annually; manpower available for military; strength of the military, i.e. technical capabilities; political system, membership of international organisations, conflicts it is involved in, etc. Sort findings into different categories such as military, economic, diplomatic, political and cultural. Additionally, sort further into strengths and limitations within each of those categories. This will enable discussion of each type of power with evidence (and the start of analysis and evaluation).
• Create a mind map of the different ways that the state can pursue national security (for example, border security, energy security) and economic prosperity (for example, GDP growth, inflation rate, GDP per capita, wage growth). Find case study examples of each pursuit of national security and provide the stated perspective of the state explaining why it views the case example as part of its national interest.
• Access government policy documents such as White Papers and National Security Strategies as well as speeches and addresses by leaders. Compile a list of quotes and match them to the different national interests. These examples can be added to the previously completed mind map.
• In groups, research alternative views on each national interest from either media outlets, opposition parties, non-government organisations or public figures, and create a table summarising the different perspectives on each national interest.
• 
  Undertake a guided source analysis task of two or three different sources (qualitative and quantitative) to scaffold the skills of identifying power, national interests and stability / change in political sources.
• Compile a scrapbook or folder of different news articles detailing foreign policy actions undertaken by the selected state in the last 10 years. Identify the different types of power and foreign policy instruments in the articles and write down some evidence for each: statistics, quotes, dates, policy names or dates.
• Complete structured questions on the state’s national interests and types of power and foreign policy instruments used to pursue these national interests.
• In groups, brainstorm on a piece of butcher’s paper the different challenges and obstacles that may stand in the way of your selected state achieving its national interests.
• Using the Lowy Institute Asia Power Index explore the strengths and weaknesses of your selected state's performance in key areas such economic capability, military capability and diplomatic influence, and compare with other key states in the region. Create a table comparing areas of high power, medium power and low power. Add an example of another state of similar power in that category to provide context of the level of performance. Also compare these figures with past year’s results to assess stability or change. As a follow up, discuss the extent of stability or change within one specific national interest that is allocated to the group. Create a table to summarise the discussions.
• Discuss as a group what the term political significance means. Refer to the characteristics of the study to prompt further discussion. Brainstorm the different ways that political significance can be demonstrated or measured.
• Create a summary table of the state’s sources and use of power and foreign policy instruments, the national interests that they serve, the impact the pursuit of these interests on other regional actors, the effectiveness of these pursuits and the extent of stability and / or change as a consequence. Using the summary table answer the following questions:
  • Explain the political significance of one Indo-Pacific state’s pursuit of its (or one of its) national interests. (Use the criteria for political significance established earlier in the outcome.)
  • Evaluate the extent to which one Indo-Pacific state has achieved one of their national interests
  • Analyse the ways in which one Indo-Pacific state has pursued one national interest.
• Write an essay based on the prompt: Discuss the extent to which your selected Indo-Pacific state has contributed to political stability and / or change in the region.

Detailed example

Guided source analysis

Students are provided with two or three different types of political sources that present different perspectives of the state’s national interests. These may include:

Qualitative sources	Quantitative sources
Speech transcripts Cartoon Policy document News article Opinion piece Journal analysis piece ‘Backgrounder’ Photograph Media release Joint communiqué Diplomatic brief White papers	Survey data on population attitudes to specific issues Budgetary spending (for example on military) Lowy Institute Asia Power Index  Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map Relevant tables or infographics for by ‘Our World in Data’. Committee reports or white paper statistics

1. In groups or as a class, students go through each source and attempt to identify the following elements: national interest perspectives, sources and forms of power, challenges to national interests. Use the following guiding questions. Students should evidence from the sources in response to the questions.

1. What national interest(s) does the source refer to?
2. Identify any sources of power, uses of power or foreign policy instruments mentioned in the source 
3. Is there any evidence in the source of these national interests being successfully or unsuccessfully pursued?
4. What is the perspective of the source as to the national interests of the state?
5. Are there different perspectives evident on what constitutes the national interest?
6. Does the source contain any information on how other actors have been impacted by the pursuit of national interests?
7. Is there any evidence in the source as to the extent of stability or change within the national interest?
8. What are the challenges experienced by the state in pursuing one / all of its national interests?
9. Discuss the political significance of the ideas presented within this source.

2. Students could write formal responses to higher order questions, using various task words, to demonstrate their understanding of the key knowledge points and using evidence from the sources. For example:

1. Analyse the different perspectives on one Indo-Pacific state’s economic prosperity.
2. Evaluate the extent of stability and / or change in the pursuit of one national interest by one Indo-Pacific state.
3. Evaluate the extent to which the state is able to achieve its national interests.

Outcome 2

Analyse different perspectives on Australia’s national interests in the Indo-Pacific region and evaluate the degree to which Australia’s pursuit of its national interests has resulted in cooperation or conflict with three states in the region.

Examples of learning activities

• Create a Quizlet to help you recall and explain each of Australia’s national interests, forms of power and foreign policy instruments. Collect examples as you proceed through the course.
• Read and discuss examples of ‘progressive’ and ‘conservative’ views on foreign policy. (See possible resources below.) Prepare or give students access to a range of resources to facilitate student understanding of ‘internal’ and ‘external’ perspectives, including perspectives from the three chosen states. Ensure students understand what ‘actions in the region’ may include.
• Media folio: Collect articles from a range of sources (e.g. news outlets, think tanks, experts, party websites and journals) on topics relating to Australia’s interests and / or actions in the region. Annotate each article using the following as a guide:
  1. Summarise the policy, action or inaction by Australia that the article conveys.
  2. Identify the perspective: ‘internal’ or ‘external’?
  3. Explain whether or not this perspective differs from the policy of Australia’s government.
• 
  Provide excerpts from articles, speeches or other data sources and answer a series of short-answer questions focusing on the key skill of ‘analyse different perspectives on Australia’s national interests and actions in the region.Conduct a group research task. Create a shared table in an online document with columns that allow students to draw links between the different key knowledge points. Assign an ‘action or inaction’ for each group member to investigate.
• In groups, students create a visual representation that sets out one type of power (a different one for each group) in an eye-catching way to be displayed in the classroom. It should include: ‘image(s)’, ‘definition’, ‘ways it can be measured’, ‘how it is used’ and ‘examples of how Australia has used this form of power in the last 10 years.’
• Building on the previous visual representation, students create a five-column table examining Australia’s use of different types of power (political, economic, military, diplomatic and cultural) in specific issues that have emerged between Australia and the three chosen states. Column headings would be: Issue, States involved, Cause of the Issue, Types of power used by other states, Australia’s response (description of  type(s) of power used by Australia), Consequence of use / non-use of power.
• Class discussion on the meaning of ‘foreign policy’ and the distinction between ‘foreign policy’ and ‘domestic policy’. Brainstorm examples of each and highlight areas where crossover exists. Finish by explaining foreign policy and identifying examples in study notes.
• Create a separate table for Australia’s foreign policy instruments (with causes and consequences). Do this early in the course so that examples can be added every time a foreign policy action is discussed in class.
• Use the Cornell Note-Taking system to take notes on Australia’s use of each foreign policy instrument listed in the study design (diplomacy, trade and foreign aid). Make sure that the ‘causes’ and ‘consequences’ of the use of these foreign policy instruments are covered.
• Collect data relating to Australia’s giving of foreign aid in the Indo-Pacific using the Pacific Aid Map and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) website. Add this to your Cornell notes.
• Create a concept map to make links between Australia’s use of foreign policy instruments (diplomacy, trade and foreign aid) and its pursuit of national interests.
• Conduct research on the Pacific Islands Forum. Create a brief summary of its makeup, purpose and method of operation.
• Group research task. In groups of three, conduct research on the three chosen states from the Indo-Pacific region (including one member of the Pacific Islands Forum). Assign one country per group member. Include notes on the following:
  • Brief summary of key characteristics such as location, population, size, ethnic makeup
  • Relative power in the region in terms of military and economy
  • Key areas of cooperation with Australia (make links with Australia’s interests)
  • Key areas of conflict with Australia (make links with Australia’s interests – Note: this is central to the Area of Study)
  • Judgement of overall effectiveness of Australia’s cooperation with each state.
• Select one regional issue or crisis from the last 10 years. This could be from a list provided by the teacher or chosen by the student and approved by the teacher. Outline the ways that Australia has responded to this issue via the use of foreign policy instruments of trade, diplomacy and aid, and make links to relevant national interests. Analyse the impact of Australia’s response on other regional actors, especially the three chosen states.
• Discuss the meaning of ‘political significance’ and brainstorm a list of the various ways this might be measured.
• Research and evaluation. Conduct an in-depth study of the political significance of two Australian actions (or inactions) in the region. Afterwards, create a 500-word evaluation of the political significance of each action / inaction.
• Visualising stability and change. Create a continuum of stability and change for a number of Australia’s actions in the Indo-Pacific region. For instance, on one line, write ‘stability’ on the left and ‘change’ on the right. Consider a number of Australia’s actions and place them on the line according to their impact. Share and justify choices with the class (teachers should encourage students to frame their justification with the key skill of ‘discuss the extent to which Australia has contributed to political stability and / or change in the region’ in mind).
• Essay – The above tasks should help students to write an essay on the topic, ‘Australia’s pursuit of its interests has, overall, contributed to political stability in the Indo-Pacific region.’ Discuss the extent to which you agree with this statement.

Detailed example

Group research task

Create a share table in an online document with columns for the following:

Australia’s actions or inactions, Australia’s national interests, Internal perspectives, External perspectives, Use of types of power / Foreign policy instruments, Causes of the action, Consequences of the action, and Evaluation of contribution to stability and change.

Divide the class into groups of three. Assign an ‘action’ or ‘inaction’ for each group member to investigate. (Note: This detailed task could replace some of the other tasks in this list if time is an issue.)

See sample table.

Headings on the sample table are:

Description (types of power and use of foreign policy instruments
Causes of the action / inaction
Links to Australia’s national interests
Internal perspectives on the action
External perspectives on the action
Consequences of the se of power / foreign policy instruments
Impact of actions on other regional actors
Extent to which this action contributes to political stability or change in the Indo-Pacific region

On completion, students might write a response to the following task: evaluate the degree to which Australia’s pursuit of its national interests has resulted in cooperation or conflict with three states in the region.