week 7 - australia + india case studies

Question 1

australia’s democratic structure

Answer 1

Modeled after British institutions but with key differences:
- they use the alternative vote for its elections for about 122 years.
- voting is mandatory.
- the senate (upper house) is strong.
- it is federal.

Question 2

what does Australia’s bicameralism and federalism mirror

Answer 2

the U.S.

Question 3

what does the constitution state regarding federal and state law in australia

Answer 3

the constitution stipulates that federal law prevails when a state law is inconsistent with federal law

Question 4

how does australia use the AV

Answer 4

• Uses the alternative vote (AV) for its lower house elections.
• individuals have to rank every candidate, or their ballot is invalid.

Question 5

how parties trade preferences in australia’s system

Answer 5

• Party A offers to instruct their supporters to rank Party B if Party B will address some of its policy concerns.
• Party A + B form an agreement in which both parties can instruct their supporters to rank the other party second.

Question 6

how can parties instruct their supporters to rank other parties

Answer 6

using vote cards which have pictures of the ideal way for supporters to rank candidates.

Question 7

1975 constitutional crisis in australia

Answer 7

• Liberal-led Senate refused to vote on a budget bill unless new elections were called in the lower house.
• Labor-led lower house refused.
• The Governor General (Queen’s Rep) dismissed the Labor prime minister and appointed a Liberal PM, and the Senate passed the budget.

Question 8

why is the 1975 constitutional crisis important

Answer 8

because it demonstrated that
an unelected representative of Britain could interfere in Australia’s democratic affairs

Question 9

devolution in india

Answer 9

• india is constitutionally a unitary state that has devolved power to its states.
• national government maintains the power to take over states or change their borders.
• India operates mostly as a federal state. It embodies de facto federalism rather than de jure federalism

Question 10

nationalism in india

Answer 10

• India nationalism is strong; developed during the fight for independence from Britain.
• strongest nationalist movement is associated with Hinduism; the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Question 11

parliamentary government in india

Answer 11

• the country is run by the prime minister and his/her cabinet.
• there is also a largely ceremonial president.
• because no single party ever has a majority, the Indian government
  is always a coalition.

Question 12

parties and electoral system in india

Answer 12

• uses a British-inspired SMP system.
• india has over 2,000 parties, with most being regional.
• only the BJP and the Indian National Congress (INC) have
  significant support throughout the country.

Question 13

why should we thoerize india surviving as a democracy

Answer 13

It opposes the modernization theory as it is/stays democratic and does not have a strong economy and is poor.

Question 14

what does liphart propose about india.

Answer 14

• Grand Coalition: victorious parties must pull several parties from the left and right to govern.
• Proportionality: however a SMP system, electoral results have been relatively proportional, as minority groups can send their party to parliament.
• Minority Veto: though Hindus are the majority, they are divided by language and caste and do not form a political majority (no tyranny of the majority).
• Cultural Autonomy: because states often draw linguistic lines, cultures have a certain degree of autonomy.

Question 15

what is the alternative explanation to india as a democracy

Answer 15

• There is a unifying role of (Hindu) nationalism that is forged from the struggle against the British and the
  continual battle against Pakistan.