Authority, Legitimacy, and Political Order
UndergraduateMAQ-POIX20012027
Course information for 2027 intake
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Enrol by
- 14 Feb 2027
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- 13 weeks
- Start dates
- 22 Feb 2027
- Price from
- $2,355
- Upfront cost
- $0
- Loan available
- HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
Authority, Legitimacy, and Political Order
About this subject
On successful completion, a student will be able to
- Explain key concepts and debates related to political order from historical to contemporary perspectives.
- Analyse how political order is justified, maintained and contested through institutions, ideas and state–civil society relations.
- Evaluate competing ideological and theoretical responses to democratic erosion, contested authority, and changing forms of state power.
- Apply concepts from political thought and comparative politics to construct independent arguments about contemporary political crises.
- A week-by-week guide to the topics you will explore in this subject will be provided in your study materials.
Political systems are in crisis: across the globe, democratic institutions are hollowing out and political structures are changing. This unit traces the unresolved questions behind current political crisis from classical to contemporary thinkers, focusing on how political order is justified, maintained and contested. Drawing on the history and philosophy of political thought, comparative politics and contemporary governance debates, the unit examines legitimacy, sovereignty, rights, representation, state–civil society relations, democratic erosion, political community, and the changing role of the state. Students develop the conceptual and analytical tools to interpret how legitimacy, sovereignty, rights and representation shape the making, maintenance and contestation of political orders in a changing world.
- Reading Annotation and Reflective Response (25%)
- Political Order Analysis (40%)
- Political Order Analysis (35%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
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Entry requirements
Others
Pre-requisite 40cp at 1000 level or above OR (10cp in POIR or POIX unit)
NCCW (2020 and onwards)
POIR2001 Authority, Legitimacy, and Political Order
Additional requirements
No additional requirements
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
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