Political Science Articles

Article / Updated 07-28-2022

So you, your colleagues, and members of the community have decided that increasing the quality of life and solving complex challenges by using technology — coupled with data, new processes, and a progressive disposition toward innovation — is the right path for your city. You want to take a smart city approach going forward. Well done! No, seriously. The decision to act on something, to take a particular path relative to the action itself, can be the hardest part. It’s always possible to become entrenched in debate, to fail to find common ground, or to reach an impasse. But once some form of agreement is reached, even if just marginally directional, you should celebrate. Anyone who has worked on a project of some significance knows the difference between the big decisions and the many small decisions that happen. Without those big decisions, the project team might struggle. But it’s a great relief when direction is given. The project team can then move ahead with their work. One of the most important big decisions that has to be made at the beginning of a smart city effort is the establishment of a vision or vision statement. This vision is a top-level guide for almost all decisions to come. Singularity University has a term for efforts with a bold vision that motivates meaningful change. It’s called massive transformative purpose (MTP). An MTP is aspirational and focused on creating a different future. Realizing an MTP requires a mindset and work environment that leans into complex problems and strives to think big. MTP needs talented and dedicated teams working smartly with a huge amount of motivation. They have successes and sometimes failures. Creating a smart city may not be the equivalent of finding cures for all types of cancer, but the outcomes of smart city efforts are significant and can impact a lot of people. Consider your vision exercise as your MTP. The smart city movement remains largely in its infancy. The vast majority of cities in the world have yet to embark on this journey (assuming that it’s the right direction for many of them). They are starting from zero. As with any initiative, it’s easy to jump directly into the tactics after receiving direction to pursue smart city goals. But that would be a mistake. The first step on any smart city journey needs to be the establishment of an agreed-on vision. That vision guides strategy, and strategy directs the work. Identifying the role of leadership for your smart city Leadership and management are terms that are often used interchangeably. That’s a mistake. Although there are some underlying similarities, they are different. Each requires and utilizes a specific approach and mindset. Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things. It’s an essential distinction attributed to the management guru Peter Drucker. It’s one of the reasons that management can be learned, but leadership has qualities that some fortunate people possess from birth and can’t be easily acquired by training — such as charisma. Sure, many aspects of leadership can be learned, but it’s obvious that remarkable leaders don’t necessarily acquire their skills from books. It’s a little frustrating for those trying to be great leaders when they realize that they can learn and practice most skills but will always have a deficit relative to those unique leadership qualities that require something special. That said, the body of knowledge today on leadership is enough to help most leaders acquire the essential skills. Any given leadership team will have some with learned skills and some with natural abilities. That’s the case on city leadership teams, too. Smart city work suffers without great leadership. After all, research from across all industries suggests that projects generally succeed or fail depending on the availability of consistent high -quality leadership support. Who are these city leadership teams, and what might their responsibilities be relative to smart city work? To answer these questions, city leadership has been divided into these four basic parts: Elected leaders: Assuming some form of democratic process, these leaders, which can include the popular role of mayor, are chosen by the city’s constituents via voting and serve for a predetermined period. This is by far the most common process. In some jurisdictions around the world, city leaders are appointed by other bodies. In either case, these leaders typically have the primary function of setting policy, approving budgets, and passing legislation. They may originate an issue to debate, or an issue may be brought to them by any number of stakeholders, from community members to city staff. For example, if city staff proposes the smart city effort, elected officials are responsible for suggesting modifications, requesting more information, and approving or declining the request. Elected leaders absolutely must sign off on the smart city effort — particularly the vision, goals, and, ultimately, budget. A healthy public debate by elected leaders on the merits of the smart city work is valuable, as is eliciting public comment. Appointed leaders: Running a city on a day-to-day basis requires a set of hired leaders. The city inevitably has some form of overall leader — the public agency equivalent of a chief executive officer (CEO), such as a city manager or city administrator. This leader has assistants, deputies, and an executive team that manages the various areas of the city. These areas may include transportation, public works, planning, energy, libraries, healthcare, technology, and many more. Big cities have a large number of managed areas. The city leader and the team have the primary responsibility to implement and maintain policies. They make daily decisions and ensure that the city is operational and responsive to community needs. These leaders also propose initiatives to elected officials. A smart city effort may originate this way. It’s also possible, for example, that a strong mayor will ask for staff to develop a smart city plan and propose it to the elected leaders for approval. Appointed leaders are accountable to elected leaders and, by extension, to the community. Leadership support and oversight: In this category, a small leadership team is tasked with originating a draft policy, recommendations, or other decision-making instruments on behalf of either the elected or appointed leaders. These teams, which have a guiding function, aren’t decision-making bodies. However, they are essential contributors toward city leadership. These teams can be permanent or temporary, depending on their function. For example, the elected leaders may opt to create a committee to oversee and make recommendations and provide reporting oversight on the efforts of a smart city initiative. The team may exist only as long as the smart city initiative continues. Alternatively, a city may have a permanent transportation committee whose role is to make recommendations on matters related to transportation. Because this area is often included in smart city work, it may be the body that’s approached for leadership input. These teams are typically made up of suitably qualified members of the community. Regulatory leadership: This category is a broad one, in order to capture a range of other leaders who may have input in a city’s decision-making process. The most obvious groups include those who make regulations at a regional or national level. For example, a national set of rules on how drones can be deployed in cities may be made by a leadership group outside of a particular city, but that city would be required to adhere to the rules. This can make sense so that all cities in a region or country follow the same set of rules. People often debate how much power a city should have over its operations relative to the power of those at the regional or national level. Cities clearly want as much autonomy as possible, but the benefits of standards at a national and even global level have important merit as well. An example of an area where a city can benefit from national decision-making in the smart city domain is telecommunications. A national commitment to supporting infrastructure standards, and also financial assistance, benefits everyone. An example of global leadership is managing the climate crisis. Even though cities and nations have to sign on, the leadership and guidance may come from a global entity. Creating a vision for your smart city Your city has decided to embark on a smart city journey. Great! Now it’s time to create a vision or vision statement. What is a vision, and how is it created? Here, you’ll see vision and vision statement used interchangeably. There’s little difference between them, other than the number of words. A vision generally takes a few paragraphs to describe. A vision statement is typically only a few words long. The intent is identical. A vision is a statement of what you desire the future to be. It’s not tactics or operations. It’s not projects or deliverables. It’s simply a statement that guides the development of a strategic plan — called the envisioning process — and the decisions made throughout the journey. To help you better understand the role of a vision in the strategic plan, let’s take a quick look at strategic planning: Strategic planning is the systematic process of envisioning a desired future and translating this vision into broadly defined goals or objectives and a sequence of steps to achieve them. Put another way, the strategic plan is the translation of a strategic vision into outcomes. A vision written correctly and agreed on by relevant stakeholders holds the initiative accountable and provides essential guidance in times of uncertainty. Though it’s easy to overlook or omit this step, its value can’t be overstated. Do it. You’ll be happy you did. A vision isn’t the same as a mission. An organization's mission is what it does and how it does it, and it includes its shorter-term objectives. Your vision is none of those things. It’s long-term and future-oriented, and it describes a big-picture future state. It has clarity and passion. Here are ten tips for creating an outstanding vision statement: Think long-term. Brainstorm what a big future outcome would look like. Choose the one that gains consensus. Use simple words. Don’t use jargon. Make the statement inspiring. Ensure that the entire vision statement is easy to understand. Eliminate ambiguity. Anyone should be able to have a common understanding of what's actually involved. Consider making the statement time-bound. For example, use language such as “By 2030 . . .” Allude to organizational values and culture. Make the statement sufficiently challenging that it conveys a sense of ambition and boldness Involve many stakeholders. Here are some brief vision statement examples: Ben & Jerry's: "Making the best ice cream in the nicest possible way." Habitat for Humanity: "A world where everyone has a decent place to live." Caterpillar: "Our vision is a world in which all people's basic needs — such as shelter, clean water, sanitation, food and reliable power — are fulfilled in an environmentally sustainable way, and a company that improves the quality of the environment and the communities where we live and work." Hilton Hotels & Resorts: "To fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality." Samsung: "Inspire the world, create the future." Smart Dubai: “To be the happiest city on earth.” Though vision statements are typically short, no rule prohibits a more elaborate vision. As an example, here are the goals of the San Jose, California, smart city vision: Safe city: Leverage technology to make San José the safest big city in America. Inclusive city: Ensure that all residents, businesses, and organizations can participate in and benefit from the prosperity and culture of innovation in Silicon Valley. User-friendly city: Create digital platforms to improve transparency, empower residents to actively engage in the governance of their city, and make the city more responsive to the complex and growing demands of the community. Sustainable city: Use technology to address energy, water, and climate challenges to enable sustainable growth. Demonstration city: Reimagine the city as a laboratory and platform for the most impactful, transformative technologies that will shape how people live and work in the future. Not convinced a smart city is needed? Check out the case for smart cities.

Article / Updated 07-25-2022

To truly understand the effects of Brexit, we need to understand the key issues that came to the fore during the Brexit referendum campaign. Many of these issues run right to the heart of Britain’s problematic relationship with the EU. Read on to discover how Brexit will impact finances, immigration, trade, and sovereignty in the United Kingdom. The financial impact of Brexit: Britain’s contributions to the EU No discussion would be complete without mentioning the financial impact of Brexit. Central to the arguments of many Eurosceptics was the belief that the UK gave the EU much more, financially speaking, than it got back in return. How much does the UK really pay in? The UK’s contribution toward the EU’s budget changes each year. But, as an example, the UK made a gross contribution of €13 billion to the EU budget in 2017. (Without the rebate, the UK’s gross contribution would have come to more than €18 billion.) In return, the UK received around €4 billion in EU spending, making its net contribution around €9 billion. Remember that famous bus from the referendum campaign with the slogan on the side claiming that the UK sends €350 million a week to the EU? That figure excluded the rebate and the money the EU gives to the UK for public projects and funding. The UK also benefits from EU membership in ways that are much, much harder to estimate, including increased flow of investment, and the ability to buy and sell products easily within the EU. But, yes, the UK does contribute more to the EU budget than it gets back. In fact, the UK is one of the biggest contributors in the EU. Much has been said about the fact that the UK contributes more to the EU budget than 26 other EU members combined. And this statistic is true. But perhaps a less emotive way to look at it is this: According to Full Fact, in 2017, the UK’s net contribution totaled 18 percent of all net contributors. From a completely neutral standpoint, it makes sense that richer countries in the EU will contribute more than the poorer members (who are net beneficiaries of EU money). But, still, it’s a hard thing to sell to voters — particularly in parts of the UK that have struggled economically. Feeling the squeeze as Brexit approaches On top of this, there’s been a reduced UK rebate — as the UK prospered, Tony Blair brokered a deal to give up some of its rebate — and calls from some EU members to scrap the rebate completely. What’s more, in recent years, the EU has moved to include sex work and sales of drugs in gross domestic product (GDP) calculations, which further boosts the UK’s estimated contribution. (In 2014, the Office for National Statistics began adding up the contribution to the economy made by prostitutes and drug dealers — it came up with a figure of almost €10 billion!) As one newspaper headline put it at the time, the EU would be making the UK pay for our, er, bad habits. GDP is the term used to describe the value of all the goods and services that a country produces in a given time (usually calculated annually). As a measure, GDP is used to indicate a country’s prosperity and national development. You may also hear people talk about GDP per capita, which measures the ratio of GDP to the country’s population. To cut a long, and very complicated, story short, Eurosceptics were uneasy about the UK’s significant contribution to the EU’s spending pot, and questioning whether it was all worth it. “Picking up the slack” for others? Under EU rules, a member state’s budget deficits (where spending is higher than revenue) must not exceed 3 percent of GDP. And public debt (government and public agencies’ debt) must not exceed 60 percent of GDP. These rules are designed to ensure EU members manage their public funds in a sensible, sustainable way. That’s the idea anyway. The Italian government is going through a disciplinary process for falling foul of these rules, after reporting a deficit of 3.1 percent and public debt of more than 130 percent of GDP. To put that in context, the UK’s deficit is 1.8 percent of GDP and public debt is around 87 percent of GDP — the latter being higher than the EU’s threshold, but nowhere near as large as Italy’s. This disparity across the EU is another major underlying factor in the UK’s distrust of Europe. To some, it seemed the UK was picking up the slack or propping up countries that were not as fiscally responsible as others. How Brexit will affect immigration and the free movement of people Many Remainers suggest that immigration was behind the UK public’s decision to vote “out.” It wasn’t the only issue, but public opinion appears to show that it was one of the key factors. But, for some reason, the issue seemed to catch the mainstream political parties by surprise — even though the growing backlash against the idea of free movement was plainly obvious to anyone who read the newspapers or listened to the average conversation on the high street in the run-up to the Brexit referendum. To stem the negative tide, before the Brexit referendum, David Cameron tried to negotiate a “handbrake” system for the UK benefits system. This system would have denied EU migrants full benefit entitlements for a set period of time after they arrived in the UK, and was designed to combat sentiment that too many EU migrants came to the UK to claim benefits. However, EU leaders believed this system went against the principle of the free market, and the idea was rejected. Not only did large sections of the UK media portray EU migrants as coming for the benefits, but it also portrayed them as “pinching British jobs.” The two fears aren’t exactly compatible — are migrants coming to live off welfare or to steal people’s jobs, which is it? — but it goes to show how Brexit is such an emotive issue for Brits. Ultimately, the overwhelming sentiment from much of the media was that EU migrants were a “drain on the system.” Yet, official government figures show that EU migrants are in fact net contributors to UK finances, meaning they pay more in taxes than they take out in terms of public services (like healthcare, education, and so on). In fact, an Oxford Economics study found that the average EU migrant contributes €2,300 more to the public purse each year than the average British adult. In other words, EU migrants living in the UK more than pay their way. The tricky issue of trade under Brexit Opinions and statistics regarding UK–EU trade will vary depending on who you talk to, and in fact the UK and EU calculate export trade differently (which is helpful of them). One thing is clear, though: The UK runs a trade deficit with the EU as a whole, which means the UK imports more goods and services from the EU than it exports to the EU. In 2017, UK exports to other EU countries totaled €274 billion while imports from the rest of the EU into the UK totaled €341 billion. Those figures are based on Office for National Statistics data — the EU calculates imports and exports slightly differently. Depending on which source you look at, between 8 percent and 18 percent of EU exports arrive in the UK. Meanwhile, UK exports to the rest of the EU come to well over 40 percent of total UK trade. This means the UK is heavily reliant on the EU as a trade customer. On the other hand, a staggering 23 member states have a trade surplus with the UK — which means they export more to the UK than they import from the UK. Germany and Spain are the biggest EU exporters to the UK. On that basis, Eurosceptics argue it’s in the EU’s best interest to negotiate a trade deal with the UK as soon as possible. There’s also the issue of financial markets. As a leading worldwide stock market, London is key to Europe’s money markets and commodities, and many European companies have loans that are financed through London. Quite what will happen when these loans are due to be refinanced remains to be seen. But if a workable solution isn’t reached, it will impact not only the London financial market, but also European money markets and everyday European businesses. Brexit and UK sovereignty Slowly but surely, more and more power has been transferred from EU member states to Brussels. As an example of this, the European Court of Justice has dealt a number of hammer blows to the UK government with various policies being ruled illegal. A key argument of Eurosceptics was that the British public never voted to join a federal Europe, where the UK’s laws would be dictated by the EU. Nor did they agree to the European Parliament having the final say on policies passed by the UK Parliament. The UK joined an economic union, not a social and political union. If the people voting in the 1975 referendum had known they were ultimately voting to stay in a federal Europe, would the result have been different? Quite possibly. A big part of the problem lies with the politicians, here — specifically, a lack of honesty on where Europe was going and what it would mean for UK sovereignty. In his 1971 white paper on joining the EEC, then Prime Minister Edward Heath promised “no erosion of essential national sovereignty.” Yet, in 1972 the UK Parliament passed the European Communities Act, which accepted the supremacy of EU law. You could argue Heath’s word essential leaves some wriggle room, but, to the voting public decades later, it seemed like the wool had been pulled over a lot of people’s eyes. The Brexit vote: How the Brexit referendum results played out across the UK The UK’s constituent countries voted quite differently in the Brexit referendum. The following breaks down the Brexit vote results by country. UK Countries Brexit Vote Results Country Percent Voting to Leave Percent Voting to Remain Result England 53.38% 46.62% Leave Scotland 38% 62% Remain Wales 52.53% 47.47% Leave Northern Ireland 44.22% 55.78% Remain Devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales (even though Wales voted to leave as a nation) have been highly critical of the move to leave the EU, and the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP) government in Scotland has been trying to use the result to push for another Scottish independence referendum. The situation in Northern Ireland is slightly different, with the ruling Democratic Unionist Party siding with the UK government on Brexit (even though the public in Northern Ireland voted to remain). And despite the fact that the Welsh population voted to leave, the Welsh devolved parliament is siding with its Scottish counterpart on a remain policy. Isn’t politics fun? In any case, what this will ultimately mean for the United Kingdom as whole remains to be seen. For now, the jury’s out, and we’ll wait to see if a Scottish independence vote does materialize. Meanwhile, what did the EU make of the Brexit referendum? Like many in the UK, prior to the Brexit referendum result, EU officials generally felt there wasn’t a chance in hell that the British public would vote to leave the EU. Secure in this belief, the EU itself took quite a backseat role in the Brexit referendum, doing little to play up the benefits of EU membership or counteract claims from Leave campaigners. Just like David Cameron, the EU was looking forward to finally resolving this nagging issue of a UK exit. The vote for the Brexit referendum was supposed to kick the subject into the long grass so that everyone could get back to the business of governing. But things didn’t exactly pan out that way, and the UK’s tumultuous relationship with the EU was reaching its painful, drawn-out climax. Regardless of any split opinions, Brexit will have an impact on world relations in years to come.

Article / Updated 07-18-2022

Brexit has spawned lots of questions surrounding the GDPR. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of years, you’ll have read and heard a lot about the impact of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force on May 25, 2018. But with GDPR being an EU regulation, will UK businesses still have to comply with GDPR rules after Brexit? The short answer is yes, businesses in the UK will still have to comply with GDPR rules even after Brexit. But, in some cases, the specifics of how your company handles data may change slightly after Brexit. Recognizing that GDPR is enshrined in UK law and Brexit won’t change that In a nutshell, GDPR is designed to give every EU citizen greater control over his or her personal data, including name, date of birth, and email address. It ensures that companies can’t store and use the personal data of EU citizens without their explicit consent, and promotes the fair, transparent use of personal data. The fact that UK citizens will no longer be EU citizens after Brexit doesn’t matter. Implementation of GDPR in the UK is covered by the UK Parliament’s Data Protection Act 2018. So, GDPR is already written into UK law, and the government has committed to maintaining GDPR compliance in the UK. This ensures that UK citizens will continue to get all the same protections as their EU neighbors, when it comes to the fair use of their data. This means all the protocols you’ve put in place to lawfully handle the data of your customers (whether they’re in Europe or the UK) will still apply, and you should absolutely maintain compliance with GDPR. But why continue with something that originated as EU law when so much of the rhetoric surrounding Brexit was about “taking back control”? The cynical answer is that businesses and public bodies in the UK have already spent millions ensuring their data practices were fully compliant with GDPR. If the government backtracked on GDPR now, it would mean all that expenditure was pointless. After all the time, effort, and money spent, it would be crazy to “undo” GDPR in the UK. The less cynical answer is that GDPR is a good thing, for organizations and for individuals. Sure, it brings additional burdens in terms of compliance, but there’s no doubt it provides important protections for citizens’ private data. As technology advances and the world becomes increasingly driven by data, these protections will only become more valuable. It’s also important to remember that any close relationship between the UK and the EU going forward is likely to be dependent upon both parties having similar regulatory systems. Therefore, GDPR is just one area where British businesses will effectively be operating in line with European businesses. Transferring data between the UK and the EU after Brexit Broadly speaking, how UK businesses handle personal data will stay the same. But there’s a big uncertainty around what happens to businesses that transfer data between the UK and the remaining EU27 countries after Brexit (for example, if a company has offices in the UK and Europe, or if a UK business uses a cloud service provider based in the EU). Under GDPR, data cannot be transferred between the EU and third countries (non-EU countries) unless those countries have been deemed to have “adequate” data protections in place. In the less likely event of a no-deal Brexit, the UK will immediately be considered a third country, which means that the European Commission will need to assess that the UK has adequate levels of protection in order for the smooth transfer of data to continue. (In theory, the Data Protection Act ensures that the UK does provide an adequate level of protection, but as with so much of Brexit, it’s a case of wait and see whether this plays out in reality.) And if the UK does exit with a withdrawal agreement in place, then, for the duration of any transition period, data transfers can continue as normal.

Article / Updated 07-18-2022

You can gather information about your representative from his or her Web site, but if you need to contact another member or staffer of the House of Representatives, try the email formula below. Of course, you can always call or go the old-fashioned way and mail a letter. Here’s the House contact information you'll need: The House of Representatives Web site: www.House.gov Clerk of the House: www.clerk.house.gov House e-mail addresses consist of the person’s first name and last name, separated by a dot, followed by @mail.house.gov. (Be aware that some people use nicknames and middle initials.) Congressional database http://thomas.loc.gov/ Capitol switchboard (House and Senate) 202-224-3121 Mailing address Rep. __________ United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20510 House offices The Capitol (H) Cannon (CHOB), 1st St. & Independence Ave. SE, three-digit room numbers, the first digit is the floor number Longworth (LHOB), Independence Ave. & New Jersey Ave. SE, four-digit room numbers starting with 1, the second digit is the floor number. Rayburn (RHOB), Independence Ave. & S. Capitol St. SW, four-digit room numbers starting with 2. In Rayburn, the second digit is the floor number. All of the buildings have maps to help you find individual office numbers. In Rayburn there are several subcommittee offices on the “B” level (where the cafeteria is also located).

Article / Updated 06-15-2022

To understand the United States of America, start with the Constitution. Written over 200 years ago, when the nation was first being established out of the 13 British colonies, this document is a blueprint. Its seven sections (or articles) detail the core components of how the framers wanted the government to run the country. (See U.S. Constitution For Dummies Cheat Sheet.) Article I – The Legislative Branch. The principal mission of the legislative branch is to make laws. It is split into two different chambers – the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress is a legislative body that holds the power to draft and pass legislation, borrow money for the nation, declare war, and raise a military. It also has the power to check and balance the other two federal branches. Article II – The Executive Branch. This branch of the government manages the day-to-day operations of government through various federal departments and agencies, such as the Department of Treasury. At the head of this branch is the nationally elected president of the United States. The president swears an oath to "faithfully execute" the responsibilities as president and to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." The executive branch powers include making treaties with other nations, appointing federal judges, department heads, and ambassadors, and determining how to best run the country and military operations. Article III – The Judicial Branch. Article III outlines the powers of the federal court system. The article states that the court of last resort is the U.S. Supreme Court and that the U.S. Congress has the power to determine the size and scope of those courts below it. All judges are appointed for life unless they resign or are charged with bad behavior. Those facing charges are to be tried and judged by a jury of their peers. Article IV – The States. This article defines the relationship between the states and the federal government. The federal government guarantees a republican form of government in each state, protects the nation and the people from foreign or domestic violence, and determines how new states can join the Union. It also suggests that all the states are equal to each other and should respect each other’s laws and the judicial decisions made by other state court systems. Article V – Amendment. Future generations can amend the Constitution if the society so requires it. Both the states and Congress have the power to initiate the amendment process. Article VI – Debts, Supremacy, Oaths. Article VI determines that the U.S. Constitution, and all laws made from it, are the "supreme Law of the Land," and all officials, whether members of the state legislatures, Congress, judiciary, or the executive branch, have to swear an oath to the Constitution. Article VII – Ratification. This article details all those people who signed the Constitution, representing the original 13 states.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-19-2022

If you’re planning a trip to Washington, D.C., follow some basic recommendations for protocol when visiting with a member of Congress or a White House staffer. Plan your trip to the Capitol Building around Congressional recesses, and be sure to have all the correct contact information for the House of Representatives and Senate to make travel easier and quicker.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-10-2022

Making sense of Brexit can feel like a full-time job. Find out what Brexit is and why it happened, how it impacts the economy, and what happens if the United Kingdom decides to rejoin the European Union in the future.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-01-2022

Urban plans help shape the future of a community by addressing everything from housing and transportation to natural resources, public utilities, and more. You don’t have to be a professional urban planner to get involved in planning your community’s future. Whether you participate in the planning process, serve as a local planning commissioner, or help carry out your community’s plan, you can play an important part.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-24-2022

From early Greek political philosophy to current international conflicts, political science is a study in how people come together, interact, become informed, and make decisions that affect everyone. Studying political science allows you to become educated on political issues, make decisions, and discover how politics is made at the local, national, and international level. Take a look at the list of important political scientists and their major works to guide you through the evolution of political science. Also, read through major political science concepts to give you a well-rounded view of political science as a vital discipline.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-09-2022

Politics — it’s everywhere. It affects everything in society, like taxes, the environment, health, education, the economy, international affairs, security and everything in between. So, knowing how political decisions are made and who the important actors are makes sense. Knowledge is power, and understanding how the Australian political system actually works gives you the power to get involved and influence politics yourself. Check out this Cheat Sheet, which provides quick summaries of Australia's political parties, campaigns, the role of the media, and tips for voting effectively.