The unit explores the core concepts of Political Economy through the lens of the principal schools of economic thought which comprise the social science discipline of economics. The historical origins of each school are identified along with their methodological approaches and analytical tools, policy prescriptions and insights. This examination illuminates the different views about the dynamics of the capitalist economy and lays the foundation for the application of political economic reasoning to a wide range of contemporary issues.

This unit explores the processes of socioeconomic change, and the forces involved in bringing about such change. It introduces several theoretical perspectives and - using a number of contemporary case studies - considers the interests, the relationships and the constraints involved in socioeconomic change. Students consider a range of issues and debates, and make a detailed study in one such area.

This unit focuses on conducting research in political economy. Weekly seminars examine a range of topics including research design, literature review, data collection and analysis, and writing a research proposal. The seminars provide an opportunity for critical discussion to identify, debate and reflect on the nature and challenge of undertaking research. The assessment is structured to assist the progressive development of a research proposal. Completion of this Unit of Study is a pre-requisite for a Masters dissertation.

This unit will examine the dynamics of capitalist growth and crisis from the end of the Second World War until the present. It will analyse the formation of a triad formed by the USA, Europe, and Japan, as well as the contradictions that beset this constellation from the 1980s. The unit will pay particular attention to the rise of new economic powers like China over the past decades, and it will explore the dynamics of the financial crisis of 2008 and its impact on the European Union.

The impacts of volatility are an ever-present concern for policymakers, firms and households. This unit looks at a diverse range of methods and techniques for assessing country risk (e.g., economic risk, financial risk, sovereign (default) risk, socio-political risk, etc). This entails an overview of the (political) economic frameworks and connecting both qualitative and quantitative approaches to the current research on leading indicators and early warning systems.

This unit examines the evolution of international employment opportunities as a feature of the globalisation of economies. Different approaches to the analysis of labour markets provide conceptual frameworks for examining the changing character and structure of global employment and international migration. Case studies examine the effects of state regulatory arrangements and international institutions governing cross-border labour migration and cross-border employment in multinational firms, including professionals, skilled and unskilled workers.

This unit of study analyses the modern economic development of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and its role in the international economic system, including the World Trade Organisation. It examines the internal political economy of the PRC; the political economy of transition; and China's transformation into a major centre of foreign direct investment and global exports. In the unit, students will learn the differential impact of China's transformation on the USA, East Asia and Japan, and the European Union. The policy of free trade agreements of China will also be studied. An understanding of these issues is important for people concerned both with investment and trade with China and the global political economic implications of China's emerging market economy under socialism.

This unit introduces students to environmental economic theory, ecological economics, and other critical perspectives in order to develop an understanding of the parameters that define management of economy-environment interactions. Students will develop a critical appreciation of the systemic nature of the pressures imposed on environmental/ecological systems and the intractable problems this presents. The unit examines the different tendencies that inform environmental management and sustainable development; and the relative merits/weaknesses of the strategies and policies advanced.

This unit links debates over social rights and democratic legitimacy to structural economic arguments. It introduces the competing arguments over social rights and the struggles that have created them, and promotes the use of evidence in these conceptual arguments. The approach of economic liberalism to rights is examined. Important global issues involving rights and economic argument - such as self-determination, land rights, food security, fair trade and economic governance - are examined.

Foreign exchange, security and other derivative markets have expanded dramatically over the past 20 years. More recently, they have been associated with the largest economic crisis in 80 years. This unit develops a political economy perspective on these markets, including their vulnerability to crisis, and the intrusion of financial calculation into wider social and personal calculation. The unit also addresses the regulation of financial markets and institutions, including key regulatory and monitoring agencies, and arguments for new regulatory regimes.

Medicines save lives but they can be costly and can have serious adverse effects. Value-laden decisions are continuously being made at individual, institutional, national and international levels regarding the medicines we need, want and can afford. In this unit of study, we will explore and critique global and national policies and processes related to medicines, examining how research and development agendas are set; how medicines are assessed and evaluated; and how new technologies are translated into practice. We will also explore broader trends such as globalisation, commercialisation and changing consumer expectations. By the end of the course, students will understand the forces shaping the development, regulation, funding and uptake of medicines both nationally and internationally, and the political, ethical, legal and economic issues that are at stake. This course is designed to appeal to a wide range of students from ethics, law, public health, health care, policy, communications, economics, business, politics, administration, and biomedical science.

This unit assesses the political and security significance of disease-related events and developments. Whether one contemplates historical experiences with smallpox, the contemporary challenges posed by diseases such as HIV/AIDS and SARS, or the risks arising from new scientific developments such as synthetic biology, it is clear that diseases exercise a powerful influence over civilised humankind. The unit concentrates on areas in which human health and security concerns intersect most closely, including: biological weapons; fast-moving disease outbreaks of natural origin; safety and security in microbiology laboratories; and the relationships between infectious disease patterns, public health capacity, state functioning and violent conflict. The overall aim of the unit is to provide students with a stronger understanding of the scientific and political nature of these problems, why and how they might threaten security, and the conceptual and empirical connections between them.

This unit critically examines the notion of state fragility within the global system. It investigates the characteristics of so-called 'fragile' and 'failed' states, and the nature of international engagement with (and discourses about) these states. It explores various perspectives on state formation in both Western and post-colonial contexts, and emphasises the ways in which knowledge is produced about non-Western states. The unit expands upon the theoretical literature with evidence from case studies in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia.

This unit examines the drivers of conflict and insecurity in the contemporary Middle East, starting with a theoretical framework that investigates the processes of state-formation and external intervention in the region. The unit focuses on the interplay between domestic factors (such as rentierism and regime dynamics) and international factors (including geopolitics/geo-economics, and the military industrial complex), and uses several detailed case studies to explore the relationship from various angles.

The post-1949 era of 'development' has seen a philosophical and policy shift from nation-building projects of 'modernisation' to the local responsiveness of market forces and civil society. An anthropological emphasis on cultural and local difference and a sociological understanding of state and civil society provide a critical perspective on both this history and current debates. Case studies raise questions of health, gender and childhood, project success or failure, and of the hopes and skepticism development evokes.

Development is an international and intercultural process that seeks to both implement projects with specific objectives, and change the way people live and think. Language, as communication both enables such projects and is a source of incomprehension, misunderstanding and exclusion within them. Education as the longer term attempt to change the thinking and values of people and communities also has language at its heart. This unit examines the nature and politics of language and education and their relationship within development.

Poverty reduction has always been a central development goal. Major international programs such as the UN's Millennium Goals place poverty at their centre. New explanatory concepts such as social exclusion, capability, social capital and sustainability have considerably expanded our thinking about its nature. Students will examine cases from many parts of the world of the way discourses, policies and development practices operate together, enabling an evaluation of contemporary approaches to poverty and their effects on those most vulnerable.

The unit develops the basic principles of data description and analysis, the idea of using the concept of probability to model data generation, and the statistical concepts of estimation and statistical inference, including hypothesis testing. It then develops these concepts and techniques in the context of the linear regression model to show how econometric models can be used to analyse data in a wide range of potential areas of application in economics, business and the social sciences. The unit combines theory and application. The emphasis is upon the interpretation of econometric estimation results and requires software for hands-on experience.

This unit presumes no prior exposure to economics and aims, by the end of the unit, to bring a proficiency equivalent to that of students with an intermediate level microeconomics unit in an Honours degree program. Many economic principles developed in this unit are routinely used in several other units in the program. Microeconomics studies how economic agents make choices in a variety of environments. The unit covers theory and applications of the principles of consumer choice, of firm behaviour, and of strategic interaction among economic agents. Equipped with these theories of decision making, students can address a range of interesting and important questions. Examples are: What market strategy should a firm adopt with its competitors? How might one create a market to deal with externalities such as pollution? What are the implications of different kinds of taxes? What compensation scheme will provide the right incentives to work?

This unit presumes no prior exposure to economics and aims, by the end of the unit, to bring a proficiency equivalent to that of students with an intermediate level macroeconomics unit in an Honours degree program. Many economic principles developed in this unit are routinely used in several other units in the program. Macroeconomics studies aggregate economic behaviour. The unit covers theories of the engines of long-run economic growth, of unemployment, of money, inflation, the interest rate and the exchange rate, as well as consumption, saving and investment behaviour. The unit also studies a number of applications of the theory and addresses contemporary macroeconomic problems and policy.

This unit provides both a conceptual and an empirical foundation for the analysis of relationships between society, the environment and natural resources. In our recent past the rapid rate of global environmental change has necessitated a breakdown of traditional disciplinary boundaries in research and social scientists are increasingly called upon to work alongside natural scientists in unraveling the complexities of the human-environmental nexus. Students will examine a number of environmental issues and consider a variety of social science academic perspectives about environmental management.

This unit of study constitutes an international field-based experience held in Southeast Asia during the July semester break. It explores the contested notions of sustainable development and sustainability through exposure to real world development dilemmas in Southeast Asia. We explore fundamental issues such as urbanization, sustainable livelihood, resource scarcity and economic globalization. The unit of study involves lectures, in-situ readings and discussion groups, introduction to field methods, stakeholder meetings and experiential learning. Students interested in this unit should confirm their interest to the Unit Coordinators by the end of March of the year the field school will be held. There will be additional costs associated with this unit to cover food, accommodation, local transport and field assistance of about $1,200. Students will also be required to arrange their own international travel to the starting point (either Vientiane or Jakarta depending on the specific location of the course).

This unit familiarises students with contemporary ideas and debates concerning cultural identity, community and location, with an emphasis on diversity and difference in contemporary Australian culture but placed in an international context by the wider field of cultural studies. It will focus on contemporary case studies to enable students to explore theories of identity, community and cultural location and develop appropriate and effective means of analysing contemporary cultural identities and practices.

Southeast Asia's economic experiences and socio-political challenges will be examined within an historical and comparative context in order to better appreciate the economic continuities, understand the major socio-political dilemmas and changing patterns of development. Themes such as the significance of colonialism on post-colonial economies and polities, role of the state in the national and global economy, causes of the region's high-speed growth in the 1980s and 1990s, subsequent economic downturn and future prospects, changing complexion of foreign investment, significance and operational dynamics of the Overseas Chinese Business Networks, salience of socio-economic and ethnic tensions, contradictions associated with the promotion of open economies within authoritarian political structures, the relationship between economic and political corruption, prominence of political Islam, rise of civil society actors, implications of the national and regional reserve army of labour, efficacy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the region's economic and security links with Northeast Asia will be analysed.

This unit aims to introduce students to how states and other actors in the international arena cooperate to build institutions as a response to common problems. After completing the unit students should be able to analyse contemporary international organisations to see how they work, whose interests they serve, and to what degree they attenuate or enhance the power of sovereign states.

It is widely believed that we are entering a new era in which the transborder flows of capital, goods, ideas, and people are rapidly transforming human society. 'Globalisation', many claim, threatens the autonomy of nation-states and erodes the power of national governments to provide social protection and promote the nation's economic prosperity. This unit examines not only the causes and mechanisms of this process, but also assesses its social, economic, and political impacts. The views of radicals, transformationalists, skeptics, and institutionalists are compared and criticised. While globalisation is often viewed as a singular process, trending towards a global society, this unit offers a distinctive approach. Globalisation has uneven and highly differentiated impacts, whether harmful or beneficial, and this unevenness is closely associated with the nature of institutions of governance, at both the domestic and international levels.

This unit is organised around the upsurge in regional economic and security cooperation within East Asia and the more nebulous Asia Pacific in the last 15 years. It also looks at academic efforts to define East Asia and the Asia Pacific as regions. The first part of the unit covers the domestic similarities in East Asia and what these mean for East Asian and Asia-Pacific regionalism. The second part of the unit covers efforts to develop regional institutions like APEC and ASEAN and the role of these institutions in spurring regionalism. While the Asia Pacific and its sub-regions are the focus of the unit, both domestic and global economic and political forces are fully integrated into discussions. The unit provides critical insights into the reasons for the upsurge in regional economic and security cooperation, its likely trajectory and how East Asia and the Asia-Pacific are defined.

Adopting a comparative politics perspective, this unit of study explores the relationship between gender and family roles to state development, particularly in the aspects of political participation, human rights, and the transformation/revolution of state forms. The unit will also focus particularly on the impact of two higher order social institutions: religion and the state, and examine how both have influenced women and the family in both capitalist and socialist states.

This unit will provide students with the fundamentals for constructing and conducting effective research projects in the social sciences. An overview of social science inquiry will be presented through an examination of the diversity in theoretical and methodological approaches used in research. This will include a focus on both primary research, using interviews and questionnaires, and secondary research, using statistical databases, content analysis and textual analysis. Both quantitative and qualitative methods will be covered in the unit, as will an overview of ethical practices associated with research design. The assessment will be based around constructing practical research projects that can be utilised in both university and workplace-based research.

This unit will examine critical perspectives on international development. It will explore key questions concerning development, including: Have efforts to 'reduce poverty' been effective? What are the various meanings associated with development concepts like 'building capacity' and 'empowerment'? Is there any consensus about what development is and how to 'do' it? The unit will include an analysis of how much has been learned about development over the last fifty years. Finally, the unit will consider what role might individuals take.

This unit introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of Peace and Conflict Studies and the history, philosophy and politics of peace. Students will gain an understanding of the nature and causes of violence, the potential of nonviolence and the means of achieving peace with justice in different conflict settings.

Religion is frequently blamed as the cause of violent conflict and yet peace and nonviolence are considered central to most, if not all, religions. In this unit we examine historical and contemporary case studies to deepen our understanding of how religion may be used to promote violence and how religion and religious actors can contribute to building peace and social justice. Students will gain an understanding of different religious traditions and build an appreciation of the issues involved in working with diverse faith communities in the pursuit of peaceful conflict transformation.

The human right to adequate food is considered in light of recent developments in economic and social rights to complement civil and political rights: historical foundations; the influence of the World Food Summit 1996; the application of the human right to adequate food in various contexts - specific countries, in relation to refugees, infants etc; analysing concrete situations to identify violations of the human right to adequate food; and formulating proposals for policy and legislation to realise the human right to adequate food in specific contexts.

This unit offers a comparative consideration of different concepts of democratisation and development including the criteria for compiling country development indices and typologies of democracy. Experiences of implanting and/or imposing democracy are examined in Japan, Iraq and other nations. The pan-Pacific model of development, and the pros and cons of using authoritarian means to achieve it, is also considered, with examples including Indonesia under Suharto and Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew. Relationships between development, conflict and poverty are examined - do elections lead to more democracy? More development? Or do they allow authoritarian winners to institutionalise power? What about the coup in Thailand?

International aid efforts are often delivered in contexts affected by conflict, and risk feeding the conflict rather than alleviating it. Conflict sensitivity is about minimising the negative impact of aid (do no harm), and maximising its positive potential. Nowadays a core operating principle for international development and humanitarian organisations, being conflict-sensitive is essential in making aid more effective and accountable. This unit is designed as a practical, skills-based workshop suitable for professionals or advanced PG students wishing to engage in field-based work.

This unit will provide an analysis of theories and practices of citizenship rights in Australia, other Anglophone countries and European countries in the 20th and 21st centuries. It will examine the relationships between different modes of citizenship, claims for rights and the formation of social movements with regard to the women's movement, Indigenous movements (where applicable) and movements concerned with migration, ethnic diversity and multiculturalism. Analyses will focus on the processes, content and outcomes of social movement advocacy.

This unit introduces students to key issues, debates and ethical questions in human research, enabling them to acquire knowledge and develop skills for research degrees and funding applications. It examines values and principles of research ethics, and encourages students to reflect on these in relation to research with human subjects.

This unit explores a series of issues of controversy and debate in social theory. These include debates over: the information age; new information and communication technologies; the new capitalism and changing work practices; the cultural sphere; new forms of power and surveillance; shifting claims to insight in knowledge societies; the role of education in social inequality; the bases of making knowledge claims; and globalisation. The unit involves both face-to-face seminars and online discussions.

Quantitative methods are vital to social science. This unit introduces students to commonly used techniques for collecting and analysing numerical data to answer empirical questions about social, cultural, and political phenomena. It addresses the description of data with graphs and tables, descriptive statistics, statistical models, hypothesis testing, and other topics. The unit is appropriate for beginners, who will gain perspective and confidence conducting their own quantitative research and critically understanding that of others. It is taught in a computer lab, giving students practical experience with statistical software.

Qualitative research rests at the heart of social science. This unit introduces students to commonly used techniques for collecting and analyzing categorical data to answer empirical questions about social, cultural, and political phenomena. It examines case studies and comparative history; interviews, ethnography, and fieldwork; plus archives and content analysis, among other topics. Instruction is provided by a team of teachers with experience using these methods. Students therefore gain valuable insight into how to conduct and consume qualitative research.

This unit examines theories of consumption in regards to cultural and media products and practices, with a specific focus on gender. Drawing upon a wide range of feminist media and cultural theories, we will critically analyse different forms of belonging and identity that are created through these practices. We will also pay close attention to the critiques of globalisation and consumption, theories of the 'citizen consumer' and the realities of geo-political and economic inequalities that underpin many forms of consumption.

The unit provides an integrated overview of the social, legal, psychological, ethical and strategic dimensions of human resource management. The learning content develops broad and deep knowledge in a select number of topical human resource issues and links these to a real-world context. As such the unit provides students with the essential preparatory knowledge and skills to build an intellectual foundation for the suite of subsequent elective units in human resource management and industrial relations available in the program.

This unit provides students with insights into the debate about the effect of globalisation on employment relations by using comparative analysis to identify the range of factors that account for similarities and difference in national patterns of industrial relations. The unit focuses on providing an understanding of the nature of industrial relations patterns in developed and developing market economies and invites students to compare a range of developments across these countries.

This elective is designed for International postgraduates who are new to study in an English language university. It supports the development of study, research, and critical thinking abilities, spoken English and academic language. Knowledge acquired in this unit will strengthen written and spoken English to help meet the standards necessary for successful completion of FASS Masters by coursework degrees. It is recommended that this elective be taken during the first semester.

This elective supports development of skills in critical analysis, writing in different genres, research, presentation, and developing individual scholarly 'voice'. While valuable for all commencing postgraduates, it is of particular benefit to those returning to academia after an extended break, or for International students wishing to orient themselves to local standards of practice for academic communication. This unit is structured to have additional seminars and lectures early in the semester and fewer later in the semester so students have the opportunity to apply new skills to all their coursework. The unit is ideally taken in the first semester of study.

Quantitative methods are vital to social science. This unit introduces students to commonly used techniques for collecting and analysing numerical data to answer empirical questions about social, cultural, and political phenomena. It addresses the description of data with graphs and tables, descriptive statistics, statistical models, hypothesis testing, and other topics. The unit is appropriate for beginners, who will gain perspective and confidence conducting their own quantitative research and critically understanding that of others. It is taught in a computer lab, giving students practical experience with statistical software.

Qualitative research rests at the heart of social science. This unit introduces students to commonly used techniques for collecting and analyzing categorical data to answer empirical questions about social, cultural, and political phenomena. It examines case studies and comparative history; interviews, ethnography, and fieldwork; plus archives and content analysis, among other topics. Instruction is provided by a team of teachers with experience using these methods. Students therefore gain valuable insight into how to conduct and consume qualitative research.

This unit focuses on conducting research in political economy. Weekly seminars examine a range of topics including research design, literature review, data collection and analysis, and writing a research proposal. The seminars provide an opportunity for critical discussion to identify, debate and reflect on the nature and challenge of undertaking research. The assessment is structured to assist the progressive development of a research proposal. Completion of this Unit of Study is a pre-requisite for a Masters dissertation.

This unit will provide students with the fundamentals for constructing and conducting effective research projects in the social sciences. An overview of social science inquiry will be presented through an examination of the diversity in theoretical and methodological approaches used in research. This will include a focus on both primary research, using interviews and questionnaires, and secondary research, using statistical databases, content analysis and textual analysis. Both quantitative and qualitative methods will be covered in the unit, as will an overview of ethical practices associated with research design. The assessment will be based around constructing practical research projects that can be utilised in both university and workplace-based research.

This unit introduces students to key issues, debates and ethical questions in human research, enabling them to acquire knowledge and develop skills for research degrees and funding applications. It examines values and principles of research ethics, and encourages students to reflect on these in relation to research with human subjects.

The impacts of volatility are an ever-present concern for policymakers, firms and households. This unit looks at a diverse range of methods and techniques for assessing country risk (e.g., economic risk, financial risk, sovereign (default) risk, socio-political risk, etc). This entails an overview of the (political) economic frameworks and connecting both qualitative and quantitative approaches to the current research on leading indicators and early warning systems.

This unit will provide an in-depth examination of theories of political regimes and regime transitions. Political scientists have developed a variety of theories to explain democratic breakdown and democratization, and formulated an expansive typology of regimes to describe the diverse forms of democracy, authoritarianism, and 'hybrid regimes.' This unit provides a broad overview of theories of political regimes and regime transitions, and introduces students to some of the major debates and controversies in this field of study.

This unit critically examines the notion of state fragility within the global system. It investigates the characteristics of so-called 'fragile' and 'failed' states, and the nature of international engagement with (and discourses about) these states. It explores various perspectives on state formation in both Western and post-colonial contexts, and emphasises the ways in which knowledge is produced about non-Western states. The unit expands upon the theoretical literature with evidence from case studies in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia.

Qualitative research rests at the heart of social science. This unit introduces students to commonly used techniques for collecting and analyzing categorical data to answer empirical questions about social, cultural, and political phenomena. It examines case studies and comparative history; interviews, ethnography, and fieldwork; plus archives and content analysis, among other topics. Instruction is provided by a team of teachers with experience using these methods. Students therefore gain valuable insight into how to conduct and consume qualitative research.

Quantitative methods are vital to social science. This unit introduces students to commonly used techniques for collecting and analysing numerical data to answer empirical questions about social, cultural, and political phenomena. It addresses the description of data with graphs and tables, descriptive statistics, statistical models, hypothesis testing, and other topics. The unit is appropriate for beginners, who will gain perspective and confidence conducting their own quantitative research and critically understanding that of others. It is taught in a computer lab, giving students practical experience with statistical software.

Together with 'Dissertation Part B', this unit involves the supervised writing of a 10,000 word dissertation on a topic of the student's choosing as part of the Master of Political Economy.

Together with 'Dissertation Part A', this unit involves the supervised writing of a 10,000 word dissertation on a topic of the student's choosing as part of the Master of Political Economy.

The unit is offered as a capstone for the Master of Political Economy, as an alternative to the units Dissertation Parts A and B. It provides students with the opportunity to conduct a supervised research project of their own design, drawing on the theoretical perspectives in Political Economy introduced earlier in the course and exploring issues previously encountered in greater depth. Students will be given the opportunity to present and discuss the progress of their work during the semester.