VCE Politics (Year 11) · Unit 1 — Politics, Power and Political Actors · 12m read

Political Actors — Who Has Power and How They Use It

Unit 1 asks you to investigate political actors and how they exercise power. Case studies of real actors make your analysis convincing.

Learning objective: Analyse how different political actors — parties, interest groups, social movements, media and individuals — exercise power to achieve their aims.

By the end of this lesson you can:

• I can name types of political actors.
• I can explain methods each uses to exercise power.
• I can evaluate an actor’s effectiveness.

Players on a chessboard. Each piece moves differently. Parties, lobby groups and protest movements each have different "moves" for gaining influence.

Types of actors and methods

• POLITICAL PARTIES — contest elections, form government, make laws.
• INTEREST / PRESSURE GROUPS — lobby decision-makers, fund campaigns, run advertising (e.g. business councils, unions, environmental groups).
• SOCIAL MOVEMENTS — mass participation, protests, strikes, online campaigns (e.g. School Strike 4 Climate).
• MEDIA — sets the agenda, frames issues, scrutinises government; social media spreads messages rapidly.
• INDIVIDUALS — leaders, activists, celebrities, independents in parliament.
• NGOs and international organisations — advocacy, expertise, aid.

EVALUATING EFFECTIVENESS: Did they change laws, policies, public opinion or the agenda? What resources and strategies helped or limited them?

Worked example (Medium)

Evaluate the effectiveness of a youth climate strike movement.

1. Aims. Stronger government action on climate change.
2. Methods. School strikes, mass rallies, social media, media attention.
3. Success. Raised the profile of climate issues among young people and in the media.
4. Limits. Members are mostly too young to vote; direct policy change is harder to attribute to the movement.

Answer: Effective at agenda-setting and raising awareness, but more limited in directly changing policy.

Common mistakes

• Describing methods without evaluating them Questions often ask "how effectively". Fix: Judge outcomes with evidence.
• Using outdated examples VCE Politics rewards contemporary evidence. Fix: Use examples from the last few years.

Practice questions

1. An organisation that tries to influence government without contesting elections is a:

   1. Political party
   2. Pressure group
   3. Court
   4. Parliament

   (1 marks)

2. Analyse how one political actor has exercised power to achieve its aims.

   (4 marks)

Summary

• Actors: parties, pressure groups, movements, media, individuals, NGOs.
• Each uses different methods and resources.
• Evaluate effectiveness with evidence.
• Use contemporary case studies.