ppp thk 120

About

SIM – Domestic Politics is an Assignment where you explore the concept of the domestic politics and domestic political actors.

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Estimated Time

An estimated 2 hours needed to complete this activity.

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What is Domestic Politics?

Domestic politics is the struggle of who gets what, when, where, how, and why within a country.

The key here is that domestic politics focuses exclusively on what happens inside the borders of a country.

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Why are Domestic Politics important in an International Relations course?

Domestic politics are important in an international relations course for four reasons.

1. First, domestic politics can set the range of actions domestic political actors can take on the international level.
2. Second, domestic politics, while seemingly impervious to international events and actors, is susceptible to foreign events and actors given the increasing connections between people, communities, businesses, and governments throughout the world.
3. Third, domestic politics can spillover beyond the traditional gates of government and military channels to shape international dialogues, instigate international events, and drive international actors to react. In other words, domestic politics can affect international matters in observable and less observable ways.
4. Finally, domestic politics is where we start. Barring those of us who were born in one place, and then grew up in multiple places around the world, domestic politics is what anchors our understanding of politics in general.

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What Domestic Political Actors shape International Relations?

While there can be a range of domestic political actors that shape international relations, below is a list of eight major groupings of actors:

Group 1: Executive Branch

• Definition: “the branch of government charged with the execution and enforcement of laws and policies and the administration of public affairs; the executive.” (DictionaryLinks to an external site.)

Group 2: Environmental Organizations

• Definition: “An environmental organization is an organization coming out of the conservation or environmental movements that seeks to protect, analyse or monitor the environment against misuse or degradation from human forces.” (WikipediaLinks to an external site.)

Group 3: Private Corporations

• Definition: “a corporation that is not a public corporation : a corporation organized for the profit of its members or in which the entire interest is not held by the state” (Merriam-WebsterLinks to an external site.)

Group 4: The Mass Media

• Definition: “a medium of communication (such as newspapers, radio, or television) that is designed to reach the mass of the people —usually used in plural” (Merriam-WebsterLinks to an external site.)

Group 5: The Public

• Definition: “: of, relating to, or affecting all the people or the whole area of a nation or state” (Merriam-WebsterLinks to an external site.)

Group 6: Legislative Branch

• Definition: “the branch of government having the power to make laws; the legislature.” (DictionaryLinks to an external site.)

Group 7: Human Rights Organizations

• Definition: “A human rights group, or human rights organization, is a non-governmental organization which advocates for human rights through identification of their violation, collecting incident data, its analysis and publication, promotion of public awareness while conducting institutional advocacy, and lobbying to halt these violations.” (WikipediaLinks to an external site.)

Group 8: Labor Unions

• Definition: “A trade union (or a labor union in the U.S., or a union in Australia) is an association of workers forming a legal unit or legal personhood, usually called a “bargaining unit”, which acts as bargaining agent and legal representative for a unit of employees in all matters of law or right arising from or in the administration of a collective agreement.” (WikipediaLinks to an external site.)

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Instructions

Step 1: Select Domestic Political Actors

• Select two Domestic Political Actors that most intrigue you.

Step 2: Explain your Selected Domestic Political Actors

In 5-sentences or more, explain the two Domestic Political Actors you selected. You can use the following questions to help explain your choice:

• Which two Domestic Political Actors most interest you and why?
• What is a real-world example of one or both domestic political actors?
• What is at least one trade-off in focusing on two Domestic Political Actors versus all the Domestic Political Actors?
• What is at least one benefit of using two Domestic Political Actors versus using just one Domestic Political Actors?