The unit will examine the fall of 3 PMs, Gorton, Hawke and Rudd and the survival of Howard. A key question considered will be how does a PM get ousted not by the electorate, but by their own parliamentary party. Comparisons with leaders in other democratic systems will be considered, and an examination of the concept of power, the nature of PMs' resources and means by which PMs are deposed from within. The materials for the course will include memoirs, academic analyses and contemporary accounts and reporting. The course will include a seminar series during which key players from Australian political life will discuss their understandings and insights into the fall of a PM. -- Course Website
Instructor: Petro Georgiou
