Democratic Audit of Australia. The Democratic Audit of Australia is an assessment of Australia's strengths and weaknesses as a democratic society. It will examine five key areas: (i) citizenship, law and rights; (2) representative and accountable government; (3) participation and government responsiveness; (4) democracy beyond the state; and (5) democracy and federalism. The audit process was pioneered in Britain and has now been applied in ten countries including New Zealand.
The Audit aim ....Democratic Audit of Australia. The Democratic Audit of Australia is an assessment of Australia's strengths and weaknesses as a democratic society. It will examine five key areas: (i) citizenship, law and rights; (2) representative and accountable government; (3) participation and government responsiveness; (4) democracy beyond the state; and (5) democracy and federalism. The audit process was pioneered in Britain and has now been applied in ten countries including New Zealand.
The Audit aims to make a major methodological contribution to democracy assessment, as well as providing benchmark data for purposes of monitoring and international comparison. It will also promote public debate over democracy issues.Read moreRead less
Public Political Criticism in Contemporary Vietnam. This study will enhance Australia's capacity to interpret and engage with its regional and global environment by expanding its comprehension of the political system in Vietnam, a prominent Asian neighbor. The outcomes will benefit Australian diplomats, investors, business people, journalists, aid donors, and universities with interests and programs in the region. As a major work on Vietnam that is also comparative and engages political science ....Public Political Criticism in Contemporary Vietnam. This study will enhance Australia's capacity to interpret and engage with its regional and global environment by expanding its comprehension of the political system in Vietnam, a prominent Asian neighbor. The outcomes will benefit Australian diplomats, investors, business people, journalists, aid donors, and universities with interests and programs in the region. As a major work on Vietnam that is also comparative and engages political science literature on authoritarian regimes and political movements, this project also augments Australia's reputation as a source of high quality research on Asian countries.Read moreRead less
Public Interest Advocacy in Australian Policymaking. The project aims to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of public interest advocacy, via the media, in elevating the responsiveness of elected political elites. The project expects to generate new knowledge about how the advocacy and media agendas are set, examine the way elected elites access and ingest news media, and conditions under which advocacy groups access to news changes political priorities. It is expected that the project will pr ....Public Interest Advocacy in Australian Policymaking. The project aims to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of public interest advocacy, via the media, in elevating the responsiveness of elected political elites. The project expects to generate new knowledge about how the advocacy and media agendas are set, examine the way elected elites access and ingest news media, and conditions under which advocacy groups access to news changes political priorities. It is expected that the project will provide an evidence base for citizens and policy makers to assess the effectiveness of public interest advocacy, and deliver benefits such as strengthening the quality of Australia’s representative democracy, and offer scholars new theories on the role of public interest advocacy on policy priorities.Read moreRead less
The 2004 Australian Election Study Survey: The Decline of Political Parties? Long renowned for the stability of its political party system, Australia is finally experiencing a sustained challenge to the dominance of the major parties, which is reflected in an increasing preference by voters for minor parties and independent candidates. This project will examine the implications of these developments by conducting a public-use, national sample survey of voters at the next federal election, likely ....The 2004 Australian Election Study Survey: The Decline of Political Parties? Long renowned for the stability of its political party system, Australia is finally experiencing a sustained challenge to the dominance of the major parties, which is reflected in an increasing preference by voters for minor parties and independent candidates. This project will examine the implications of these developments by conducting a public-use, national sample survey of voters at the next federal election, likely to be held in 2004. The outcomes generated by the project will enhance academic and community understanding of the nature of the changing partisan climate within the Australian electorate.Read moreRead less
The Cartography of Peace: Security Zones, Colour Codes and Everyday Life. This project investigates the impacts of security mapping and the use of specific color-codes by United Nations peacekeeping operations when assessing risks. It will for the first time trace the origins of United Nations security mapping practices and compare key case studies: Afghanistan (green zone), Somalia (white zone), South Sudan and Kenya (blue zones) and Haiti (red and yellow zones). Expected outcomes include bette ....The Cartography of Peace: Security Zones, Colour Codes and Everyday Life. This project investigates the impacts of security mapping and the use of specific color-codes by United Nations peacekeeping operations when assessing risks. It will for the first time trace the origins of United Nations security mapping practices and compare key case studies: Afghanistan (green zone), Somalia (white zone), South Sudan and Kenya (blue zones) and Haiti (red and yellow zones). Expected outcomes include better understanding of how policy-makers assess risks on the ground, how security maps are drafted and modified across time, as well as an understanding of the meanings given to specific color-codes. The findings expect to benefit Australian and other policy makers seeking to design better security interventions.Read moreRead less
Democratization, Institutional Reform and Ethnic Politics in the Asia-Pacific. The democratisation of the Asia-Pacific has significant implications for Australia. Consolidated democracies are better able to manage internal conflicts, and less likely to pose a threat to their neighbours via arms trafficking, refugee flows, and transnational terrorism. However, the initial transitional period of democratisation can be highly fraught, and many of the new democracies of the Asia-Pacific are fragile, ....Democratization, Institutional Reform and Ethnic Politics in the Asia-Pacific. The democratisation of the Asia-Pacific has significant implications for Australia. Consolidated democracies are better able to manage internal conflicts, and less likely to pose a threat to their neighbours via arms trafficking, refugee flows, and transnational terrorism. However, the initial transitional period of democratisation can be highly fraught, and many of the new democracies of the Asia-Pacific are fragile, beset by internal cleavages and conflicts. If ways can be found to manage ethnic and other cleavages within a democratic framework, the prospects for peaceful and stable governance in the region will be significantly enhanced. This has the potential to transform the security of the region and Australia's relations with it.Read moreRead less
The 2012/13 Australian Election Study: volatility and electoral change. The 2012/13 Australian Election Study will provide both an in-depth understanding of general patterns of voting behaviour and a detailed, objective account of how and why voters made up their minds in this federal election. The study adds to the unbroken series of national surveys conducted after each Australian federal election since 1987.
Political party financing and democratic consolidation in Indonesia. As Australia's vast neighbour to the north, Indonesia, is of critical importance to Australian national interests. Particularly essential in this regard is the stability of Indonesia's young democracy, which is increasingly threatened by the widespread perception that party politics are contaminated by corrupt, greedy and self-centred politicians. This sentiment is largely fuelled by complaints about questionable fundraising pr ....Political party financing and democratic consolidation in Indonesia. As Australia's vast neighbour to the north, Indonesia, is of critical importance to Australian national interests. Particularly essential in this regard is the stability of Indonesia's young democracy, which is increasingly threatened by the widespread perception that party politics are contaminated by corrupt, greedy and self-centred politicians. This sentiment is largely fuelled by complaints about questionable fundraising practices of political parties. Accordingly, this study will be of great interest to Australian policy-makers, aid officials and businesses that wish to address the deficiencies in Indonesia's political system through political and economic cooperation programs.Read moreRead less
Political Engagement Among the Young: The 2016-19 Australian Election Study. This project seeks to understand the declining level of political engagement among the young, with a view to developing measures that will help to re-invigorate their political participation. One of the greatest challenges to democracy in Australia and internationally is to understand the lack of political engagement among the young. Young people today are less likely to vote, to join a political party, or to engage in ....Political Engagement Among the Young: The 2016-19 Australian Election Study. This project seeks to understand the declining level of political engagement among the young, with a view to developing measures that will help to re-invigorate their political participation. One of the greatest challenges to democracy in Australia and internationally is to understand the lack of political engagement among the young. Young people today are less likely to vote, to join a political party, or to engage in interest groups than at any time since democratisation. The 2016–19 Australian Election Study is designed to address this question by surveying a representative sample of voters in the 2016 and 2019 elections. The project is also designed to add to an unbroken series of post-election national opinion surveys which have monitored trends in Australian political behaviour since 1987.Read moreRead less
Closing the Political Legitimacy Gap: The International Monetary Fund and Tax Reform, 1965-2005. This project investigates how the International Monetary Fund (IMF) can improve its poor success with tax reform programs in borrowing states. It does so by analysing the success and failure of IMF tax reform programs in 20 borrowing states with varied regional, political, and economic characteristics between 1965 and 2005. This research has national and community benefit for two reasons. First, Aust ....Closing the Political Legitimacy Gap: The International Monetary Fund and Tax Reform, 1965-2005. This project investigates how the International Monetary Fund (IMF) can improve its poor success with tax reform programs in borrowing states. It does so by analysing the success and failure of IMF tax reform programs in 20 borrowing states with varied regional, political, and economic characteristics between 1965 and 2005. This research has national and community benefit for two reasons. First, Australia has a close relationship with the IMF and an obligation to assist it with issues of global political and economic concern. Second, as problems with fiscal sustainability are strongly associated with international political and economic instability, Australia must develop its knowledge base on the politics of successful tax reform.Read moreRead less