Reconciling nations: what can Australia learn from the international experience of democratic dialogue? This project will draw on international experience to explore the capacity for facilitated, democratic dialogue to revitalise the Australian reconciliation process. Using innovative case study research and an original applied theoretical approach, the project will develop new methods for resolving intercultural conflict in Australia.
Economic growth in China's west: the social basis of enterprise development. This project examines the new economic elites in the ethnic borderlands of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai and is designed to analyse the social basis of enterprise development and its consequences. The project will add to understanding of local social capital formation in the People's Republic of China.
China's invisible economic leadership: women in family enterprises. Chinese women are generally regarded as not having been in the leadership of economic reform. In contrast, the Chief Investigator's recent research on the new rich in North China suggests that the wives of new entrepreneurs may play significant, though unacknowledged, leadership roles in enterprise development. In particular, it suggests that women often act as business managers and accountants alongside their husbands, especial ....China's invisible economic leadership: women in family enterprises. Chinese women are generally regarded as not having been in the leadership of economic reform. In contrast, the Chief Investigator's recent research on the new rich in North China suggests that the wives of new entrepreneurs may play significant, though unacknowledged, leadership roles in enterprise development. In particular, it suggests that women often act as business managers and accountants alongside their husbands, especially in family based enterprises first established in the private sector. It is now proposed to test the wider applicability of these findings, and explore the consequences for the development of enterprises, families and local politics.Read moreRead less
Rights Defence Lawyers and Constitutionalism in China. Scholars have argued that rights lawyers have played key roles in advancing social and political change in a reforming society through defining and defending citizen rights, developing civil society, and seeking to moderate state power. However, few studies have examined the political roles or aspirations of lawyers in contemporary China. This project aims to demonstrate how Chinese 'rights defence' lawyers have drawn together diverse strand ....Rights Defence Lawyers and Constitutionalism in China. Scholars have argued that rights lawyers have played key roles in advancing social and political change in a reforming society through defining and defending citizen rights, developing civil society, and seeking to moderate state power. However, few studies have examined the political roles or aspirations of lawyers in contemporary China. This project aims to demonstrate how Chinese 'rights defence' lawyers have drawn together diverse strands of social protest to become an articulating voice for constitutional reform. The project aims to make both empirical and theoretical contributions to the world-wide debate on the interaction between rights lawyers, rule of law, social activism and political reform.Read moreRead less
Democratic dialogue and capabilities: new opportunities in post-reconciliation era Australia. In conflict and post-conflict societies around the world, democratic dialogue has proven to be an important element in processes designed to facilitate social change and create a more just and inclusive society. This project will make a significant theoretical and methodological contribution to national and international understanding of methods for resolving longstanding intercultural conflicts. It aim ....Democratic dialogue and capabilities: new opportunities in post-reconciliation era Australia. In conflict and post-conflict societies around the world, democratic dialogue has proven to be an important element in processes designed to facilitate social change and create a more just and inclusive society. This project will make a significant theoretical and methodological contribution to national and international understanding of methods for resolving longstanding intercultural conflicts. It aims to demonstrate the role that democratic dialogue can have in transforming the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It will test the hypothesis that the social and institutional change that is possible through dialogue will have capability-enhancing effects for Indigenous Australians.Read moreRead less