Central Asia between Islam and the Great Powers: The Implications of September 11. The so-called 'Islamic threat' has become a significant but elusive factor in the politics of Central Asia. It now also looms large in official thinking in Beijing, Moscow and Washington. By combining diverse and complementary research skills and backgrounds, this study will shed new light on the impact of Islam in this emerging centre of geopolitical rivalry and beyond. The analysis will centre on the unexplored ....Central Asia between Islam and the Great Powers: The Implications of September 11. The so-called 'Islamic threat' has become a significant but elusive factor in the politics of Central Asia. It now also looms large in official thinking in Beijing, Moscow and Washington. By combining diverse and complementary research skills and backgrounds, this study will shed new light on the impact of Islam in this emerging centre of geopolitical rivalry and beyond. The analysis will centre on the unexplored but critical interaction between the domestic and foreign policies of the Central Asian republics on the one hand, and the complex and evolving relationship between them and the great powers on the other.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354509
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$20,000.00
Summary
China's Asia-Pacific Century: Enhancing Australia's Engagement. The emerging regional economic sphere of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, encompassing close to a quarter of humankind, is fast becoming one of the world's two major powerhouses--and a potential locus for international conflict. Australia contains a very large and robust field of hundreds of modern China specialists--as many as all of Europe--but we are very spread out geographically and divided among twenty disciplines. There is a pate ....China's Asia-Pacific Century: Enhancing Australia's Engagement. The emerging regional economic sphere of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, encompassing close to a quarter of humankind, is fast becoming one of the world's two major powerhouses--and a potential locus for international conflict. Australia contains a very large and robust field of hundreds of modern China specialists--as many as all of Europe--but we are very spread out geographically and divided among twenty disciplines. There is a patent, felt need for concerted, collaborative, multi-disciplinary research and analysis, as a wide range of important potential synergies exist.Read moreRead less
Deliberative Global Governance. The worldwide movement building deliberative democracy should now address deliberative capacity in whole systems, not just micro innovations such as citizens' juries. This includes global systems such as that addressing climate change; substantial environmental benefits will result. A world populated by more effective democracies - especially in East Asia - is in Australia's national security interest. A century ago, Australia was a world leader in innovations suc ....Deliberative Global Governance. The worldwide movement building deliberative democracy should now address deliberative capacity in whole systems, not just micro innovations such as citizens' juries. This includes global systems such as that addressing climate change; substantial environmental benefits will result. A world populated by more effective democracies - especially in East Asia - is in Australia's national security interest. A century ago, Australia was a world leader in innovations such as the secret ballot and votes for women. Work on deliberative democracy can put Australia back in the forefront of democratic progress, with many associated social, political, and economic benefits.Read moreRead less
A comparative study on women's policy machinery in Korea and Australia. This project aims to contribute to the better understanding of women's policy machinery in Korea and Australia in order to develop more effective policymaking and implementation. This topic is theoretically and empirically under researched. The project, as a major comparative study on women's policies in two countries will make a significant contribution to the understanding of women's policy making process in a specific nat ....A comparative study on women's policy machinery in Korea and Australia. This project aims to contribute to the better understanding of women's policy machinery in Korea and Australia in order to develop more effective policymaking and implementation. This topic is theoretically and empirically under researched. The project, as a major comparative study on women's policies in two countries will make a significant contribution to the understanding of women's policy making process in a specific national context. This research will investigate the relevance of national machineries for the advancement of women. Appropriate mechanisms through which the mainstreaming of gender can take place are considered, and the levels of governance involved - the relationship between gender mainstreaming and state structures, and the effect of this relationship on policy implementation will be examined. Thus, this research will contribute to the better understanding of how and by what processes women's interests are represented to the state policy making structures.Read moreRead less
Political institutions, war, and peace: Global and regional dynamics. Ideas about democratic peace have been seized upon by some political leaders, and resonate with the public imagination. Australia has important relationships with countries of a wide range of regime types beyond stable democracy, such as Afghanistan, China, Fiji, Indonesia, and Iraq. This project gives systematic understanding of the real-world foreign policy implications of the range of political regimes. It allows scholars, ....Political institutions, war, and peace: Global and regional dynamics. Ideas about democratic peace have been seized upon by some political leaders, and resonate with the public imagination. Australia has important relationships with countries of a wide range of regime types beyond stable democracy, such as Afghanistan, China, Fiji, Indonesia, and Iraq. This project gives systematic understanding of the real-world foreign policy implications of the range of political regimes. It allows scholars, citizens, and policy makers to move beyond generalisations like democratic peace, the universality of which is belied in recent research. It contributes to safeguarding Australia, develops multidisciplinary social science capacity in cutting edge quantitative methods, and mentors a PhD student.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
Internal and External Sources of Political Instability in East Timor. This project is of direct relevance to Australia through its bilateral and multilateral provision of police to assist in the maintenance of East Timor's law and order, through its training of and support for the East Timor Border Patrol Unit, and its training and support of the East Timor defence force, Falintil-FDTL. The project also goes to the core of Australia's concerns with regional state maintenance (or conversely, pote ....Internal and External Sources of Political Instability in East Timor. This project is of direct relevance to Australia through its bilateral and multilateral provision of police to assist in the maintenance of East Timor's law and order, through its training of and support for the East Timor Border Patrol Unit, and its training and support of the East Timor defence force, Falintil-FDTL. The project also goes to the core of Australia's concerns with regional state maintenance (or conversely, potential state failure), direct bilateral relations with both East Timor and Indonesia, and the triangular relationship between these three states. 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
Impediments to Security Sector Reform in Southeast Asia. This project investigates the impediments to security sector reform in Southeast Asia. It applies an original framework of analysis that identifies five types of impediment to security reform in four critically important regional case studies: Thailand, Malaysia, The Philippines and Indonesia. Because effectively implemented security sector reform will enhance regional peace and security by creating armed forces that are democratically con ....Impediments to Security Sector Reform in Southeast Asia. This project investigates the impediments to security sector reform in Southeast Asia. It applies an original framework of analysis that identifies five types of impediment to security reform in four critically important regional case studies: Thailand, Malaysia, The Philippines and Indonesia. Because effectively implemented security sector reform will enhance regional peace and security by creating armed forces that are democratically controlled, transparent and professional, understanding the impediments to reform has the potential to significantly enhance Australia's domestic and international security position. This research will provide the first theoretically informed empirical analysis of security sector reform in Southeast Asia.Read moreRead less
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