Pathways to social cohesion and social change: opinion-based groups and the dynamic formation of identities. This project will update the understanding of political conflict by exploring groups based around shared opinions. It will show that groups are likely to be more successful in their political campaigns when they tie their causes to national and other positive identifies.
Graham Berry and the making of colonial democracy. This project offers the first major biography of Graham Berry - Victoria's leading statesman of the nineteenth century. It uses Berry's life and career as a parliamentarian, newspaper proprietor, party-builder, radical orator, and federationist as a means of better understanding the development and significance of Australian colonial democracy.
The global opponents of universal human rights, 1946-2006. This project will identify and analyse the historical patterns of opposition to universal human rights that have emerged since the birth of the United Nations in 1945. In doing so, it seeks to enable the more effective pursuit of a major Australian foreign policy objective, the global promotion of human rights.
Business collective action, networks and discourse: a fiscal sociology of mining tax reform in Australia. The mining tax revolt in 2010 was a landmark event in government-business relations in Australia, acknowledged by multinational corporations and governments around the world for its broader ramifications. This project is the first systematic study of what happened, and its implications for our understanding of government-business relations.
Applying satellite luminosity data to analyse the redistributive aspects of corruption and rent-seeking. This project applies satellite luminosity data as a proxy for regional economic activity to analyse the redistributive effects of political rent-seeking, corruption and the shadow economy. This project will identify the beneficiaries of rent-seeking, the sources of these rents and political institutions that reduce rent-seeking activities.
What determines the political consequences of financial crises? Ideas, institutions, and society over the long run. Recent financial crises have often had powerful political consequences, including political turnover, rising polarisation and social unrest; but these consequences also vary greatly across countries and over time. In a novel investigation of the political aftermaths of financial crises over two centuries, this project will develop a comprehensive understanding of the causes of this ....What determines the political consequences of financial crises? Ideas, institutions, and society over the long run. Recent financial crises have often had powerful political consequences, including political turnover, rising polarisation and social unrest; but these consequences also vary greatly across countries and over time. In a novel investigation of the political aftermaths of financial crises over two centuries, this project will develop a comprehensive understanding of the causes of this variation. Its theoretical significance lies in its investigation of time-dependent processes that have been largely ignored by existing literature: what shapes the duration of political effects, how are societal expectations about government policy responsibilities (re)shaped by financial crises, and how do such expectations affect political and policy outcomes?Read moreRead less
Rebuilding fiscal federalism in Australia: reforming the financial relationship between the Commonwealth and the States. The finances of the Australian States in the modern day face serious structural challenges. The aim of this project is to analyse and develop appropriate alternatives for reform of fiscal federalism in Australia, which would allow the States to gain access to income tax revenue as a secure source of funding in the future.
Policy agendas in the Australian Commonwealth Government. Who leads the agenda: the government; the public or the media? Is legislation 'normal business' or a response to crisis? Does changing the government really change much? By systematically analysing legislation, the media and public opinion over a forty year period this project can answer these questions more thoroughly than ever before.
Meeting the challenges of constitutional comparison. This project offers a more genuinely global approach to comparative constitutional law. It will deepen understanding of the operation and underlying assumptions of systems of government in countries around the world, assisting Australia in its dealings with neighbours and strategic partners and in developing its own constitutional arrangements.
The politics of decision: leadership and policy processes in historical perspective. Concerns about leadership and policy dysfunction are widespread, but are they accurate? This comparative review of policy processes and the politics of decision making, at key turning points in post-war Australian history, will assess such claims and identify what needs reform to address the challenges of the twenty-first century.