The politics of public administration reform: capacity development and ideological contestation in international state-building. Why do expensive international aid programs often fail to achieve public administration reform in fragile states? This study investigates how the beliefs of public servants about the nature of their role reflect societal conflicts and alliances. Understanding this offers aid practitioners a means of designing tactical responses to reform agendas.
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.
Rethinking collaborative federalism in Australian schooling policy. The governance of schooling in the Australian federation is in flux and undergoing significant contestation, with serious questions being asked about whether national policy arrangements are fit for purpose and decision-making processes are achieving the policy aspirations of collaborative federalism. This project aims to examine how Australian governments engage in collaborative schooling reform by focussing on processes associ ....Rethinking collaborative federalism in Australian schooling policy. The governance of schooling in the Australian federation is in flux and undergoing significant contestation, with serious questions being asked about whether national policy arrangements are fit for purpose and decision-making processes are achieving the policy aspirations of collaborative federalism. This project aims to examine how Australian governments engage in collaborative schooling reform by focussing on processes associated with the formulation of the new post-2023 National School Reform Agreement. The research will engage in ‘real time’ policy analysis, engaging with policy stakeholders to examine collaborative processes centred on the new agreement, and to consider how to improve future national decision-making processes.Read moreRead less
Securitisation and the governance of non-traditional security in Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific. In recent years, the Australian government has become concerned with managing non-traditional security threats such as terrorism and pandemics in Australia's region. This project compares responses to terrorism and health scares in Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific to explain the processes shaping the way security is understood and governed.
Prerequisite conditions for Indigenous nation self-government. This project aims to produce new knowledge about Indigenous nation building (INB) processes. Based on research that self-governance increases Indigenous socioeconomic and community capacity, this project will collaborate with two Aboriginal communities to investigate factors that impact the transition from 'identifying' to 'organising' as political collectives to enable self-governance. Such knowledge has the potential to directly co ....Prerequisite conditions for Indigenous nation self-government. This project aims to produce new knowledge about Indigenous nation building (INB) processes. Based on research that self-governance increases Indigenous socioeconomic and community capacity, this project will collaborate with two Aboriginal communities to investigate factors that impact the transition from 'identifying' to 'organising' as political collectives to enable self-governance. Such knowledge has the potential to directly contribute to increased wellbeing for Indigenous communities as they define it. It aims to contribute to Australian and international Indigenous governance, political science and Indigenous methodologies literatures. The project could significantly benefit Indigenous peoples, the broader Australian community, Australian governments, and Australian and international INB researchers.Read moreRead less