Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200739
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$202,156.00
Summary
Monitoring Deliberative Integrity in Australia. The project aims to develop and apply the concept of deliberative integrity as a counterpart to more familiar ideas about electoral integrity in the evaluation of democratic processes. The project develops significant new knowledge about the ethical conduct of Australian citizen engagement processes through conceptual and methodological innovation to produce a Deliberative Integrity Monitoring Tool that will be applied to the expanding range of del ....Monitoring Deliberative Integrity in Australia. The project aims to develop and apply the concept of deliberative integrity as a counterpart to more familiar ideas about electoral integrity in the evaluation of democratic processes. The project develops significant new knowledge about the ethical conduct of Australian citizen engagement processes through conceptual and methodological innovation to produce a Deliberative Integrity Monitoring Tool that will be applied to the expanding range of deliberative democratic innovations in Australia. Expected outcomes include a better understanding of how such innovations can and should be designed. Benefits include a set of standards for best practice in democratic innovation that will in turn help improve the quality of Australian democracy.Read moreRead less
Indonesian Democracy: The Politics of Failed Reform and Regime Viability. Despite high hopes following the fall of Indonesia's authoritarian regime, political reform has been limited. The project examines the reasons for slow progress. Among the areas to be studied are constitutional and electoral reform, military reform, judicial reform, decentralisation, preservation of order and economic reform. It will argue that the weakness of the state in carrying out reforms is largely due to the penetra ....Indonesian Democracy: The Politics of Failed Reform and Regime Viability. Despite high hopes following the fall of Indonesia's authoritarian regime, political reform has been limited. The project examines the reasons for slow progress. Among the areas to be studied are constitutional and electoral reform, military reform, judicial reform, decentralisation, preservation of order and economic reform. It will argue that the weakness of the state in carrying out reforms is largely due to the penetration of the state itself by vested interests. Limited reforms have only been implemented when the viability of the regime itself has been at stake. This research is significant for Indonesian politics and political theory.Read moreRead less
Radical right populist parties. This project aims to explain why some radical right-wing populists in Western democracies enter governmental alliances with mainstream parties while others remain isolated. The emergence, spread and electoral success of radical right populists is a problem facing liberal democracy in the twenty-first century. While these parties’ policies, ideologies and rhetoric are similar, their relationships with mainstream parties are different. By examining explanatory facto ....Radical right populist parties. This project aims to explain why some radical right-wing populists in Western democracies enter governmental alliances with mainstream parties while others remain isolated. The emergence, spread and electoral success of radical right populists is a problem facing liberal democracy in the twenty-first century. While these parties’ policies, ideologies and rhetoric are similar, their relationships with mainstream parties are different. By examining explanatory factors that Political Science studies have so far been neglected, this project seeks to explain this variation and explore its implications for coalition theory.Read moreRead less
An Empirical Study of Agenda Setting in the High Court of Australia. This project aims to undertake the first comprehensive study of institutional and individual factors that facilitate and constrain access to judicial power via the High Court’s agenda setting process, special leave. Using quantitative methods, the project expects to generate new and advanced knowledge about the High Court’s role as the gatekeeper of judicial power. Expected outcomes include foundational knowledge on the nature ....An Empirical Study of Agenda Setting in the High Court of Australia. This project aims to undertake the first comprehensive study of institutional and individual factors that facilitate and constrain access to judicial power via the High Court’s agenda setting process, special leave. Using quantitative methods, the project expects to generate new and advanced knowledge about the High Court’s role as the gatekeeper of judicial power. Expected outcomes include foundational knowledge on the nature and scope of access to judicial power in Australia via policy reports, scholarly articles and datasets. This should provide significant benefits such as important insights on the impact and influence of justices, litigants, lawyers, and governments on High Court’s decisions to grant or deny special leave to appeal.Read moreRead less
'Political' public servants: challenges, risks and rewards. The current ministerial and parliamentary staff system in Australia, established by the Member of Parliament Staff Act 1984, created a mechanism by which public servants can disengage from the public service while working as ministerial and parliamentary staffers, and later re-engage with the public service. This project will explore the phenomenon of the so-called 'political public servant' and the nature of impartiality and partisansh ....'Political' public servants: challenges, risks and rewards. The current ministerial and parliamentary staff system in Australia, established by the Member of Parliament Staff Act 1984, created a mechanism by which public servants can disengage from the public service while working as ministerial and parliamentary staffers, and later re-engage with the public service. This project will explore the phenomenon of the so-called 'political public servant' and the nature of impartiality and partisanship, asking whether these attributes are easily adopted and discarded or whether in fact they coexist within a subset of 'hybrid' public servants.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200385
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$262,359.00
Summary
Transforming Democracy in the Bush: A Study of Politics in Rural Australia. This project aims to examine changing patterns of political participation and representation in rural Australia. Almost one third of our population lives outside major cities yet little is known about the democratic dynamics unfolding in rural Australia as it faces major demographic, economic and environmental change. Through in-depth case research this project will analyse how rural Australians participate in politics, ....Transforming Democracy in the Bush: A Study of Politics in Rural Australia. This project aims to examine changing patterns of political participation and representation in rural Australia. Almost one third of our population lives outside major cities yet little is known about the democratic dynamics unfolding in rural Australia as it faces major demographic, economic and environmental change. Through in-depth case research this project will analyse how rural Australians participate in politics, the interests they seek to advance and the efficacy of their political and civic activities. Expected outcomes include strengthened research capacity in rural politics, new frameworks for assessing how democracy is transforming, and reform pathways to enhance the engagement of diverse constituencies in our political system.Read moreRead less
Australian political rhetoric: the role of public speech by elected representatives in contemporary Australian politics. What is the public benefit of the endless rituals of rhetorical claim and counter-claim performed by members of parliament? This project demonstrates that rhetoric is central to politics, through detailed case analysis of the performative side of Australian parliamentary politics. Good rhetoric, when we have it, makes for good politics.
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
Democratic Audit of Australia: The Second Wave. The Democratic Audit asks "How democratic is our country and its government?" This project will give the community a comprehensive survey of the strengths and weaknesses of Australian democracy, tracking changes since the 2004 report. It will also provide more detailed findings on major questions that confront Australian governments now like the regulation of political financing and the impact on politics of new technologies like the internet. Usin ....Democratic Audit of Australia: The Second Wave. The Democratic Audit asks "How democratic is our country and its government?" This project will give the community a comprehensive survey of the strengths and weaknesses of Australian democracy, tracking changes since the 2004 report. It will also provide more detailed findings on major questions that confront Australian governments now like the regulation of political financing and the impact on politics of new technologies like the internet. Using audit data, the project will produce a major scholarly analysis of the relationship between democratic values and the institutional choices made in Australia. Because a central objective of the Audit is to promote public debate, all Audit findings are published and placed on the Audit website.Read moreRead less
Democratic Choices: Ideas and Outcomes. Democratic Choices will provide important evidence for policy actors and policy makers on Australian democratic beliefs and on current performance of institutions relative to those beliefs. It will stimulate debate and inform strategies for democratic renewal, particularly in relation to youth disengagement and the crisis of confidence in representative institutions. It will sustain Australia's capacity for democracy assessment and contribute to internatio ....Democratic Choices: Ideas and Outcomes. Democratic Choices will provide important evidence for policy actors and policy makers on Australian democratic beliefs and on current performance of institutions relative to those beliefs. It will stimulate debate and inform strategies for democratic renewal, particularly in relation to youth disengagement and the crisis of confidence in representative institutions. It will sustain Australia's capacity for democracy assessment and contribute to international best practice in this field. In improving capacity for critical self-assessment it will enhance the credibility of our democracy assistance programs and promote regional and international understanding of our democratic institutions.Read moreRead less