After the crisis: Nation-building challenges in East Timor. Given the substantial commitment of International Stabilisation Force intervention, nation and state building in East Timor remains a high priority for Australian policy makers. This project will examine three key nation-building agendas in post-crisis East Timor, focusing on the key areas of decentralisation of state authority, evolving relationships with traditional authorities, and post-crisis conflict resolution programs, over the p ....After the crisis: Nation-building challenges in East Timor. Given the substantial commitment of International Stabilisation Force intervention, nation and state building in East Timor remains a high priority for Australian policy makers. This project will examine three key nation-building agendas in post-crisis East Timor, focusing on the key areas of decentralisation of state authority, evolving relationships with traditional authorities, and post-crisis conflict resolution programs, over the period of 2009-11. In so doing, the project will contribute to a better understanding of antecedent factors to state failure, linking directly with recent Australian government policy concerns over 'fragile states', and their potential to destabilise the regional security environment.Read moreRead less
Communicating power: Political consultants, symbolic production and media democracy. The project will investigate the professionalization of political communication with a specific focus on the role of political consultants and communication specialists in contemporary Australian politics. The principal research aim is to identify and analyse the frames of reference and evaluative modes structuring the work of political consultants. Political consultants will be analysed as a subset of new 'symb ....Communicating power: Political consultants, symbolic production and media democracy. The project will investigate the professionalization of political communication with a specific focus on the role of political consultants and communication specialists in contemporary Australian politics. The principal research aim is to identify and analyse the frames of reference and evaluative modes structuring the work of political consultants. Political consultants will be analysed as a subset of new 'symbolic' managers and mediators in a society in which information is the key productive resource. The project will generate a detailed analysis of how the professionalization of political communication is transforming representative democracy in network society.Read moreRead less
Hiding in Plain Sight: 'Associated Entities' and Australian Democracy. Associated Entities (AEs) are organisations that are formally linked to political parties. This project aims to examine how AEs interact with Australian democracy by investigating their impact on elections, the law, and party system dynamics. This project expects to generate new knowledge about the impact of these nearly 200 key political actors, with a particular focus on how they are able to elude significant scrutiny of th ....Hiding in Plain Sight: 'Associated Entities' and Australian Democracy. Associated Entities (AEs) are organisations that are formally linked to political parties. This project aims to examine how AEs interact with Australian democracy by investigating their impact on elections, the law, and party system dynamics. This project expects to generate new knowledge about the impact of these nearly 200 key political actors, with a particular focus on how they are able to elude significant scrutiny of their activities. Expected outcomes include a new typology of AEs, a new financial index to measure their impact, and proposals to improve their regulation. The key benefits generated include: a strengthened campaign finance regime, and enhanced transparency and integrity to Australia's democracy.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
Cooperation, competition or control? Public policy and the use of tied grants in Australian federalism. Tied grants account for $26 billion worth of Commonwealth expenditure and cover everything from child care to aged care, environmental programs to road building. They crucially affect the capacity of Australian governments to make policy and deliver services. A better understanding of how they work in practice will be a great benefit in improving our capability to meet pressing social, econo ....Cooperation, competition or control? Public policy and the use of tied grants in Australian federalism. Tied grants account for $26 billion worth of Commonwealth expenditure and cover everything from child care to aged care, environmental programs to road building. They crucially affect the capacity of Australian governments to make policy and deliver services. A better understanding of how they work in practice will be a great benefit in improving our capability to meet pressing social, economic, environmental and regional development challenges.Read moreRead less
The Political Thought of European Women: 1400-1800. Women's political theory has so far received scant attention in the
history of political thought. Our research aims to address this problem by providing an introduction to the major political texts written by women during the period of 1400-1800. It will result in the first book-length analysis of the political theories of early modern European women and their influence on European political practice. It will highlight the work of many unjustl ....The Political Thought of European Women: 1400-1800. Women's political theory has so far received scant attention in the
history of political thought. Our research aims to address this problem by providing an introduction to the major political texts written by women during the period of 1400-1800. It will result in the first book-length analysis of the political theories of early modern European women and their influence on European political practice. It will highlight the work of many unjustly neglected female thinkers and contribute to the understanding of European traditions of political justice and the origins of our political institutions.Read moreRead less
A scholarly and comprehensive account of Australian politics: The Oxford Companion to Australian Politics. The project aims to deepen the understanding of Australian politics by producing the first scholarly and comprehensive account in a form that makes it readily accessible to experts and general readers. The collaborative process will engage leading scholars working in all sub-fields of Australian politics and include all approaches. It will entail critical reflection upon, and synthesis of , ....A scholarly and comprehensive account of Australian politics: The Oxford Companion to Australian Politics. The project aims to deepen the understanding of Australian politics by producing the first scholarly and comprehensive account in a form that makes it readily accessible to experts and general readers. The collaborative process will engage leading scholars working in all sub-fields of Australian politics and include all approaches. It will entail critical reflection upon, and synthesis of , past and present scholarship as well as new research on neglected areas and the application of new approaches to established bodies of work.Read moreRead less
Women’s NGOs and gender sensitive policy change in Iran. This project aims to investigate how Iranian women’s non-governmental organisations (NGOs) work to influence gender sensitive policy change in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This project will generate new knowledge on the causal mechanisms behind NGO-driven policy change in Iran, leading to a theory of change on NGOs and gender sensitive policy change in Islamic political systems more broadly. The expected outcomes will enhance scholarly un ....Women’s NGOs and gender sensitive policy change in Iran. This project aims to investigate how Iranian women’s non-governmental organisations (NGOs) work to influence gender sensitive policy change in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This project will generate new knowledge on the causal mechanisms behind NGO-driven policy change in Iran, leading to a theory of change on NGOs and gender sensitive policy change in Islamic political systems more broadly. The expected outcomes will enhance scholarly understanding of Iranian civil society, and build the capacity of the Australian government to foster ties and invest in successful strategies for progress with Iran.Read moreRead less
The Democratization of the Rising China through Deliberative Democracy. This project falls within the Research Priority 4: Safeguarding Australia. Its benefits include strengthening Australian leadership in deliberative democracy, developing deliberative democratization in China which is vital for the security and fundamental interest of Australia, and offering new strategies of deliberative democratization for the international democracy-promotion community. It will contribute to a balanced and ....The Democratization of the Rising China through Deliberative Democracy. This project falls within the Research Priority 4: Safeguarding Australia. Its benefits include strengthening Australian leadership in deliberative democracy, developing deliberative democratization in China which is vital for the security and fundamental interest of Australia, and offering new strategies of deliberative democratization for the international democracy-promotion community. It will contribute to a balanced and sophisticated understanding of Chinese democratization; enhance cooperation between Australian researchers and their counterparts in China; and contribute to global democracy-promotion activities by developing a new field of deliberative democratization.Read moreRead less
Deliberative Democracy and Citizenship: A Study of Deliberative Polling and Participatory Budgeting in China. The result of this research will enhance Australian democracy-promotion activities overseas, foster Chinese learning from Australian deliberative democratic experiences, as well as benefiting Australian governmental agencies such as AusAID and Australian NGOs working in this field. The project will also strengthen cooperation between Australian researchers and their counterparts in China ....Deliberative Democracy and Citizenship: A Study of Deliberative Polling and Participatory Budgeting in China. The result of this research will enhance Australian democracy-promotion activities overseas, foster Chinese learning from Australian deliberative democratic experiences, as well as benefiting Australian governmental agencies such as AusAID and Australian NGOs working in this field. The project will also strengthen cooperation between Australian researchers and their counterparts in China. The lessons learned from this Chinese experiment can be used to improve the quality of citizen participation and to develop more effective means of public participation and consultation in Australia. The project will contribute to the Australian government's dialogue approach to human rights issues in China since 1989.Read moreRead less