Perceptions of terrorist groups in conflict-affected states. How do terrorist groups adapt in the face of counterterrorism measures and sustain themselves despite their lack of local popularity? This project answers this question through a systematic analysis of how local observers understand extremist groups in four states facing significant terrorist activities: Yemen, Iraq, Pakistan, and Somalia. This comparative analysis will provide an opportunity to assess local knowledge as a form of resi ....Perceptions of terrorist groups in conflict-affected states. How do terrorist groups adapt in the face of counterterrorism measures and sustain themselves despite their lack of local popularity? This project answers this question through a systematic analysis of how local observers understand extremist groups in four states facing significant terrorist activities: Yemen, Iraq, Pakistan, and Somalia. This comparative analysis will provide an opportunity to assess local knowledge as a form of resistance to terrorism, thereby generating new approaches to conceptualising and countering violent extremism. Other expected outcomes include new collaborative research networks between Australia and conflict-affected states, the creation of new datasets for researchers, and training for research students.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130101468
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$363,379.00
Summary
State formation and external finance: a case study of Somaliland. Somaliland's government receives no direct budgetary support and yet its peace building and developmental achievements dwarf those of Somalia despite the fact that Somalia's government is almost entirely propped up by external assistance. Why does external financial assistance affect the ability of local actors to create peace and prosperity?
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100213
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
The rise of the United States Federal Reserve. Over the past decades, the United States central bank (the 'Federal Reserve') has emerged as one of the most important institutions in not only the American but also the global political economy. This project investigates the mechanisms of its operation and advances a new explanation for its rise to power.
Global Challenges, Reluctant Publics? The Role of Public Opinion in International Cooperation on Crucial Global Issues. When challenges emerge that demand international cooperation, what is the facilitating or constraining role of public opinion in states’ ability for joint action? Which factors, under what conditions, influence citizens’ attitudes? Can governments or issue activists meaningfully change public opinion about crucial issues? Human society faces a number of major challenges to its ....Global Challenges, Reluctant Publics? The Role of Public Opinion in International Cooperation on Crucial Global Issues. When challenges emerge that demand international cooperation, what is the facilitating or constraining role of public opinion in states’ ability for joint action? Which factors, under what conditions, influence citizens’ attitudes? Can governments or issue activists meaningfully change public opinion about crucial issues? Human society faces a number of major challenges to its environmental, economic, and political wellbeing that are not contained by international borders and may require international cooperation for effective action. Developing and testing new theory, this project aims to address these under-explored issues of the role of opinion in multinational cooperation, and the degree to which opinion is an independent agenda setter.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101692
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$325,000.00
Summary
Getting elections right? Electoral reform in democracies & autocracies. Why do some countries manage to 'get their elections right' while others fail? What explains changes in election integrity over time? And does election integrity matter for democracy? This project aims to address these questions by developing an original theoretical framework explaining changes in election integrity over time and the consequences for democratisation. The project will empirically test the theoretical framewor ....Getting elections right? Electoral reform in democracies & autocracies. Why do some countries manage to 'get their elections right' while others fail? What explains changes in election integrity over time? And does election integrity matter for democracy? This project aims to address these questions by developing an original theoretical framework explaining changes in election integrity over time and the consequences for democratisation. The project will empirically test the theoretical framework with a mixed-method approach that combines quantitative statistical analysis and in-depth country case studies using data on election integrity in over 900 elections from over 100 electoral democracies and autocracies around the world between 1974 and 2012.Read moreRead less
Political leadership in international affairs. This program of research will make a contribution to judging our place in the world by assisting in our understanding of the importance of leadership in international relations; specifically in the various international leaders and persons of influence with whom Australia has of necessity to deal. The examination of regional institutional leadership will provide insights into the importance of international organisations and their potential to augme ....Political leadership in international affairs. This program of research will make a contribution to judging our place in the world by assisting in our understanding of the importance of leadership in international relations; specifically in the various international leaders and persons of influence with whom Australia has of necessity to deal. The examination of regional institutional leadership will provide insights into the importance of international organisations and their potential to augment or limit state leadership. Finally, the mapping of the sites of leadership in developing states will allow Australia to see how to best invest in aid and regional security through programs that focus on education as a foundation for future leadership.Read moreRead less
Democracy at the end of the world: new perspectives on the politics and government of Antarctica. This project provides a fundamental re-interpretation of Antarctica, revisits the history of its governing arrangements, considers their twenty-firt century global significance and asks whether they can survive the mounting global pressures to 'open up' the continent to the alleged imperatives of commercial and military interests.
Advancing Genocide Forecasting: New Definition, Methods, and Forecasts. The project intends to develop a new method of forecasting to improve the international community’s and Australia's ability to anticipate and prevent genocide. The project is designed to build on work in the Atrocity Forecasting Project since 2009, and to bring together political science and computer science. To address well-known problems the project plans to reconceptualise genocide as extreme targeted mass killing, increa ....Advancing Genocide Forecasting: New Definition, Methods, and Forecasts. The project intends to develop a new method of forecasting to improve the international community’s and Australia's ability to anticipate and prevent genocide. The project is designed to build on work in the Atrocity Forecasting Project since 2009, and to bring together political science and computer science. To address well-known problems the project plans to reconceptualise genocide as extreme targeted mass killing, increasing definitional clarity and data reliability. Combining a better concept with cutting-edge computer science forecasting approaches, the project aims to produce new annual forecasts, pushing accuracy further. Expected project outcomes will provide new understanding and a better tool for genocide prevention.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL110100093
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,635,728.00
Summary
Making democratic governance work. The project will deepen and advance our understanding of the impact of democratic governance upon prosperity, welfare and peace in countries around the world since the late twentieth century.