The law of deliberative democracy: theory and reform. Deliberation is essential to the health of electoral and representative democracy. This project will evaluate and recommend the reform of the law underpinning democratic politics in Australia, to enhance its deliberative quality.
Senior secondary certification: meeting the national agenda? Senior secondary certificates are subject to multiple sets of national demands that create the risk of weakening their important historical roles and undermining stakeholder support. This project will provide a deeper understanding of the nature of the tensions that need to be balanced within the design and management of the certificates and provide information for future design options in the context of national developments in secon ....Senior secondary certification: meeting the national agenda? Senior secondary certificates are subject to multiple sets of national demands that create the risk of weakening their important historical roles and undermining stakeholder support. This project will provide a deeper understanding of the nature of the tensions that need to be balanced within the design and management of the certificates and provide information for future design options in the context of national developments in secondary and tertiary education. The project has the potential to assist state and territory agencies that are responsible for senior secondary curriculum and certification in making their contributions toward the national goals and targets for education participation set by the Australian Government.Read moreRead less
Reconceiving Australian federalism: fundamental values, comparative models and constitutional interpretation. Through systematic comparison with other federal systems, this project identifies the range of fundamental principles and values that could underlie the Australian system of government, explores their application to the interpretation of the Australian Constitution and scrutinises proposed reforms to the Australian system on the basis of that analysis.
Freedom of speech in the post 9/11 era. This project will assess the place of freedom of speech in political attitudes in a post 9/11 world. It will show that, and how, liberal democracies both undermine and simultaneously assert the importance of the fundamental human rights that are the very basis for their perceived vulnerability to terrorists.
Do public inquiries matter? tracking inquiry implementation in Australia. This project aims to assess the effectiveness of public inquiries. Governments rely on public inquiries yet we know little about the extent to which they facilitate policy learning. This project will track the implementation of recommendations generated by federal inquiries in Australia since 2000: evaluating the extent to which recommendations were implemented and the difference they have made. Expected outcomes include a ....Do public inquiries matter? tracking inquiry implementation in Australia. This project aims to assess the effectiveness of public inquiries. Governments rely on public inquiries yet we know little about the extent to which they facilitate policy learning. This project will track the implementation of recommendations generated by federal inquiries in Australia since 2000: evaluating the extent to which recommendations were implemented and the difference they have made. Expected outcomes include academic findings and best practice guidance to government about the contemporary value of inquiries. The findings may support a best-practice manual for public officials.Read moreRead less
Confronting the devolution paradox: constitutional values, federal political culture and governance reform. Australia, like many countries, depends in part on devolutionary reform if its federal system of government is to adapt effectively to change. This project confronts a key barrier to reform; the ‘devolution paradox’, in which popular demands for decentralisation and diversity are confounded by conflicting political pressures for national policy uniformity and control. By mapping and compar ....Confronting the devolution paradox: constitutional values, federal political culture and governance reform. Australia, like many countries, depends in part on devolutionary reform if its federal system of government is to adapt effectively to change. This project confronts a key barrier to reform; the ‘devolution paradox’, in which popular demands for decentralisation and diversity are confounded by conflicting political pressures for national policy uniformity and control. By mapping and comparing the constitutional values and federal political culture of Australian citizens, citizens in Canada, USA and UK, and Australian reform policymakers, in more detail than ever before, it will give insights into how this key paradox might be resolved, helping unlock reform potential and restore adaptive capacity to our political system.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100371
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$331,248.00
Summary
The Rise of sophisticated authoritarianism in Southeast Asia. This project aims to investigate the persistence of authoritarian rule in Southeast Asia. Against the backdrop of a global democratic recession, the project seeks to identify how dictators and dominant parties have learnt to maintain power using increasingly sophisticated techniques. Using five original case studies and three qualitative methods, the expected outcome is an explanation for the survival of authoritarian regimes that is ....The Rise of sophisticated authoritarianism in Southeast Asia. This project aims to investigate the persistence of authoritarian rule in Southeast Asia. Against the backdrop of a global democratic recession, the project seeks to identify how dictators and dominant parties have learnt to maintain power using increasingly sophisticated techniques. Using five original case studies and three qualitative methods, the expected outcome is an explanation for the survival of authoritarian regimes that is accessible and informative to the academic, policymaking and democracy promotion communities. The knowledge gained from this project can be used to safeguard Australia’s interest in the preservation and growth of democracy abroad. The benefits will be risk reduction in terms of decision making and improved national security.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.
Sparking a National Conversation. This project aims to understand why some promises of a ‘national conversation’ on a policy issue seem to be mere hyperbole, while others seem more authentic. Using an evaluative framework based on the latest democratic theory, and the aims and understandings of key actors in each case, the project plans to compare three cases that claimed to spark a national conversation: the Scottish National Conversation 2007–14; debates around the Affordable Care Act in the U ....Sparking a National Conversation. This project aims to understand why some promises of a ‘national conversation’ on a policy issue seem to be mere hyperbole, while others seem more authentic. Using an evaluative framework based on the latest democratic theory, and the aims and understandings of key actors in each case, the project plans to compare three cases that claimed to spark a national conversation: the Scottish National Conversation 2007–14; debates around the Affordable Care Act in the United States, 2009; and the ongoing issue of Indigenous constitutional recognition in Australia. The project aims to identify why some real-world efforts work better than others, and draw lessons for replicating best practice in Australia. Project outcomes may provide advice to policy-makers on how to engage citizens better in the major issues of the day.Read moreRead less
What's Changed? The Political Economy of Financial reform Since 2008. The project intends to chart, assess and explain the politics and policy associated with banking and financial sector reform in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, Canada and Australia. The key aims are to extend previous work to develop a firm-level model of financial risk and instability; use that model as a baseline to assess the post-crisis reform policy process; and explain ....What's Changed? The Political Economy of Financial reform Since 2008. The project intends to chart, assess and explain the politics and policy associated with banking and financial sector reform in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, Canada and Australia. The key aims are to extend previous work to develop a firm-level model of financial risk and instability; use that model as a baseline to assess the post-crisis reform policy process; and explain inter-country variation in, and the limits of, post-crisis policy reform. One particular focus is the relationship between competition and financial stability before and since the 2008 crisis. To what extent did competitive pressures drive risk-taking in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe? Have such pressures receded since 2008? Project outcomes may have policy implications for current efforts in banking reform.Read moreRead less