Reconciling nations: what can Australia learn from the international experience of democratic dialogue? This project will draw on international experience to explore the capacity for facilitated, democratic dialogue to revitalise the Australian reconciliation process. Using innovative case study research and an original applied theoretical approach, the project will develop new methods for resolving intercultural conflict in Australia.
Democratic Resilience: The Public Sphere and Extremist Attacks. The project aims to explain responses to extremist attacks intended to sow division, and why some democracies prove fragile, succumbing to polarisation or exclusion of key groups, while others prove resilient by sustaining integrative, tolerant discourse. The project develops new knowledge through an innovative synthesis of cultural sociology and deliberative democracy to analyse nine cases of responses in the public realm to attack ....Democratic Resilience: The Public Sphere and Extremist Attacks. The project aims to explain responses to extremist attacks intended to sow division, and why some democracies prove fragile, succumbing to polarisation or exclusion of key groups, while others prove resilient by sustaining integrative, tolerant discourse. The project develops new knowledge through an innovative synthesis of cultural sociology and deliberative democracy to analyse nine cases of responses in the public realm to attacks. Expected outcomes include a new account of the democratic public sphere, and identification of how meaningful, civil communication whose health is vital to democracy, especially in a multicultural society, can be maintained. Benefits include identification of measures to counter extremist political disruption.Read moreRead less
Democratic dialogue and capabilities: new opportunities in post-reconciliation era Australia. In conflict and post-conflict societies around the world, democratic dialogue has proven to be an important element in processes designed to facilitate social change and create a more just and inclusive society. This project will make a significant theoretical and methodological contribution to national and international understanding of methods for resolving longstanding intercultural conflicts. It aim ....Democratic dialogue and capabilities: new opportunities in post-reconciliation era Australia. In conflict and post-conflict societies around the world, democratic dialogue has proven to be an important element in processes designed to facilitate social change and create a more just and inclusive society. This project will make a significant theoretical and methodological contribution to national and international understanding of methods for resolving longstanding intercultural conflicts. It aims to demonstrate the role that democratic dialogue can have in transforming the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It will test the hypothesis that the social and institutional change that is possible through dialogue will have capability-enhancing effects for Indigenous Australians.Read moreRead less
Autonomy, Liberalism and the Right to Culture. The question of whether or on what terms cultural diversity may be reconciled with liberal citizenship and national identity is among the most pressing issues confronting liberal democracies today. Australia, long committed to multiculturalism, faces this challenge daily in its law- and policy-making. This project tackles this question by offering a new way of thinking about the place and import of the core liberal value of individual autonomy. Now ....Autonomy, Liberalism and the Right to Culture. The question of whether or on what terms cultural diversity may be reconciled with liberal citizenship and national identity is among the most pressing issues confronting liberal democracies today. Australia, long committed to multiculturalism, faces this challenge daily in its law- and policy-making. This project tackles this question by offering a new way of thinking about the place and import of the core liberal value of individual autonomy. Now under considerable attack in political theory and from some groups for being "too sectarian", the project defends the importance of autonomy to liberal citizenship, while elaborating its moral and political implications for liberals and cultural minorities alike.Read moreRead less
Innovative democracy? Changing approaches to citizen engagement in Australia, the UK and Denmark. Many question the future of representative democracy in its current form given growing levels of civic disengagement. This project charts, explains and critically examines government responses to this disengagement in three countries, Australia, the UK and Denmark, and across three policy areas, environment, immigration and youth.
Clarifying transparency: Chinese aid and trade in Latin America. Consensual understandings of transparency and good governance are crucial to the international accommodation of China's economic rise. Through a quantitative survey and qualitative case studies, this project aims to clarify how these terms generate misunderstandings and hinder potential for dialogue between key U.S., Latin American and Chinese actors.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101540
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$331,000.00
Summary
Waves of Democracy and Secessionist Conflict. What is the relationship between democracy and secessionism? This project aims to investigate the theory that democratisation unleashes secessionist forces that are likely to turn violent in the absence of mature democratic institutions. Thus, waves of democracy yield waves of secessionist conflict. Through a statistical analysis of secessionism combined with case studies in three countries with dissimilar regime types - Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, an ....Waves of Democracy and Secessionist Conflict. What is the relationship between democracy and secessionism? This project aims to investigate the theory that democratisation unleashes secessionist forces that are likely to turn violent in the absence of mature democratic institutions. Thus, waves of democracy yield waves of secessionist conflict. Through a statistical analysis of secessionism combined with case studies in three countries with dissimilar regime types - Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, and Spain - the project aims to study the relationship between democratic institutions and secessionist outcomes. The project aims to contribute to our understanding of the unintended consequences of democratisation and inform policy choices regarding the introduction and sequencing of democratic institutions.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
Media Change. Political Change - Developments in Australian Newspapers' Political Reporting in the Age of Television. It is frequently asserted that the role of the press has changed since the advent of television, but there is a curious lack of data documenting the changes. This project will provide extensive, systematic and analytically-informed information about trends in newspapers' political coverage. Through an innovative combination of quantitative and qualitative research designs, it w ....Media Change. Political Change - Developments in Australian Newspapers' Political Reporting in the Age of Television. It is frequently asserted that the role of the press has changed since the advent of television, but there is a curious lack of data documenting the changes. This project will provide extensive, systematic and analytically-informed information about trends in newspapers' political coverage. Through an innovative combination of quantitative and qualitative research designs, it will chart the extent and timing of changes, and illuminate the external and internal forces driving them. The press remains central to the quality of Australian democracy and public discourse, and so there is a strong public interest in making debates about its changing performance more empirically grounded and analytically penetrating. Read moreRead less
Climate change and environmental security in the Pacific: the role of regional organisations. This project through exploring the twin features of climate change and security in the Pacific region and assessing the role of regional organisations to respond to these threats will enable Australian policy-makers to better design and implement policies to promote sustainable development and human security in the region.