After Nehru: The evolution of Indian international thought, 1964-present. Understanding the ideas, as well as the interests, underpinning the foreign policy of a rising India is a priority for Australia. This project aims to provide the first comprehensive analysis of Indian conceptions of India's "world role" as they have evolved since Jawaharlal Nehru's death in 1964. It is intended to analyse the development of traditions of thought about India's world role and the work of major Indian thinke ....After Nehru: The evolution of Indian international thought, 1964-present. Understanding the ideas, as well as the interests, underpinning the foreign policy of a rising India is a priority for Australia. This project aims to provide the first comprehensive analysis of Indian conceptions of India's "world role" as they have evolved since Jawaharlal Nehru's death in 1964. It is intended to analyse the development of traditions of thought about India's world role and the work of major Indian thinkers on international relations. It aims to make an original contribution to the understanding of the intellectual underpinnings of Indian foreign policy. The project aims to build research capacity in the study of Indian international thought, leading to publications, as well as public and policy engagement.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101469
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$368,000.00
Summary
The Dilemma of Compliance: Political Parties and Post-election Disputes. This project plans to analyse post-election disputes in Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia to determine why political parties refuse to comply with electoral outcomes and what determines the strategies they use to contest them. To date, scholars have primarily focused on why post-election protests succeed, paying scant attention to the reasons political parties decide to reject election results in the first place. This projec ....The Dilemma of Compliance: Political Parties and Post-election Disputes. This project plans to analyse post-election disputes in Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia to determine why political parties refuse to comply with electoral outcomes and what determines the strategies they use to contest them. To date, scholars have primarily focused on why post-election protests succeed, paying scant attention to the reasons political parties decide to reject election results in the first place. This project also seeks to evaluate the impact that post-election disputes and their resolutions have on the future of political parties and democratic governance. The findings of the project may inform and improve donor and civil society efforts to strengthen electoral management and the quality of democracy.Read moreRead less
Governing China's multi-ethnic frontiers in the twenty-first century. This project investigates the recent wave of violence in China's ethnically complex western regions and the reasons why some areas have become more violent than others. Using case studies from China's Tibetan areas, this study examines how local government actions and policies shape local conflict dynamics.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100573
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$322,699.00
Summary
Glasnost for Myanmar? Political cultures in transition. Myanmar is a major country in Southeast Asia and has since 2008 made moves towards more democratic government. This project will research and explain this period of transition in terms of political cultures. It will provide guidance on the processes of democratisation underway in a society that has experienced long-term military rule.
Community Rule-Making in the Pacific Islands as Regulatory Innovation. Our study investigates the widespread phenomena of ‘community rule-making’ in Pacific Island countries, in which local communities engage in deliberative processes oriented towards development of new normative orders. Occurring largely outside of state-sanctioned authority, such processes may address social problems such as gender based violence, crime and poverty, and frequently occur in the context of other locally-driven ....Community Rule-Making in the Pacific Islands as Regulatory Innovation. Our study investigates the widespread phenomena of ‘community rule-making’ in Pacific Island countries, in which local communities engage in deliberative processes oriented towards development of new normative orders. Occurring largely outside of state-sanctioned authority, such processes may address social problems such as gender based violence, crime and poverty, and frequently occur in the context of other locally-driven attempts at community regeneration. Through collaborative empirical research in PNG, Solomon Islands and Samoa, our project will build an evidence base to better understand the potential and the dangers of community rule-making, and develop ‘responsive hybridisation’ as a new analytical framework to theorise about it.
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Urbanising Western China: Nation-building on the Sino-Tibetan frontier. This project aims to explore urbanisation as a key part of the Chinese Communist Party's policies in Tibet and the novel opportunities it affords for Tibetan identity, language, and culture. An international, multidisciplinary team will combine analysis of key government texts, interviews with government officials and ethnic minority elites, as well as observations of daily life amongst urban Tibetans. The project will produ ....Urbanising Western China: Nation-building on the Sino-Tibetan frontier. This project aims to explore urbanisation as a key part of the Chinese Communist Party's policies in Tibet and the novel opportunities it affords for Tibetan identity, language, and culture. An international, multidisciplinary team will combine analysis of key government texts, interviews with government officials and ethnic minority elites, as well as observations of daily life amongst urban Tibetans. The project will produce new understandings of the challenges of governing diversity in China, and will benefit Australia by exploring a fundamental aspect of the changing social fabric of our region’s dominant power.Read moreRead less
The infrastructure of China's international influence. This project aims to investigate how China uses infrastructure-driven development to wield international influence, by studying how Chinese ideas of ‘developmentalism’ interact with nation building and regime security imperatives in Indonesia, Myanmar and Laos. The project expects to generate new comparative knowledge about development logics and competing sectoral interests around major infrastructure projects that breaks new conceptual gro ....The infrastructure of China's international influence. This project aims to investigate how China uses infrastructure-driven development to wield international influence, by studying how Chinese ideas of ‘developmentalism’ interact with nation building and regime security imperatives in Indonesia, Myanmar and Laos. The project expects to generate new comparative knowledge about development logics and competing sectoral interests around major infrastructure projects that breaks new conceptual ground on analysing international influence and the economic-security nexus in Asia. Enhanced understanding of the conditions under which China’s development model is attractive to others, would benefit Australian and international agencies seeking strategic diplomatic and investment decisions in the Asia-Pacific.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101522
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$368,000.00
Summary
The politics of torture in Myanmar and Thailand. This project aims to explore how torture occurs in Asian countries of political, economic and strategic importance to Australia. Torture is by many accounts routine practice for police and security forces across Asia. How is torture possible? What role is it playing? By documenting where, when and how torture occurs, this project aims to determine what torture constitutes and analyse the politics that enable it. It is anticipated that information ....The politics of torture in Myanmar and Thailand. This project aims to explore how torture occurs in Asian countries of political, economic and strategic importance to Australia. Torture is by many accounts routine practice for police and security forces across Asia. How is torture possible? What role is it playing? By documenting where, when and how torture occurs, this project aims to determine what torture constitutes and analyse the politics that enable it. It is anticipated that information from the project could be used to develop effective interventions to address torture. The project also anticipates contributing to policy-oriented debate on whether torture can be eliminated, or merely suppressed.Read moreRead less
Presidential Power and its Limits in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia. This project will study the development of the Indonesian presidency after the fall of long-time autocrat Suharto in 1998. While much of the recent research on this subject has focused on the personalities of the four post-1998 presidents, this project intends to highlight institutional and structural aspects of the presidency. In particular, the proposed research aims to explore to what extent democratisation, decentralisation a ....Presidential Power and its Limits in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia. This project will study the development of the Indonesian presidency after the fall of long-time autocrat Suharto in 1998. While much of the recent research on this subject has focused on the personalities of the four post-1998 presidents, this project intends to highlight institutional and structural aspects of the presidency. In particular, the proposed research aims to explore to what extent democratisation, decentralisation and power diffusion have constrained Indonesian presidents in exercising executive authority. When completed, the project aims to deliver a comprehensive picture of Indonesia's post-authoritarian presidency, describing in detail its constitutional powers, institutional set-up and structural limitations.Read moreRead less
Money Politics: Patronage, Political Networks and Electoral Dynamics in Southeast Asia. How does money politics shape electoral competition and outcomes in developing democracies? This project tackles this question by focusing on pork barrelling, spoils, vote buying and related phenomena in the four most important electoral regimes of Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. Using methods that range from close observation of election campaigns to national surveys, the p ....Money Politics: Patronage, Political Networks and Electoral Dynamics in Southeast Asia. How does money politics shape electoral competition and outcomes in developing democracies? This project tackles this question by focusing on pork barrelling, spoils, vote buying and related phenomena in the four most important electoral regimes of Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. Using methods that range from close observation of election campaigns to national surveys, the project will analyse how the distribution of material benefits via clientelist and other networks affects political dynamics. By identifying and explaining variations in patronage, the research will cast light on issues critical to the future of democracy, governance and political stability in Southeast Asia and beyond.Read moreRead less