Political Trust and Satisfaction with Democracy in Australia. Declining public support is one of the greatest challenges to democracy. In 2019, Australia recorded the lowest level of trust in politics on record. This project aims to understand the reasons for declining political trust and satisfaction with democracy in Australia. The project hopes to field the 2022-25 Australian Election Study to address these issues by surveying a representative sample of voters following the 2022 and 2025 Aust ....Political Trust and Satisfaction with Democracy in Australia. Declining public support is one of the greatest challenges to democracy. In 2019, Australia recorded the lowest level of trust in politics on record. This project aims to understand the reasons for declining political trust and satisfaction with democracy in Australia. The project hopes to field the 2022-25 Australian Election Study to address these issues by surveying a representative sample of voters following the 2022 and 2025 Australian federal elections, in addition to continuing a longitudinal survey started in 2016. The project wants to add to an unbroken series of publicly available data on Australian political behaviour since 1987, while also producing new insights into how individual opinions change over time.Read moreRead less
In for the count: Maximising trust and reliability in Australian elections. This project aims to develop innovative approaches to identifying, measuring, and evaluating errors and purposeful intervention in the uniquely complex elections at the basis of Australian democracy. Such methods can underpin a world-class election auditing system, which contends with the risks that are emerging at the intersection of election digitisation, cybersecurity and foreign interference. The project’s expected o ....In for the count: Maximising trust and reliability in Australian elections. This project aims to develop innovative approaches to identifying, measuring, and evaluating errors and purposeful intervention in the uniquely complex elections at the basis of Australian democracy. Such methods can underpin a world-class election auditing system, which contends with the risks that are emerging at the intersection of election digitisation, cybersecurity and foreign interference. The project’s expected outcomes are new auditing methods, tested on real Australian election data, with their benefits quantified against global best practice. The research outputs should help reinforce the community’s trust in Australian elections, which are a foundation for our security, social cohesion, and political resilience.Read moreRead less
Religious Populism, Emotions and Political Mobilisation. This project aims to investigate the main features of religious populism with a focus on emotions in Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan. Through multiple analytical methods that examine populist statements and interviews with voters, it will advance theoretical and empirical knowledge on religious populism, particularly in relation to emotive political mobilisation and polarisation. The expected outcomes are benchmark data sets and conceptual ....Religious Populism, Emotions and Political Mobilisation. This project aims to investigate the main features of religious populism with a focus on emotions in Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan. Through multiple analytical methods that examine populist statements and interviews with voters, it will advance theoretical and empirical knowledge on religious populism, particularly in relation to emotive political mobilisation and polarisation. The expected outcomes are benchmark data sets and conceptual frameworks that can be used in other contexts where religious populism poses a danger to democracy. This will help democratic governments better understand religious populism so that they can generate effective policies to deal with any potential negative effects.Read moreRead less
Political Representation in Indonesia. The project aims to understand political representation in Indonesia, asking how far politicians resemble voters in both their policy views and backgrounds (gender, religion, education etc.) It will generate new knowledge on a major potential source of fragility in the world’s third largest democracy, and pioneer a new multi-method approach for explaining how representation varies. Expected outcomes include a new framework that extends analysis of represent ....Political Representation in Indonesia. The project aims to understand political representation in Indonesia, asking how far politicians resemble voters in both their policy views and backgrounds (gender, religion, education etc.) It will generate new knowledge on a major potential source of fragility in the world’s third largest democracy, and pioneer a new multi-method approach for explaining how representation varies. Expected outcomes include a new framework that extends analysis of representation to illiberal democracies, and a tranche of public data on Indonesia for cross-national comparisons. Benefits will include a new set of analytical tools to help policy makers in Australia and the region assess sources of weakness in representative institutions in illiberal settings.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
The other democracy: Medes in the Iron Age. This project aims to use evidence from archaeology and historical texts to develop a new
understanding of the consensus-based political system of the Medes of the Zagros Mountains in the first
millennium BCE. In spite of the enduring presence of the Medes in the historical texts of Ancient Greece and the
Near East, this research project would be the first major piece of scholarship to address the nature of Median
communities. This research seeks to cre ....The other democracy: Medes in the Iron Age. This project aims to use evidence from archaeology and historical texts to develop a new
understanding of the consensus-based political system of the Medes of the Zagros Mountains in the first
millennium BCE. In spite of the enduring presence of the Medes in the historical texts of Ancient Greece and the
Near East, this research project would be the first major piece of scholarship to address the nature of Median
communities. This research seeks to create a new model for how these agro-pastoral groups may have
responded to imperial incursions by the Assyrian Empire. Its goal is to benefit scholarship by developing a better
understanding of how democratic systems can develop as a flexible response to external pressures.Read moreRead less
Warratyi: Cultural Innovation in the Indigenous Settlement of Australia. This project aims to determine the role of cultural innovation in the Indigenous settlement of Australia's arid zone 50,000 years ago. Using innovative methods, it will produce new data on key technologies, symbolic behaviours and human interactions with animals and environment to identify the cultural innovations needed to overcome the challenges of Australia's deserts. Expected outcomes include new understandings of the s ....Warratyi: Cultural Innovation in the Indigenous Settlement of Australia. This project aims to determine the role of cultural innovation in the Indigenous settlement of Australia's arid zone 50,000 years ago. Using innovative methods, it will produce new data on key technologies, symbolic behaviours and human interactions with animals and environment to identify the cultural innovations needed to overcome the challenges of Australia's deserts. Expected outcomes include new understandings of the settlement of the arid zone to inform global debates relating to the dispersal, settlement and lifestyles of early humans in marginal environments. Expected benefits include new information for cultural tourism and education and to support South Australia’s World Heritage nomination for the Flinders Ranges.Read moreRead less
The potential and limits of international adjudication. This project aims to analyse the place of adjudication in international affairs, using a case study of Australia’s extensive engagement with the International Court of Justice. The project will provide a detailed account of the context and impact of the cases in which Australia has been involved before the Court, and will assess the complex roles that adjudication and advisory opinions can play in the resolution of international disputes mo ....The potential and limits of international adjudication. This project aims to analyse the place of adjudication in international affairs, using a case study of Australia’s extensive engagement with the International Court of Justice. The project will provide a detailed account of the context and impact of the cases in which Australia has been involved before the Court, and will assess the complex roles that adjudication and advisory opinions can play in the resolution of international disputes more generally. This project will document an historic set of engagements spanning 70 years and provide guidance on when international adjudication may be productive for Australia, the Asia-Pacific region and the international legal order. This will provide deeper knowledge of the capacities of international judicial institutions to resolve disputes relating to economic, health, social, cultural and environmental issues.Read moreRead less
The foundations of civil justice in Australia. This project aims to provide an in-depth historical account of the origins of our civil justice system in Australia. Judicial institutions and their practices were key to the founding of civil society in the Australian colonies. This project will produce new knowledge about the origins of our civil justice system. The project will trace legal reformist ideas in England, their dissemination across Britain's Empire and the impact these had on how judg ....The foundations of civil justice in Australia. This project aims to provide an in-depth historical account of the origins of our civil justice system in Australia. Judicial institutions and their practices were key to the founding of civil society in the Australian colonies. This project will produce new knowledge about the origins of our civil justice system. The project will trace legal reformist ideas in England, their dissemination across Britain's Empire and the impact these had on how judges and administrators in the Australian colonies crafted their judicial practices to provide speedy and effective access to civil justice. As well as scholarly writing, this project will provide a podcast and multi-media website that explains how civil trials worked in the mid-nineteenth century.Read moreRead less
Eurasian exchange and artistic transformation in art. This project aims to bring European and Chinese art history into dialogue. It explores the early Italian Renaissance in the larger geopolitical context of Mongol Eurasia and the Yuan Empire, to address the questions of influence, contact, and exchange. In reframing the development of early European art as a fundamentally cross-cultural phenomenon, this project aims to offer a better understanding of the roots of our own global visual culture. ....Eurasian exchange and artistic transformation in art. This project aims to bring European and Chinese art history into dialogue. It explores the early Italian Renaissance in the larger geopolitical context of Mongol Eurasia and the Yuan Empire, to address the questions of influence, contact, and exchange. In reframing the development of early European art as a fundamentally cross-cultural phenomenon, this project aims to offer a better understanding of the roots of our own global visual culture. The project will benefit and enrich the study of cross-cultural contact and exchange in art history as a larger field, leading to the re-examination of art in the Australasian region.Read moreRead less