Indonesian Democracy: The Politics of Failed Reform and Regime Viability. Despite high hopes following the fall of Indonesia's authoritarian regime, political reform has been limited. The project examines the reasons for slow progress. Among the areas to be studied are constitutional and electoral reform, military reform, judicial reform, decentralisation, preservation of order and economic reform. It will argue that the weakness of the state in carrying out reforms is largely due to the penetra ....Indonesian Democracy: The Politics of Failed Reform and Regime Viability. Despite high hopes following the fall of Indonesia's authoritarian regime, political reform has been limited. The project examines the reasons for slow progress. Among the areas to be studied are constitutional and electoral reform, military reform, judicial reform, decentralisation, preservation of order and economic reform. It will argue that the weakness of the state in carrying out reforms is largely due to the penetration of the state itself by vested interests. Limited reforms have only been implemented when the viability of the regime itself has been at stake. This research is significant for Indonesian politics and political theory.Read moreRead less
'Political' public servants: challenges, risks and rewards. The current ministerial and parliamentary staff system in Australia, established by the Member of Parliament Staff Act 1984, created a mechanism by which public servants can disengage from the public service while working as ministerial and parliamentary staffers, and later re-engage with the public service. This project will explore the phenomenon of the so-called 'political public servant' and the nature of impartiality and partisansh ....'Political' public servants: challenges, risks and rewards. The current ministerial and parliamentary staff system in Australia, established by the Member of Parliament Staff Act 1984, created a mechanism by which public servants can disengage from the public service while working as ministerial and parliamentary staffers, and later re-engage with the public service. This project will explore the phenomenon of the so-called 'political public servant' and the nature of impartiality and partisanship, asking whether these attributes are easily adopted and discarded or whether in fact they coexist within a subset of 'hybrid' public servants.Read moreRead less
Deliberative democracy in the public sphere: achieving deliberative outcomes in mass publics. This project will systematically explore ways in which citizens can engage more deeply with complex policy issues without the need to resort to massive expenditure on running multiple deliberative forums, such as citizens' assemblies. It will identify the language is needed to deliberatively inform and the vehicles for providing that information.
Responding to Globalization: Firms, the State and Upgrading in the Automotive Industry on the Western Pacific Rim. The automotive industry is arguably still the most important manufacturing sector in the world economy. It is one of the most 'globalized' of industrial sectors, whether considered in terms of geographical dispersion of production or of trade. In Australia, the turnover of the auto industry is around $17 billions per year. It employs more than 50,000 people. Like other auto industri ....Responding to Globalization: Firms, the State and Upgrading in the Automotive Industry on the Western Pacific Rim. The automotive industry is arguably still the most important manufacturing sector in the world economy. It is one of the most 'globalized' of industrial sectors, whether considered in terms of geographical dispersion of production or of trade. In Australia, the turnover of the auto industry is around $17 billions per year. It employs more than 50,000 people. Like other auto industries around the region, that in Australia must adjust to several rapidly changing contexts driven by technological developments, industry consolidation, and new trade regimes. This project will provide a better understanding of the forces driving change, and of the range of possible policy responses available to firms and governments.Read moreRead less
Democratic Audit of Australia. The Democratic Audit of Australia is an assessment of Australia's strengths and weaknesses as a democratic society. It will examine five key areas: (i) citizenship, law and rights; (2) representative and accountable government; (3) participation and government responsiveness; (4) democracy beyond the state; and (5) democracy and federalism. The audit process was pioneered in Britain and has now been applied in ten countries including New Zealand.
The Audit aim ....Democratic Audit of Australia. The Democratic Audit of Australia is an assessment of Australia's strengths and weaknesses as a democratic society. It will examine five key areas: (i) citizenship, law and rights; (2) representative and accountable government; (3) participation and government responsiveness; (4) democracy beyond the state; and (5) democracy and federalism. The audit process was pioneered in Britain and has now been applied in ten countries including New Zealand.
The Audit aims to make a major methodological contribution to democracy assessment, as well as providing benchmark data for purposes of monitoring and international comparison. It will also promote public debate over democracy issues.Read moreRead less
Democratic Audit of Australia: The Second Wave. The Democratic Audit asks "How democratic is our country and its government?" This project will give the community a comprehensive survey of the strengths and weaknesses of Australian democracy, tracking changes since the 2004 report. It will also provide more detailed findings on major questions that confront Australian governments now like the regulation of political financing and the impact on politics of new technologies like the internet. Usin ....Democratic Audit of Australia: The Second Wave. The Democratic Audit asks "How democratic is our country and its government?" This project will give the community a comprehensive survey of the strengths and weaknesses of Australian democracy, tracking changes since the 2004 report. It will also provide more detailed findings on major questions that confront Australian governments now like the regulation of political financing and the impact on politics of new technologies like the internet. Using audit data, the project will produce a major scholarly analysis of the relationship between democratic values and the institutional choices made in Australia. Because a central objective of the Audit is to promote public debate, all Audit findings are published and placed on the Audit website.Read moreRead less
Duties beyond borders: A historical approach to protecting the vulnerable. What, if anything, do states owe to vulnerable people beyond their borders, be they seeking asylum, needing humanitarian assistance, or requiring protection from mass atrocities? This project plans to take a historical approach to answering this question. There is a long and rich history of thinking about duties to vulnerable strangers and foreigners, but the contemporary literature on global justice and the ‘responsibili ....Duties beyond borders: A historical approach to protecting the vulnerable. What, if anything, do states owe to vulnerable people beyond their borders, be they seeking asylum, needing humanitarian assistance, or requiring protection from mass atrocities? This project plans to take a historical approach to answering this question. There is a long and rich history of thinking about duties to vulnerable strangers and foreigners, but the contemporary literature on global justice and the ‘responsibility to protect’ is largely blind to it. The project aims to redress this by producing a history of the idea that states have duties to assist and protect those beyond their borders from mass suffering. It then aims to examine how this history can inform our understanding of present-day debates and dilemmas.Read moreRead less
HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF WORLD POLITICS. Rights politics played a central role in the international changes that occurred at Westphalia (1648), in the Age of Revolutions (1776-1848), with decolonisation (1950s-1960s), and in the aftermath of the Cold War. Yet the literature on human rights and international relations has failed to consider the impact of rights politics over the longue duree. This project systematically examines how, and to what extent, rights politics has transform ....HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF WORLD POLITICS. Rights politics played a central role in the international changes that occurred at Westphalia (1648), in the Age of Revolutions (1776-1848), with decolonisation (1950s-1960s), and in the aftermath of the Cold War. Yet the literature on human rights and international relations has failed to consider the impact of rights politics over the longue duree. This project systematically examines how, and to what extent, rights politics has transformed the international system since the seventeenth century to the present era. It will generate a series of articles, a single-authored book, and an edited volume.Read moreRead less
Democratic Choices: Ideas and Outcomes. Democratic Choices will provide important evidence for policy actors and policy makers on Australian democratic beliefs and on current performance of institutions relative to those beliefs. It will stimulate debate and inform strategies for democratic renewal, particularly in relation to youth disengagement and the crisis of confidence in representative institutions. It will sustain Australia's capacity for democracy assessment and contribute to internatio ....Democratic Choices: Ideas and Outcomes. Democratic Choices will provide important evidence for policy actors and policy makers on Australian democratic beliefs and on current performance of institutions relative to those beliefs. It will stimulate debate and inform strategies for democratic renewal, particularly in relation to youth disengagement and the crisis of confidence in representative institutions. It will sustain Australia's capacity for democracy assessment and contribute to international best practice in this field. In improving capacity for critical self-assessment it will enhance the credibility of our democracy assistance programs and promote regional and international understanding of our democratic institutions.Read moreRead less
The impact of political reconciliation in the Asia-Pacific. Focusing on the cases of East Timor, Bougainville and the Solomon Islands, this project will examine the contribution that political reconciliation processes, practices and events make to the pursuit of peace and security in the Asia-Pacific. Using a highly contextual, interpretive approach grounded in intensive in-country fieldwork, it will provide an empirically grounded assessment of regional reconciliation processes that not only co ....The impact of political reconciliation in the Asia-Pacific. Focusing on the cases of East Timor, Bougainville and the Solomon Islands, this project will examine the contribution that political reconciliation processes, practices and events make to the pursuit of peace and security in the Asia-Pacific. Using a highly contextual, interpretive approach grounded in intensive in-country fieldwork, it will provide an empirically grounded assessment of regional reconciliation processes that not only contributes to the development of scholarly literature on transitional justice, peacebuilding and security, but also to contemporary policy debates concerning Australia’s engagement with states within its immediate regional neighbourhood.Read moreRead less