The politics of expertise during COVID-19. Experts play a crucial role during crises. This project aims to examine how four governments (Australia, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States) have incorporated public health expertise into their decision making during COVID-19. These countries have similar economic resources, liberal democratic institutions, health system capacities and pandemic preparedness. Yet, their governments responded differently to COVID-19. We will conduct a comparative st ....The politics of expertise during COVID-19. Experts play a crucial role during crises. This project aims to examine how four governments (Australia, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States) have incorporated public health expertise into their decision making during COVID-19. These countries have similar economic resources, liberal democratic institutions, health system capacities and pandemic preparedness. Yet, their governments responded differently to COVID-19. We will conduct a comparative study of how governments managed disagreements between experts and how they integrated diverse expert views into pandemic decision making processes. The research will advance our understanding of the role of experts during crises and help inform governments response to future pandemics. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100936
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$452,353.00
Summary
Brideprice, Conflict, and Violence Against Women in Asia. This study aims to investigate where, how and why brideprice facilitates armed conflict and violence against women. Emerging evidence shows paying high brideprice incentivises men to join armed groups, and global modelling correlates brideprice and armed conflict. However, despite the exorbitant sums exchanged as brideprice in many societies, the socio-economic mechanisms connecting brideprice and conflict are not well understood. Expecte ....Brideprice, Conflict, and Violence Against Women in Asia. This study aims to investigate where, how and why brideprice facilitates armed conflict and violence against women. Emerging evidence shows paying high brideprice incentivises men to join armed groups, and global modelling correlates brideprice and armed conflict. However, despite the exorbitant sums exchanged as brideprice in many societies, the socio-economic mechanisms connecting brideprice and conflict are not well understood. Expected project outcomes are (1) data on volumes and prevalence of brideprice (2) understanding links to armed conflict and violence against women in Southeast Asia. This project’s findings will support more effective Australian gender equality and peacebuilding programs that take account of brideprice.Read moreRead less
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
Police corruption: an underestimated legitimacy and security risk. This project analyses police corruption in four states and makes recommendations for reducing it. While most states now recognise corruption as a problem, many are reluctant to address the issue of police corruption; yet when police officers collude with organised crime (for example, in drugs or arms trafficking), corruption can be a serious security risk.
How do Changes in Institutional Memory Affect Public Policy Processes? . This project will analyse how changes in institutional memory inside government impact on the effectiveness of public policy processes. Institutional memory changes as ministers, public servants and public agencies come and go, but we don’t know what effect these changes have over the quality of public policy. This project will therefore analyse how changes to institutional memory have influenced public services and polici ....How do Changes in Institutional Memory Affect Public Policy Processes? . This project will analyse how changes in institutional memory inside government impact on the effectiveness of public policy processes. Institutional memory changes as ministers, public servants and public agencies come and go, but we don’t know what effect these changes have over the quality of public policy. This project will therefore analyse how changes to institutional memory have influenced public services and policies in Australia and the UK. Expected outcomes include best practice recommendations for government - about how to address memory loss to improve public policy - and novel academic findings about how institutional memory influences the character of public service delivery, lesson-learning and long-term reform.Read moreRead less
Pacific Partners? The Australia-New Zealand alliance in the Pacific Islands. This project aims to investigate how alliances operate and why they endure using an in-depth analysis of the Australia-New Zealand alliance in the Pacific Islands, the region where the alliance has focused and in which there is growing strategic and policy interest. It intends to build a micro-level analysis of the influence of the behaviors and beliefs of individuals onto existing conceptual accounts. Informed by exten ....Pacific Partners? The Australia-New Zealand alliance in the Pacific Islands. This project aims to investigate how alliances operate and why they endure using an in-depth analysis of the Australia-New Zealand alliance in the Pacific Islands, the region where the alliance has focused and in which there is growing strategic and policy interest. It intends to build a micro-level analysis of the influence of the behaviors and beliefs of individuals onto existing conceptual accounts. Informed by extensive interviews, it expects to advance understanding of how the two states negotiate differences in approaches and interests while working together to preserve their security. It anticipates pinpointing strengths and vulnerabilities in the alliance and contributing to a more informed policy debate about how it should operate.Read moreRead less
Realising socio-economic rights: law and the politics of access to public services in Indonesia. This project seeks to identify the conditions under which justiciable legal frameworks or socio-economic rights are effective in promoting realisation of these rights in developing countries. The empirical focus is on Indonesia during the post-Suharto era and rights related to free basic education, water, and free health care for the poor.
Visualising Humanitarian Crises: Transforming Images and Aid Policy. This project aims to draw on the power of images to transform practices of aid. Prevailing visualisations of humanitarian crises are powerful but problematic. They often focus on violence and depict victims in stereotypical and dehumanising ways. The project develops new evidence-based visual strategies through interdisciplinary collaborations with leading industry partners in Australia and internationally. Expected outcomes in ....Visualising Humanitarian Crises: Transforming Images and Aid Policy. This project aims to draw on the power of images to transform practices of aid. Prevailing visualisations of humanitarian crises are powerful but problematic. They often focus on violence and depict victims in stereotypical and dehumanising ways. The project develops new evidence-based visual strategies through interdisciplinary collaborations with leading industry partners in Australia and internationally. Expected outcomes include best practice guidelines that better equip humanitarian organisations to help people in need and contribute to enduring political solutions. Resulting benefits are more effective aid policies at a time when humanitarian concerns are increasingly central to global stability and Australia’s national interest.Read moreRead less
Policy agendas in the Australian Commonwealth Government. Who leads the agenda: the government; the public or the media? Is legislation 'normal business' or a response to crisis? Does changing the government really change much? By systematically analysing legislation, the media and public opinion over a forty year period this project can answer these questions more thoroughly than ever before.
The institutional dynamics of banking crisis and reform in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and Canada. The recent banking crisis is an event of compelling policy significance. This project examines its causes and, in particular, aims to explain why the Australian and Canadian banking systems proved relatively resilient during the crisis and why the United Kingdom and United States proved so vulnerable.