Public Interest Advocacy in Australian Policymaking. The project aims to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of public interest advocacy, via the media, in elevating the responsiveness of elected political elites. The project expects to generate new knowledge about how the advocacy and media agendas are set, examine the way elected elites access and ingest news media, and conditions under which advocacy groups access to news changes political priorities. It is expected that the project will pr ....Public Interest Advocacy in Australian Policymaking. The project aims to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of public interest advocacy, via the media, in elevating the responsiveness of elected political elites. The project expects to generate new knowledge about how the advocacy and media agendas are set, examine the way elected elites access and ingest news media, and conditions under which advocacy groups access to news changes political priorities. It is expected that the project will provide an evidence base for citizens and policy makers to assess the effectiveness of public interest advocacy, and deliver benefits such as strengthening the quality of Australia’s representative democracy, and offer scholars new theories on the role of public interest advocacy on policy priorities.Read moreRead less
Populism’s Heartlands: Place, Identity, and Localism in Populist Politics. This project aims to investigate how populism intersects with localism through systematic, comparative, and in-depth empirical study of three populist parties inextricably associated with ‘heartlands’ in Australia, Germany and Spain. This project expects to generate new knowledge about how populists utilise the language of localism and how people’s attachment to place shapes their support for populists. Expected outcomes ....Populism’s Heartlands: Place, Identity, and Localism in Populist Politics. This project aims to investigate how populism intersects with localism through systematic, comparative, and in-depth empirical study of three populist parties inextricably associated with ‘heartlands’ in Australia, Germany and Spain. This project expects to generate new knowledge about how populists utilise the language of localism and how people’s attachment to place shapes their support for populists. Expected outcomes of the project include a new understanding of how populism and localism affect one another; and identification of how right and left populist support are differently affected by community engagement and participation. Benefits include the identification of local interventions to lessen the appeal of exclusionary populisms.Read moreRead less
Warfare and the Archaic State in Oceania. The project aim is to investigate warfare in the ancient Tongan state through a study of earthwork fortifications. The conflict record for an Archaic state in Oceania that survived for 650 years contributes a new perspective to global research on warfare in complex societies. The effect of conflict is a prominent issue for Australia and long-term records of warfare in our region will improve our understanding of it. Intra-state conflict is the most press ....Warfare and the Archaic State in Oceania. The project aim is to investigate warfare in the ancient Tongan state through a study of earthwork fortifications. The conflict record for an Archaic state in Oceania that survived for 650 years contributes a new perspective to global research on warfare in complex societies. The effect of conflict is a prominent issue for Australia and long-term records of warfare in our region will improve our understanding of it. Intra-state conflict is the most pressing threat to political stability in South-East Asia and the Pacific and the project would benefit Australia by showing how changes to political systems are associated with phases of conflict and peace.Read moreRead less
Prerequisite conditions for Indigenous nation self-government. This project aims to produce new knowledge about Indigenous nation building (INB) processes. Based on research that self-governance increases Indigenous socioeconomic and community capacity, this project will collaborate with two Aboriginal communities to investigate factors that impact the transition from 'identifying' to 'organising' as political collectives to enable self-governance. Such knowledge has the potential to directly co ....Prerequisite conditions for Indigenous nation self-government. This project aims to produce new knowledge about Indigenous nation building (INB) processes. Based on research that self-governance increases Indigenous socioeconomic and community capacity, this project will collaborate with two Aboriginal communities to investigate factors that impact the transition from 'identifying' to 'organising' as political collectives to enable self-governance. Such knowledge has the potential to directly contribute to increased wellbeing for Indigenous communities as they define it. It aims to contribute to Australian and international Indigenous governance, political science and Indigenous methodologies literatures. The project could significantly benefit Indigenous peoples, the broader Australian community, Australian governments, and Australian and international INB researchers.Read moreRead less
Assessing the harms of online speech. This project aims to clarify the ways in which online speech can inflict harm. It is accepted in speech-act theory that speech is conduct that is capable of inflicting harm. This project aims to map and compare legal cases in which there was disagreement over the nature of the speech at issue because it occurred online. It will assess the harms of that speech from the perspective of speech-act theory, and the findings will be applied to the democratic argume ....Assessing the harms of online speech. This project aims to clarify the ways in which online speech can inflict harm. It is accepted in speech-act theory that speech is conduct that is capable of inflicting harm. This project aims to map and compare legal cases in which there was disagreement over the nature of the speech at issue because it occurred online. It will assess the harms of that speech from the perspective of speech-act theory, and the findings will be applied to the democratic argument in favour of free speech. This project should lead to societal benefits in reducing expressive harms, and cultural benefits in enhancing all users' ability to participate in important, legitimating deliberation online.Read moreRead less
Understanding and Combatting 'Dark Political Communication'. This project examines an emergent series of tactics used by political actors (i.e. politicians, lobbyists, political groups, etc.) that we are calling 'Dark Political Communication' (DPC). DPC differs markedly from existing, well-established modes of political communication, as it often involves the deliberate spread of disinformation, use of highly inflammatory language, antagonism towards the press and democratic institutions, as wel ....Understanding and Combatting 'Dark Political Communication'. This project examines an emergent series of tactics used by political actors (i.e. politicians, lobbyists, political groups, etc.) that we are calling 'Dark Political Communication' (DPC). DPC differs markedly from existing, well-established modes of political communication, as it often involves the deliberate spread of disinformation, use of highly inflammatory language, antagonism towards the press and democratic institutions, as well as actions that seek to exacerbate social discord. In this project, we will provide the first-ever complete account of DPC tactics, and provide a series of recommendations to journalists about how their practice can best evolve to address this novel communication paradigm. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100836
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$385,950.00
Summary
Indigenous Policy and Political Relationships in Settler Colonial States. This project aims to study the relationship between Indigenous policy systems and foundational political relationships in Australia, the US, Canada and New Zealand via in depth case studies. Across all four states, policy struggles to substantively improve Indigenous wellbeing, but Australia has the poorest results and weakest formal political recognition. Expected outcomes include a new approach to understanding Indigenou ....Indigenous Policy and Political Relationships in Settler Colonial States. This project aims to study the relationship between Indigenous policy systems and foundational political relationships in Australia, the US, Canada and New Zealand via in depth case studies. Across all four states, policy struggles to substantively improve Indigenous wellbeing, but Australia has the poorest results and weakest formal political recognition. Expected outcomes include a new approach to understanding Indigenous policy that links policy dynamics to conflicts between settler and Indigenous sovereignties and comparative policy data across the English Speaking settler colonial states. It will benefit Australian Indigenous and policy communities by showcasing international best practice in policy collaboration and effectiveness.
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The rise of China's currency, from of the rise of the red back. By examining the internationalisation of China’s currency, this project aims to enhance Australia’s capacity to respond to the rise of China and in particular to interpret financial stability and developments in China. China’s promotion of an internationalised profile of its currency stands at the heart of its current financial and economic strategy, and it may have profound implications on the future of the international monetary s ....The rise of China's currency, from of the rise of the red back. By examining the internationalisation of China’s currency, this project aims to enhance Australia’s capacity to respond to the rise of China and in particular to interpret financial stability and developments in China. China’s promotion of an internationalised profile of its currency stands at the heart of its current financial and economic strategy, and it may have profound implications on the future of the international monetary system and the world’s economic and political order. Using an innovative agent-centred institutional framework, the project intends to explore the political and institutional dynamics and internal and external aspects of Beijing’s currency strategy. This may shed light on the current debate on dynamics of institutional change and improve our understanding of China’s policymaking mechanisms.Read moreRead less
Mapping & Harnessing Public Mistrust: Constitutional Values Survey 2023-27. Declining public trust is well recognised as a problem of democratic government, including in Australia. However solutions are more elusive, confounded by the reality that mistrust and distrust play not just negative, but positive roles in our existing political and constitutional traditions. This project aims to be the first to comprehensively map the positive values of mistrust in citizen political attitudes and experi ....Mapping & Harnessing Public Mistrust: Constitutional Values Survey 2023-27. Declining public trust is well recognised as a problem of democratic government, including in Australia. However solutions are more elusive, confounded by the reality that mistrust and distrust play not just negative, but positive roles in our existing political and constitutional traditions. This project aims to be the first to comprehensively map the positive values of mistrust in citizen political attitudes and experience, building on previous Constitutional Values Surveys (2008-21) to test new measures of the content of trust including a first-ever longitudinal study of changing trust over time. The results will inform concrete solutions to three key policy reform dilemmas, providing better answers for sustaining public trust overall.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100210
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$374,000.00
Summary
Data, digital and field: political parties and 21st century campaigning. This project aims to investigate how political parties in parliamentary democracies are responding to the digital and field revolutions in campaigning. Political parties using these campaigning modes poses challenges for electoral regulators as well as for scholars of political parties trying to understand party organisation. Using six case studies from three parliamentary democracies, the expected outcome of this project i ....Data, digital and field: political parties and 21st century campaigning. This project aims to investigate how political parties in parliamentary democracies are responding to the digital and field revolutions in campaigning. Political parties using these campaigning modes poses challenges for electoral regulators as well as for scholars of political parties trying to understand party organisation. Using six case studies from three parliamentary democracies, the expected outcome of this project is an innovative account of the implications of these changes for political parties and liberal democracy. This project will increase scholarly understanding of political parties, and inform the work of electoral regulators to ensure the integrity of election campaigns are maintained.Read moreRead less