Institutional abuse and organisational reform in the Australian defence force. This project aims to investigate institutional abuse within the Australian Defence Force (ADF) since 1969. It will collect survivor accounts of Defence abuse and the formal ADF institutional responses to abuse. The focus is to uncover the experiences of survivors of Defence abuse within the historical context of the military at the time. The research intends to analyse the processes of change to policies and practic ....Institutional abuse and organisational reform in the Australian defence force. This project aims to investigate institutional abuse within the Australian Defence Force (ADF) since 1969. It will collect survivor accounts of Defence abuse and the formal ADF institutional responses to abuse. The focus is to uncover the experiences of survivors of Defence abuse within the historical context of the military at the time. The research intends to analyse the processes of change to policies and practices, matched to wider cultural shifts influencing the ADF to diversify its workforce. It is intended the project outcomes will inform wider questions about how institutions respond to social change.Read moreRead less
In the frame: Analysing Liberal and Labor government gender equality policy. This project aims to analyse how Australia’s major political parties have developed government gender equality policy since the early 1970s. The analysis will include a focus on how policies were framed and the outcomes associated with that framing. The project will contribute to an improved understanding of the development and outcomes of gender equality policies and make an original Australian contribution to the i ....In the frame: Analysing Liberal and Labor government gender equality policy. This project aims to analyse how Australia’s major political parties have developed government gender equality policy since the early 1970s. The analysis will include a focus on how policies were framed and the outcomes associated with that framing. The project will contribute to an improved understanding of the development and outcomes of gender equality policies and make an original Australian contribution to the international academic literature on issues ranging of gender equality policy and policy framing.Read moreRead less
The science of welfare: Adam Smith's political thought. Understanding Adam Smith's political thought helps us to understand how liberal subjects live and are governed today. Little has been written about Smith's political thought, therefore this project offers the first complete account of his politics and his unique science- and welfare-based approach to statecraft.
Indigenous nationhood in the absence of recognition: Self-governance insights and strategies from three Aboriginal communities. Based on evidence that effective governance is a necessary precursor to Indigenous communities’ economic, social and cultural outcomes, this project aims to strengthen Australian Indigenous communities by learning and sharing lessons about sustainable and effective Indigenous governance. In collaboration with three Aboriginal communities in Victoria, South Australia and ....Indigenous nationhood in the absence of recognition: Self-governance insights and strategies from three Aboriginal communities. Based on evidence that effective governance is a necessary precursor to Indigenous communities’ economic, social and cultural outcomes, this project aims to strengthen Australian Indigenous communities by learning and sharing lessons about sustainable and effective Indigenous governance. In collaboration with three Aboriginal communities in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales that are differentially engaged in Indigenous governance processes, the project aims to identify innovation in community governance, test the usefulness of Australian governance assessment tools, and foster an Indigenous Australian and global network to share successful strategies. In doing so, the project contributes to an emerging theory of Indigenous nation building.Read moreRead less
The First 'Liberals': Stoicism in the Enlightenment. This project will provide the first systematic study of the profound yet hitherto under-appreciated influence of classical Stoicism on the political thought of the European Enlightenment, particularly liberal thought. It will show that the Stoics provided the first properly developed theory of personal rights and were the first to successfully promulgate the values of universalism, impartiality, egalitarianism, tolerance and cosmopolitanism. I ....The First 'Liberals': Stoicism in the Enlightenment. This project will provide the first systematic study of the profound yet hitherto under-appreciated influence of classical Stoicism on the political thought of the European Enlightenment, particularly liberal thought. It will show that the Stoics provided the first properly developed theory of personal rights and were the first to successfully promulgate the values of universalism, impartiality, egalitarianism, tolerance and cosmopolitanism. It will then trace the transmission and interpretation of such values in early modern thought and demonstrate the manner in which Enlightenment figures like Locke, Smith, Wollstonecraft, Kant and Jefferson were directly influenced by the emancipatory political thought of the Stoics. Read moreRead less
Doing state-building better? Practising ‘hybridity’ in Melanesia. Australia is engaged in programs that draw upon local socio-political practices and institutions to assist its efforts to stabilise and build states in Melanesia, referred to as a ‘hybridity’ approach. Australia has successfully restored stability in its immediate region, Melanesia, but its attempts to build stable liberal democracies have had modest results. This project will advance policy understandings to improve the efficacy ....Doing state-building better? Practising ‘hybridity’ in Melanesia. Australia is engaged in programs that draw upon local socio-political practices and institutions to assist its efforts to stabilise and build states in Melanesia, referred to as a ‘hybridity’ approach. Australia has successfully restored stability in its immediate region, Melanesia, but its attempts to build stable liberal democracies have had modest results. This project will advance policy understandings to improve the efficacy of Australia’s state-building efforts and promote social cohesion and stability in our neighbourhood. This will potentially encourage local self-reliance in Melanesia, reducing dependence on Australia’s development assistance.Read moreRead less
Expanding equality: A historical perspective on developments and dilemmas in contemporary Australian social democracy. This project will be the first to analyse how successive Labor governments’ policy perspectives on equality (including class, gender, race, sexuality, technological and regional inequality) have changed and expanded over time. It will throw new light on contemporary Australian Labor Party at a time when some critics accuse Labor of betraying its egalitarian traditions due to the ....Expanding equality: A historical perspective on developments and dilemmas in contemporary Australian social democracy. This project will be the first to analyse how successive Labor governments’ policy perspectives on equality (including class, gender, race, sexuality, technological and regional inequality) have changed and expanded over time. It will throw new light on contemporary Australian Labor Party at a time when some critics accuse Labor of betraying its egalitarian traditions due to the influence of neoliberal ideology, while others accuse Labor of neglecting workers by pursuing minority social issues. It will provide a distinctive Australian contribution to the international literatures on the crisis of social democracy (by exploring the role of equality policy developments in that crisis) and on how inequality is best conceived and addressed in policy.Read moreRead less