Civilisationist Mobilisation, Digital Technologies and Social Cohesion. Civilisational populist rulers polarise societies mainly along religious lines. They also interfere with their emigrants, mobilising supporters against other expatriates. This project aims to advance knowledge of authoritarian states' transnational influence on social cohesion and inter-group conflict. By studying Islamist and Hindutva civilisationist mobilisations, their reach into their emigrants via digital technologies, ....Civilisationist Mobilisation, Digital Technologies and Social Cohesion. Civilisational populist rulers polarise societies mainly along religious lines. They also interfere with their emigrants, mobilising supporters against other expatriates. This project aims to advance knowledge of authoritarian states' transnational influence on social cohesion and inter-group conflict. By studying Islamist and Hindutva civilisationist mobilisations, their reach into their emigrants via digital technologies, and their impact on Turkish and Indian groups in Australia, the project aims to assist policy makers and community groups by generating conceptual frameworks, benchmarking data, and recommendations for making policies to deal with this phenomenon's negative effects and for developing intervention strategiesRead moreRead less
Islamic religiosity and challenge of political engagement and national belonging in multicultural western cities. This project will investigate how participation in Islamic religious practices strengthens attachments to the western cities where Muslims have chosen to live. It will contribute to global, national and local policy outcomes that focus on the challenges of accommodating minority religions in diverse western cities.
Far Right in Australia: Intellectuals, Masculinity and Citizenship. This project will investigate male-dominated far right groups in Australia by looking at their intellectual underpinnings. The sociological focus is on how core ideas inflect tropes of masculinity and the phenomena of weak citizenship. This moves beyond a simple stereotype of angry, disenfranchised young men; to grasp the radical right-wing thinking that motivates them, and informs their hate rhetoric and actions. Using multi-me ....Far Right in Australia: Intellectuals, Masculinity and Citizenship. This project will investigate male-dominated far right groups in Australia by looking at their intellectual underpinnings. The sociological focus is on how core ideas inflect tropes of masculinity and the phenomena of weak citizenship. This moves beyond a simple stereotype of angry, disenfranchised young men; to grasp the radical right-wing thinking that motivates them, and informs their hate rhetoric and actions. Using multi-methods, we will explore attitudes, and use of transnational far right ideas to 'imagine' Australia. The project will generate new knowledge of how bonds of citizenship have weakened amongst men who define themselves at the margins; yielding insights into how masculinity is actively utilised as a recruitment mechanism.Read moreRead less
A transcultural approach to belonging and engagement among migrant youth. This project aims to map experiences of migrant youth in developing and accessing trans-cultural capital, a set of skills, resources and knowledge accessed through multiple cultural repertoires. This will be undertaken through a comparative study of three highly diverse urban contexts: Melbourne, Birmingham and Toronto. The project will examine how trans-cultural capital can affect young people’s ability to instigate, nego ....A transcultural approach to belonging and engagement among migrant youth. This project aims to map experiences of migrant youth in developing and accessing trans-cultural capital, a set of skills, resources and knowledge accessed through multiple cultural repertoires. This will be undertaken through a comparative study of three highly diverse urban contexts: Melbourne, Birmingham and Toronto. The project will examine how trans-cultural capital can affect young people’s ability to instigate, negotiate and maintain socio-cultural connections locally, trans-locally, and trans-nationally. The project's expected outcomes will contribute to scholarly and policy discussions on migrant youth in the West and improve understanding of their overall social well-being.Read moreRead less
The civic life of young Australian Muslims: active citizenship, community belonging and social inclusion. This project investigates the ways young Australian Muslims contribute to community building and participate in civic life. It will provide information about their civic practices to assist policy makers and service providers develop effective methods to maximise active citizenship amongst marginalised young people.
Women’s NGOs and gender sensitive policy change in Iran. This project aims to investigate how Iranian women’s non-governmental organisations (NGOs) work to influence gender sensitive policy change in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This project will generate new knowledge on the causal mechanisms behind NGO-driven policy change in Iran, leading to a theory of change on NGOs and gender sensitive policy change in Islamic political systems more broadly. The expected outcomes will enhance scholarly un ....Women’s NGOs and gender sensitive policy change in Iran. This project aims to investigate how Iranian women’s non-governmental organisations (NGOs) work to influence gender sensitive policy change in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This project will generate new knowledge on the causal mechanisms behind NGO-driven policy change in Iran, leading to a theory of change on NGOs and gender sensitive policy change in Islamic political systems more broadly. The expected outcomes will enhance scholarly understanding of Iranian civil society, and build the capacity of the Australian government to foster ties and invest in successful strategies for progress with Iran.Read moreRead less
Managing trust: a comparative historical study of political accountability in Australia. Some Australian political leaders have acknowledged a crisis in their trust relationship with voters and seek ways to fix it. By historicising the 'crisis of trust' thesis, and testing its assumptions, I expect to demonstrate that, far from being alienated from voters, representatives both reflect and shape society's notions of trustworthiness. This knowledge offers political leaders new ways of approaching ....Managing trust: a comparative historical study of political accountability in Australia. Some Australian political leaders have acknowledged a crisis in their trust relationship with voters and seek ways to fix it. By historicising the 'crisis of trust' thesis, and testing its assumptions, I expect to demonstrate that, far from being alienated from voters, representatives both reflect and shape society's notions of trustworthiness. This knowledge offers political leaders new ways of approaching their relationships with voters in order to redress the trust dilemma. It also provides fresh, more positive ways of conceptualising trust relations generally, offering a way forward from the present cynicism, for a variety of trust relationships to be made anew.Read moreRead less
The culture of war: private life and sentiment in Australia 1914-18. This study has the potential to place Australia at the forefront of a new theoretical approach to civilian agency in total war, and enhance the national reputation for important scholarship in a field dominated by international scholars. Also, while war has been central to Australian notions of identity, our sense of 'war' is intimately connected to the front-line, and not to the homefront. This study will help reorient academi ....The culture of war: private life and sentiment in Australia 1914-18. This study has the potential to place Australia at the forefront of a new theoretical approach to civilian agency in total war, and enhance the national reputation for important scholarship in a field dominated by international scholars. Also, while war has been central to Australian notions of identity, our sense of 'war' is intimately connected to the front-line, and not to the homefront. This study will help reorient academic and popular attention back to the importance of the homefront in Australia's experience of 1914-18. At a time when Australians are increasingly interested in family links with the war, this project will provide a greater appreciation of the war's effects on Australia nationally and on the most personal levels.Read moreRead less
Community and Governance; Urban Activism in Melbourne in the 1960s and beyond. As the economy of Melbourne's central and inner areas has been transformed over the last three decades, conflicts over urban redevelopment have impacted significantly on governance, urban policies and inner city communities. By studying the new generation of activists attracted to Melbourne's working class suburbs in the 1960s, this project will push beyond gentrification interpretations of urban change to examine th ....Community and Governance; Urban Activism in Melbourne in the 1960s and beyond. As the economy of Melbourne's central and inner areas has been transformed over the last three decades, conflicts over urban redevelopment have impacted significantly on governance, urban policies and inner city communities. By studying the new generation of activists attracted to Melbourne's working class suburbs in the 1960s, this project will push beyond gentrification interpretations of urban change to examine the motivations of activists and the process of forging partipatory structures of governance and community partnerships. The project will assess the significance of this period of transition for managing urban development in the new millennium.Read moreRead less
Television Journalism and Deliberative Democracy: A Comparative International Study of Communicative Architecture and Democratic Deepening. Television journalism today mediates major conflicts to wider publics. This research, for the first time, analyses how established and emergent forms of television journalism provide differing spaces for the public elaboration, engagement and expression of contending voices and values in situations of conflict. A systematic and comparative examination of the ....Television Journalism and Deliberative Democracy: A Comparative International Study of Communicative Architecture and Democratic Deepening. Television journalism today mediates major conflicts to wider publics. This research, for the first time, analyses how established and emergent forms of television journalism provide differing spaces for the public elaboration, engagement and expression of contending voices and values in situations of conflict. A systematic and comparative examination of the communicative architecture and production practices of television journalism across five different countries (Australia, USA, UK, India and Singapore) is undertaken. This project will document, through qualitative and quantitative data, how these different television journalism forms contribute to processes of public deliberation and their potential to do so in the future.Read moreRead less