East Asia's clean energy shift: enablers, obstacles, outcomes and lessons. This project aims to reveal the drivers of the transition to a low carbon economy, and the key enablers and obstacles to this transition. It will investigate how states in our region are seeking to overcome these obstacles, and the effectiveness of their efforts. The project will develop and analyse four new longitudinal case studies of clean energy industry creation in two of Australia's top Asian trading partners. Findi ....East Asia's clean energy shift: enablers, obstacles, outcomes and lessons. This project aims to reveal the drivers of the transition to a low carbon economy, and the key enablers and obstacles to this transition. It will investigate how states in our region are seeking to overcome these obstacles, and the effectiveness of their efforts. The project will develop and analyse four new longitudinal case studies of clean energy industry creation in two of Australia's top Asian trading partners. Findings will advance scholarly and policy debates and strategies about the role of the state in high-tech industry creation and clean energy transitions, and benefit Australian exporters seeking new market openings.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101692
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$325,000.00
Summary
Getting elections right? Electoral reform in democracies & autocracies. Why do some countries manage to 'get their elections right' while others fail? What explains changes in election integrity over time? And does election integrity matter for democracy? This project aims to address these questions by developing an original theoretical framework explaining changes in election integrity over time and the consequences for democratisation. The project will empirically test the theoretical framewor ....Getting elections right? Electoral reform in democracies & autocracies. Why do some countries manage to 'get their elections right' while others fail? What explains changes in election integrity over time? And does election integrity matter for democracy? This project aims to address these questions by developing an original theoretical framework explaining changes in election integrity over time and the consequences for democratisation. The project will empirically test the theoretical framework with a mixed-method approach that combines quantitative statistical analysis and in-depth country case studies using data on election integrity in over 900 elections from over 100 electoral democracies and autocracies around the world between 1974 and 2012.Read moreRead less
Illicit networks and emerging nuclear states. This project aims to understand how illicit networks might proliferate by tapping into the legitimate global spread of nuclear materials and dual-use technologies. Using an economic geographic framework, the project will conceptually integrate terrorists, criminals, and companies into nuclear-related trade networks, and assess the nuclear proliferation threat illicit networks pose in emerging civil nuclear states, with proof of concept through Southe ....Illicit networks and emerging nuclear states. This project aims to understand how illicit networks might proliferate by tapping into the legitimate global spread of nuclear materials and dual-use technologies. Using an economic geographic framework, the project will conceptually integrate terrorists, criminals, and companies into nuclear-related trade networks, and assess the nuclear proliferation threat illicit networks pose in emerging civil nuclear states, with proof of concept through Southeast Asian case studies. This is intended to minimise proliferation risk, and improve the Australian government and industry’s ability to participate in the global nuclear trade by increasing the effectiveness of strategic trade controls and nuclear materials security.Read moreRead less
Trade, geopolitics and security: Understanding Japan’s choice of regional free trade agreements. Sino-Japanese strategic rivalry and conflict over maritime territory are increasingly injecting geopolitical and security concerns into the formulation of Japanese trade policy. This project aims to investigate how these newly emerging influences are intersecting with economic and trade priorities in Japan’s choice of regional free trade agreements involving Australia: the Trans-Pacific Economic Part ....Trade, geopolitics and security: Understanding Japan’s choice of regional free trade agreements. Sino-Japanese strategic rivalry and conflict over maritime territory are increasingly injecting geopolitical and security concerns into the formulation of Japanese trade policy. This project aims to investigate how these newly emerging influences are intersecting with economic and trade priorities in Japan’s choice of regional free trade agreements involving Australia: the Trans-Pacific Economic Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. The study will apply the insights gained from the research to deepen our understanding of the nexus between trade and security in Japan’s choice of regional free trade partners and the wider geostrategic implications of this choice for the Asia-Pacific region. Read moreRead less
The World's Most Enterprising Country: North Korea's Survival in the Global Economy. This project explores the seeming paradox at the heart of North Korea: The most politically isolated state in the world sustains itself economically in large part by international trade and integration into the global economy. Adopting a framework from the economic geography literature, the project will use archival and field research to address how the North Korean state and its citizens use trade networks in E ....The World's Most Enterprising Country: North Korea's Survival in the Global Economy. This project explores the seeming paradox at the heart of North Korea: The most politically isolated state in the world sustains itself economically in large part by international trade and integration into the global economy. Adopting a framework from the economic geography literature, the project will use archival and field research to address how the North Korean state and its citizens use trade networks in East Asia and beyond to ensure their economic survival in the face of a hostile political environment. This will allow analysts to assess the implications of North Korea's economic integration for the country's development, as well as the effect that North Korea’s unique integration into the global economy has on regional and global stability.Read moreRead less
Political leadership in international affairs. This program of research will make a contribution to judging our place in the world by assisting in our understanding of the importance of leadership in international relations; specifically in the various international leaders and persons of influence with whom Australia has of necessity to deal. The examination of regional institutional leadership will provide insights into the importance of international organisations and their potential to augme ....Political leadership in international affairs. This program of research will make a contribution to judging our place in the world by assisting in our understanding of the importance of leadership in international relations; specifically in the various international leaders and persons of influence with whom Australia has of necessity to deal. The examination of regional institutional leadership will provide insights into the importance of international organisations and their potential to augment or limit state leadership. Finally, the mapping of the sites of leadership in developing states will allow Australia to see how to best invest in aid and regional security through programs that focus on education as a foundation for future leadership.Read moreRead less
Regional Politics in the Southwest Pacific: From Colonialism and Cold War to the Asia-Pacific Century. In the general context of increasing international attention to Asia-Pacific issues, the project aims to investigate regional politics in the Southwest Pacific from the early post-war period to the present with a focus on identity politics among Pacific Island states and Australia's role in the region. Its significance lies in the identification of important tensions in regional politics arisin ....Regional Politics in the Southwest Pacific: From Colonialism and Cold War to the Asia-Pacific Century. In the general context of increasing international attention to Asia-Pacific issues, the project aims to investigate regional politics in the Southwest Pacific from the early post-war period to the present with a focus on identity politics among Pacific Island states and Australia's role in the region. Its significance lies in the identification of important tensions in regional politics arising from the legacies of colonialism and the Cold War, the Melanesia/Polynesia divide and the advent of new actors. Outcomes include a deeper understanding of regional processes, and the motives, interests, values and expectations which underpin them, to inform scholarly approaches, policy formulation and public discourses.Read moreRead less
Climate change and environmental security in the Pacific: the role of regional organisations. This project through exploring the twin features of climate change and security in the Pacific region and assessing the role of regional organisations to respond to these threats will enable Australian policy-makers to better design and implement policies to promote sustainable development and human security in the region.
Building an Indian Ocean region. The Indian Ocean Region, of vital geopolitical importance to Australia, is the heart of the Third World - overwhelmed by chronic poverty, precarious political systems, and conflicting ethno-religious identities. This project will document attempts at constructing regional identities and institutions, and facilitate the process of 'building' a secure Region.