http://hdl.handle.net/2123/6046 2013-05-24T01:59:06Z 2013-05-24T01:59:06Z Ashpole, Lynne http://hdl.handle.net/2123/9047 2013-04-29T16:52:31Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Ministerial Advisers: How Ministers Shape Their Conduct – A Study of Ministers and Advisers in the Rudd Government Authors: Ashpole, Lynne Abstract: Ministerial advisers have become part of the standard advisory arrangements in Westminster governments, yet there is disagreement about their roles and behaviour. In Australia, some academic work has considered their involvement in scandals like the 2001 children overboard affair and the 1993 sports rorts controversy. However, the focus on exceptional events means advisers’ everyday roles and conduct have not been given sufficient weight and those conclusions are therefore distorted. This paper finds that ministers exert a dominant influence over their advisers’ behaviour and that advisers continue to see themselves as agents of their ministers. Based on interviews with four Rudd government ministers and their advisers, the research shows advisers have strong norms of behaviour and that formal and informal accountability mechanisms operate to constrain their conduct. Advisers are not ‘out of control’ or operating in a ‘black hole of accountability’ as often claimed

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Rottinger, Karina http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8890 2013-01-16T15:52:52Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The Foundation and Composition of Egypt's Role in the Arab World Authors: Rottinger, Karina Abstract: The choice of topic “The Foundation and Composition of Egypt’s Role in the Arab World” is not purely out of interest. It rises out of the abundance of literature and discourse that places Egypt at the centre of the Arab world with very ambiguous reasoning and seemingly haphazard confusion. This thesis thus seeks to do two things. First it aims to show that through the suspension of material capabilities we can instead focus on the norms surrounding regional powers as well as role conception, which can lead to a better understanding of Egypt’s status in the region which is often ascribed as more political, cultural and social rather than based around military and economics. This research uses certain fixed variables to better understand this; Egypt’s self-conception as a leader, its identity and its absorbing nature. Secondly, it aims to map out, historically, how Egypt’s role has taken different forms and manifested itself differently throughout time. This thesis uses the presidencies of Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak as three distinct eras that can provide us an insight into three different ways we can observe Egypt occupying a distinct role in the Arab world. In order to understand how role behaviour is not static, it is posited that it is necessary to recall some of the major political events and how they have acted as catalysts, for more general contextual changes. It is noted however that all the variables cannot be taken into account further research is suggested on this topic.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Ralph, Ngaire http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8889 2013-01-16T15:52:47Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Fact or Fiction? Hate Crime in Sweden and it's Representations in Swedish Popular Culture Authors: Ralph, Ngaire Abstract: Sweden’s global representation suggests that it is one of the most gender- equal, open and forward- thinking countries in the world. This thesis, however, exposes Sweden’s darker side, where hate crime towards immigrants, women and homosexuals is a serious social and political issue. Through a case study analysis of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy and Swedish white power music, this thesis examines the role of popular culture in the dissemination of ideas, protest against cultural and political norms, and the way in which it exposes ideologies which threaten the Swedish global image. This thesis finds that popular culture is a valuable medium through which the ideology of hatred can be studied. It finds that Swedish artists and authors use popular culture to convey their concerns about society but that it is also used as a tool through which hate ideology can be disseminated throughout society too.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Yu, Chuan (Catrina) http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8888 2013-01-16T15:52:56Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Parables Of Mass Atrocity: A Comparative Analysis Of The Nigerian And Liberian Authors: Yu, Chuan (Catrina) Abstract: In the aftermath of conflict, the demand for societies to acknowledge the existence and impact of political violence has instigated creative policy developments in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs) operate as mediated sites of historical contestation, offering states an opportunity to ‘come to terms’ with their own pasts. Despite the extensive body of scholarship assessing the TRC’s potential in promoting developmental goals, minimal academic attention has been given to the Report the Commissioners are mandated to produce. This study adopts a critical approach in comparatively examining key sections of the Nigerian and Liberian Commission Reports by using the ‘judgment’ substructure, as part of the ‘Appraisal System’. This thesis argues that the Reports, in summarising the findings of the TRC’s investigations, do not seek to recount objective ‘facts’; rather, project a specific image of the past, framed by the Commissioners’ assessment of how state power should be judged.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Liu, Yun http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8886 2013-01-16T15:52:55Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Taiwan’s Changing Economic Policymaking towards China: Authors: Liu, Yun Abstract: The central question this thesis seeks to answer is: why has there been a change in Taiwan’s economic policymaking towards China since the 1990s. The study looks at this changing relationship through the lenses of two International Political Economy theories, economic nationalism vis-à-vis economic liberalism. By examining three distinctive Taiwanese administrations: Lee Teng-hui (1990-1999), Chen Shui-bian (2000-2007) and Ma Ying-jeou (2008-Present), this study explores the motivations underpinning Taiwan’s different economic policy choices. To illustrate, the study considers internal factors,Taiwan’s domestic politics and the role of its business society, and external factors,China’s rise in economic, diplomatic and military aspects and an important regional/global event. This thesis finds that it is the nationalist goal of protecting Taiwan’s security and maintaining its ‘sovereignty’ that has motivated its cross-Strait economic policies, and in the case of Taiwan, this nationalist purpose is dependent upon the assessment of China’s expanding strength. These findings are important because, as the thesis suggests, there is a potential framework to understand the way in which small states embrace policy choices reflecting their regional realities with large powerful states.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Day, Jane Frances http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8885 2013-01-16T15:52:55Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The Harm of a Label: The effect of Party Affiliation upon Criminal Sentencing in the United States Authors: Day, Jane Frances Abstract: This thesis examines why sentencing disparity between partisan elected and non-partisan elected judiciaries exists. I contend that partisan elected judiciaries produce harsher sentences. The theoretical reasoning provided, is that political parties converge to the mean on politically popular issues, in this case a perceived “toughness on crime”. Therefore party affiliation and party primary selection causes judicial officers to conform their sentencing practices to party demands in order to gain selection, election and retention. I conducted a quantitative analysis of the conviction and imprisonment data from circuit courts in geographically and demographically similar counties of Illinois (partisan election) and Michigan (non-partisan election) to test this theory. In my case study this severity of sentence is measured by the number of criminal convictions that result in imprisonment. The partisan elected judiciary produced significantly higher rates of imprisonment, suggesting that party affiliation is a contributing factor to sentencing disparity between judicial selection systems.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Crump, Edwin http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8884 2013-01-16T15:52:54Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The Banality of Arcadia Authors: Crump, Edwin Abstract: Flags are highly valued – flown at sporting events, in war and even placed on the moon – but, nevertheless, are under-researched as symbolic devices. This thesis employs and extends Michael Billig’s Banal Nationalism theory to examine how a local flag operates within the context of Lord Howe Island, a small island 600km east of the Australian mainland. Utilising a combination of survey data and in-depth interviews, it firstly demonstrates the significance of “place” for the creation and remembrance of a unique Lord Howe Island identity as well as exploring the interaction of the Islanders between their spatial context and their civil–political relations. It secondly argues how flags can be simultaneously unifying and divisive symbolic devices within and without communities by exploring the process of encoding locally constructed mythologies onto flags, before finally examining the relationship between the social construction of meanings of flags and the citizens who themselves construct it, including the importance of origin myths in establishing the legitimacy of a flag.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Cook, Katherine http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8883 2013-01-16T15:52:51Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Identity and Interests: Understanding the Meltdown in Israeli-Turkish Relations 2002-2012 Authors: Cook, Katherine Abstract: The recent deterioration of the strong bilateral alliance between Israel and Turkey has significant affects on the balance of power within the Middle East. As such, it is important that scholars determine why this meltdown has occurred. This thesis sought to explain the deterioration of relations between Israel and Turkey and overcome gaps in the existing literature concerned with this meltdown of bilateral relations by taking a fresh look into the role of identity and the interests it creates. Hence, the framework of Wendtian constructivism was applied in order to examine the social origins and impacts of identity and interests on alliance formation and deterioration. In this thesis, I suggested that Israel’s identity has changed slowly over the past decade and as such, should be perceived as ‘relatively’ stable. Conversely, however, Turkey’s national identity changed sharply, drifting away from the Ataturk agenda of Westernisation and secularism towards an Islamic heritage. In order to strengthen my argument that this shift in Turkish identity has primarily accounted for the deterioration of its relations with Israel, I analysed Turkish attitudes towards foreign policies other than its bilateral relationship with Israel, as well as its newly defined interests. Thus, whereas Israel’s relatively stable national identity and domestic policies were matched by its relatively stable foreign interests over the past decade, deep changes to Turkey’s national identity redirected its domestic policies under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government. Consequently, Turkey has employed a number of political tensions and events as pretexts in order to unilaterally disengage from its relations with Israel so that it can further new foreign policies and interests. Identity matters, and for better or worse, identity changes precede foreign policy change, a lesson we must not forget.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Zylowski, Maike http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8882 2013-01-16T15:52:56Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Comparative Nationalism: Imperial Legacies and the Strength of Nationalism: The Case of China and India since the 1990s Authors: Zylowski, Maike Abstract: Since the 1990s, there have been strong displays of nationalism in China, while in India the once dominant ‘secular’ nationalism has been challenged by a fragmentation of national identity along ethno--‐religious lines. This thesis seeks to explain why Chinese nationalism, since the 1990s, appears to be stronger and indeed more prevalent than nationalism in India. The phenomenon of nationalism in India and China has been extensively researched, yet there remains a deficiency in comparative research. Thereby, this thesis takes a historical Comparative approach through which five explanatory hypotheses are evaluated; these are entitled: direct rule, types of foreign rule, regime type, foreign threat, and diversity. The findings of this thesis suggest that China’s nationalism remains more prevalent since the 1990s, due to its experience of informal imperialism, a strong centralized Chinese state, and higher levels of militarized inter--‐state disputes. Simply, it is illustrated that because the experience of informal imperialism has centrally defined Chinese nationalism, it reacts Intensely to foreign threats that are equated to imperial acts, while the unified nature of nationalism is reinforced by a strong centralized state.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Thorncraft, Kyra http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8881 2013-01-16T15:52:54Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The President as a Perception-setting agent: Presidential Rhetoric, the Russian State and Identity, and the Search for Political Legitimacy in Post-Soviet Russia. Authors: Thorncraft, Kyra Abstract: Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 the state that has emerged, the Russian Federation, has been engulfed in a search for a legitimate and valuable identity and role for the state. This search was given new life in 2000, with the ascendency of Vladimir Putin to the Presidency, and a new Russia attempted to rise from the decay and instability of the 1990's. The Presidential perceptions of the Russian state and identity, under Putin and his successor Dmitri Medvedev, have represented a concerted and largely continuous attempt at crafting a Russian idea that both projects an image of the Russian state and identity, and simultaneously confers legitimacy to state structure. Through a discourse analysis of the President's Annual Address to the Federal Assembly, from 2000 to 2011, this perception of state and identity can be illuminated. The use of narratives, symbols, myths and cultural memory to create this continuous image of Russia and craft Presidential legitimacy from this narrative, constitutes the main concern of this thesis. The research aims to analyse the Presidential perceptions of state and identity, asking two core questions: how has the Presidency attempted to shape the Russian state and identity through their rhetoric? and Why? Analysing the specific narratives used, the attempts at narrating an idea of Russia that provides continuity with periods of past state legitimacy and the attempt at legitimating both Presidential power and the new state (the Russian Federation), this article provides an invaluable understanding of the President's attempts at shaping and legitimising the new Russia.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Thirunavukkarasu, Hariharan http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8878 2013-01-15T15:52:35Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Responding to Riots A Comparative Study of Elite Responses to Cronulla 2005 and England 2011 Authors: Thirunavukkarasu, Hariharan Abstract: In recent summers, rioting around Cronulla and throughout England has sparked debates about their causes. While there has been a concerted effort to analyse these, there has been less attention on the response of political elites. Ultimately, the response of political elites determines if public policy is used to address the causes of the rioting. This study seeks to remedy this omission by conducting a comparative study of the response of political elites and the media to the Cronulla Riots of 2005 and English Riots of 2011. It contends that political elites in Australia responded to the riots by framing the riots largely as a law and order problem. In contrast, British political elites offered a greater variety of explanations in their analysis of their rioting. Similarly, media outlets in both nations explored a variety of causes for the riots, including race, class, poverty and a culture of criminality. This study claims that the anomalous response of Australian political elites elucidates certain idiosyncrasies of Australia’s political culture, including its reluctance to discuss race, and tendency to respond to complex issues through a law and order framework.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Putilin, Serge http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8877 2013-01-16T15:52:51Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The 2011-2012 Russian protests and the precedents of protest in post-Soviet Eurasia Authors: Putilin, Serge Abstract: This study places the 2011-2012 Russian protests within the framework of Eurasian mass-civil mobilisation. Researchers have examined the shared and divergent properties of these events, commonly labelled „colour revolutions.‟ However, research has not employed the experience of the colour revolutions to understand the current civil unrest in Russia. Drawing on existing research, this study generates a „colour revolution‟ framework and applies it to the case study of the 2011-2012 Russian protests. This approach allows the Russian protests to be analysed in relation to „colour revolutions‟ in societies that are geographically, politically and historically proximate. This study finds that the current protests are the immediate result of perceptions of extensive electoral fraud. However, the underlying drivers are gradual socio-economic shifts toward the growth of the middle class, and the increasing predisposition of the Russian government towards a „managed democracy.‟ This thesis concludes that based on the idiosyncrasies and political diversity of the Russian pro-democracy protests, it must be considered a “Grey Revolution” – a mix of colours. Due to these factors it is unlikely that the movement will succeed in its goals in the short term. However, the need for future research to focus on the longer-term prospects of this „Grey Revolution‟ is clear.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z McLoughlin, Liam http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8875 2013-01-15T15:52:37Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Power/Knowledge in Discourses of Climate Justice Authors: McLoughlin, Liam Abstract: Rawlsian political philosophers and theorists approach climate justice using ideal theories of the fair distribution of climate change burdens, and the rights to be protected in the face of those burdens. Other theorists and activists embrace these ideal principles, but also identify structural causes of climate injustice, calling for the profound transformation of the global political, economic, and cultural order. Using a Foucaultian framework, this thesis argues that liberal and activist discourses of climate justice are specific configurations of power/knowledge with particular constraints and material effects. Distributive and rights-based climate justice discourses vitiate the voices of those most affected by climate change, overlook and conceal root causes of climate injustice, marginalise alternative political projects, and thereby reinforce existing power relations. By contrast, across critical, utopian, and spatial dimensions, activist climate justice discourse exposes and confronts these fundamental relations of oppression and domination.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Humphries, Thomas http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8874 2013-01-15T15:52:36Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Fear, Itself The Threat Constructions Of Tea Party Candidates In The 2010 Republican Primaries Authors: Humphries, Thomas Abstract: This study explores the role that a faith-driven discourse has played in the electoral success of the Tea Party movement. The popularity of the Tea Party movement among conservative Protestant populations has led researchers to depict an emerging theological political ideology. Few have considered the historical and religious influences on the Tea Party brand, despite the fact that it has garnered support from a segment of the conservative American population which have traditionally used religious rationalisation as the basis for their political opinions. This thesis examines these historical and religious influences by means of a discourse analysis. This allows for the success of Tea Party candidates to be understood in the context of the mobilisation of a “nation at threat” narrative, cast ostensibly in religious language. I find that the linking of political opponents to the concepts of socialism, unconstitutional practices and immoralism allowed for a consistent narrative to emerge, whereby certain conceptions of the American identity were prioritised and deemed “acceptable”. I conclude that the electoral success of the Tea Party can be explained by the mobilisation of a primarily faith-driven discourse that gains traction through the mobilisation of threat to American society. The need for further research to account for the religious and economics aspect of the Tea Party movement is clear

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Hudson, Antonia http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8873 2013-01-15T15:52:36Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The Case of Egypt (1981-2011) Authors: Hudson, Antonia Abstract: The 2011 Egyptian revolution ousted President Hosni Mubarak after nearly thirty years in power. An agency centred approach dominated the discourse that followed the revolution. This dissertation contends that this lilterature is inadequate because it fails to consider structural factors at play in Egypt. Sultanism is a valuable heuristic tool by which to elucidate the role of the nature of the regime and its breakdown. The characteristics of the sultanistic category include: 1) fusion of regime and state, 2) personalism, 3) dynasticism, 4) constitutional hypocrisy, 5) narrow social base, and 6) distorted capitalism. These features have important implications in shaping relationships between key actors that determine paths out of sultanism. In addition, while analysing Egypt, this dissertation simultaneously performs an immanent critique of sultanism. The application of sultanism to Egypt reveals the need for two particular revisions to the theory: 1) the integration with the insights of 'gray zone' theory, and 2) consideration of the regional political climate. Thus, this dissertation puts forward a meaningful framework by which to assess the 2011 Egyptian revolution and the theory of sultanism.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Hristovska, Stephanie http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8872 2013-01-15T15:52:36Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: EU Influence and the Politics of Memory Postwar Croatia & Serbia in a Comparative Perspective Authors: Hristovska, Stephanie Abstract: This thesis argues that the EU has indirectly influenced domestic perceptions of the past in postwar Croatia and Serbia through these states’ desire for EU membership. Informed by EU conditionality criteria, which include democratic policies, regional cooperation, and issuelinkage with the ICTY, political elites have tailored new discourses that confront past atrocities to improve EU trajectory. However, the depth of this process—called “the politics of memory,” has differed in both states primarily because Serbia was unable to extradite their war criminals at the pace of Croatia. This was the result of negative patterns that stemmed from the dynamics of regime transition, and the strength of old regime spoilers and nationalist parties who have perpetuated myths and discourses of victimisation in the new regime. In addition, desire for EU membership itself has fluctuated because of greater contest at the elite level between reformist and nationalist politicians

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Meyering, Alexander Barrett http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8871 2013-01-15T15:52:34Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Military, Inc. Private Military Companies And State-Centrism In International Relations. Authors: Meyering, Alexander Barrett Abstract: This study sheds light on the relationship between military privatisation and state-centrism in international relations. The growth of the private military industry has led many to consider the operational implications of the military privatisation program, focusing on the merits of the industry and its inadequate regulation. Few have considered the ontological implications of military privatisation; that as the state outsources what many consider to be its core function and purpose – public security – military privatisation challenges the nature of the state and its central role in international relations. This thesis seeks to further the ontological argument by employing an English School approach to international relations. This approach allows for the puzzle to be interrogated at multiple levels and within three separate yet overlapping realms; the International System, International Society, and World Society. In contrast to existing research, I find that the state remains central to international relations. I conclude that although private military companies do not challenge the notion of state-centrism in international relations, the English School remains a powerful tool for exploring international phenomena. I also demonstrate the need for international relations theory to account for the changing identity of security actors and interplay between states.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z CAREY, LACHLAN http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8870 2013-01-15T15:52:33Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Australian Financial Governance: The Power of The Australian Financial Industry Over Public Policy-Making In The Lead-Up To The Global Financial Crisis Authors: CAREY, LACHLAN Abstract: The recent Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has once again highlighted the significance of finance and the financial industry to modern economies, the societies they affect and the ability of governments to make autonomous policy decisions. In general, the blame for this crisis is argued to be upon the ‘new financial architecture’ of modern finance, which was ushered in by the large financial firms and their disproportionate influence over government. The paradox of the Australian experience however, is that despite its financial system being firmly embedded in this ‘new financial architecture’, its regulatory framework is generally considered to have eased Australia’s passage through the crisis. Therefore, this thesis seeks to analyse how such a regulatory framework has come into existence and more importantly, whether the Australian financial industry was important in that process. To do so, this thesis will employ the ‘three faces of power’ conceptual framework to existing and original theoretical and empirical evidence so as to better understand the nature of discursive, structural and instrumental power in Australian financial governance. From this analysis one can infer that while finance as an ideal has significant power over the policy-making agenda of government, individual financial actors encounter sufficient structural and institutional checks and balances so as to be on a relatively equal playing field to other politically interested actors.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Abadee, Daniel http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8869 2013-01-15T15:52:30Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Exploring Secularity Studying Australian Secularists Authors: Abadee, Daniel

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Frazer, Jessica http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8341 2012-05-10T16:52:29Z 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Gendering the Agenda - Discursive Constructions of Gender within the Security Council’s ‘Women, Peace and Security’ Agenda Authors: Frazer, Jessica Abstract: In 2000, the adoption of Security Council resolution 1325 on the issue of ‘Women, Peace and Security’ (WPS) heralded the Council’s adoption of a new gender-sensitive approach to security. While an extensive literature has ‘assessed the impact’ of the implementation of this new agenda, limited attention has been paid to interrogating the ways in which WPS policy and its resulting implementation have functioned to discursively reproduce certain understandings of the power relations between women and men. Through a discursive analysis of the four WPS resolutions, this thesis problematises the ways in which the Council has understood and reproduced understandings of gender. It then extends previous analyses of the Council’s practice of WPS policy through a quantitative content analysis and a qualitative discursive analysis of the gender content that appears in the 609 non-WPS resolutions that have been passed since resolution 1325. The study concludes that while gender-sensitive policies may seek to address and prevent gendered forms of oppression and exclusion, the discourses of gender that underpin these policies can function to unconsciously reproduce these very forms of oppression and exclusion.

2010-01-01T00:00:00Z Mostaghim, Manna http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8290 2012-05-03T16:52:51Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The Female Citizen as a Precursor to Political Revolution in the Middle East – A Comparative Study of Turkey and Iran Authors: Mostaghim, Manna Abstract: Gender politics has existed at the periphery of academic analysis regarding social and political movements prior to dramatic political upheaval or revolution. In contrast to existing research, this study seeks to contend that there is an underlying female narrative to political revolution. To this end, it proposes a constructivist analysis that relies on discourse analysis to understand political and social movements. Through a comparative study of the gendered politics within Turkey and Iran, Four main premises are considered — the central assumptions regarding the 'Muslim woman'; the woman's personification of nationalism within domestic politics; the role of the woman in the public sphere; and the role of the woman in the private sphere. These discussions will establish the woman as a pre-cursor for revolution and an essential arbiter that determines the trajectory of political upheavals in Middle Eastern nations.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Gumley, Lindsay E. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8289 2012-05-03T16:52:50Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: American Knowledge and Ignorance In Comparative Perspective Authors: Gumley, Lindsay E. Abstract: How does foreign affairs knowledge in America compare cross-nationally? Are Americans really as ignorant as commentators and scholars suggest? Despite the interest in the topic, there are surprisingly few serious works of scholarship that consider how the American public compares cross-nationally. In an attempt to fill this gap in the literature, this thesis does four things. Firstly, it employs a new method for analyzing foreign affairs knowledge cross-nationally (namely, extracting "don't know" responses from relevant questions in a global public opinion survey). Secondly, it considers the structure of foreign affairs knowledge and ignorance. Thirdly, in order to understand American knowledge and ignorance in its global context, this thesis considers what Americans know, and how that compares to knowledge levels across 24 other nations. Finally, it explores knowledge and ignorance in reference to theories on what influences the 'breadth and depth of citizen's political information, as well as adding two new explanatory variables; economic and social globalization. In so doing, this thesis aims to challenge current assumptions about the nature and level of ignorance within the US and add to the debate on public knowledge about foreign affairs.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Crowe, Shaun http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8285 2012-05-04T18:52:31Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Political Parties and Australia’s Migration Program, 1972-2010: A Partisan Difference? Authors: Crowe, Shaun Abstract: This thesis examines the historical relationship between political parties and Australia’s permanent migration program. Whilst the existing empirical literature has often compared the decisions of specific, consecutive governments (for instance, the work comparing the Fraser, Hawke-Keating and Howard administrations) it has not yet viewed the parties themselves as central units of analysis. In practice, this means that it has not yet explicitly tested whether, over multiple administrations, the Labor and Liberal parties have supported distinct or coherent permanent intakes. This thesis explores this precise question. From 1972-2010, it examines whether Australia’s major parties have promoted programs of a different size or composition. Throughout this analysis, the paper recognises the influence of external factors in limiting and framing party autonomy. In particular, it acknowledges employment’s historical impact on migration decisions. Because of this, the thesis’ empirical analysis attempts to both acknowledge and control for the labour market. Ultimately, whilst not suggesting one single, overarching narrative about specific parties and migration outcomes, the paper emphasises the often distinct ways in which (because of both different responses to economic imperatives and different partisan motivations) Australia’s political parties have shaped the migration program’s size, composition and trajectory.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Maheswaran, Sharangan http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8284 2012-05-03T16:53:04Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Lifting the Shroud: Government, Investment Banks and Power in Post Financial Crisis United Kingdom - A critical deconstruction of the relationship between government and investment banks in the United Kingdom post global financial crisis (2007 – 2011) Authors: Maheswaran, Sharangan Abstract: The late 2000s Global Financial Crisis swept the advanced world and spilled into the developing, creating chaos in its wake. At the crux of the crisis were the high-risk activities of investment banks in the developed world – and especially United Kingdom. Since then, academic and public discussion has revolved around the questionable relationship between investment banks and government that resulted in subpar regulation and the costly bank ‘bailouts’ of 2008 and 2009. What this thesis will to do is holistically assess how the power relationship between British investment banks and the United Kingdom government has evolved since the crisis, utilising Doris Fuchs’ Three Dimensional Approach to Business Power and Governance and a wide array of research to address those structural, instrumental and discursive elements of business power.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Prahl, Sabine http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8283 2012-05-03T16:52:47Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Riots in Lyon and Oldham: A comparative study Authors: Prahl, Sabine Abstract: In recent years both Britain and France have witnessed riots by ethnic minority youth. This thesis will conduct a comparative study into the riots which broke out in Oldham in 2001 and Lyon in 2005. This is guided by two questions: firstly, why did riots erupt in these two cities; and secondly, why was it that Lyon‟s riots were composed of two parties (police and ethnic youth) and Oldham‟s riots three parties (police, ethnic youth and right wing activists)? This thesis will argue that the role of the police is central to answering both questions. Firstly, it will argue that harassment by the police created grievances that led to rioting. Secondly, it will argue that the different composition of the riots was caused by the nature of the harassment employed by the police, which was in turn influenced by the nature of the relationship between the state and the police.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Brown, Melanie http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8282 2012-05-03T16:53:01Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: For God’s Sake! Rethinking Secularism in Australia Authors: Brown, Melanie Abstract: This dissertation proposes a new way of thinking about Muslims, religion and politics in Australia. It critically engages those commentators, academics and politicians who in recent years have used the language of ‘secularism’ to denounce publicly what they see as a major social and political threat posed by Australia’s growing Muslim population. The worn-out nineteenth-century ideology of secularism they draw upon presupposes the irrational primitivism of religion and fails to recognise present-day counter-trends. It should be rejected. This dissertation calls for a radical rethinking of the appropriate relations between religion and politics in a democratic society like Australia. It suggests that the principle of ‘religious secularity’ might be the answer: a new twenty-first century secularism which has room for the public flourishing of religions at the level of society, but maintains the independence of the state from religion. The dissertation shows, contrary to common perceptions, and despite the resilience of their highly visible and public religiosity, that Australia’s large Muslim communities overwhelmingly support the autonomy of state institutions from religious influence, and that they are important protagonists of the new secularism.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Sokolovskaja, Margarita http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8281 2012-05-03T16:52:47Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: National Television in Putin's Russia - The Media's Changing Role in Society and the Consolidation of Competitive Authoritarianism Authors: Sokolovskaja, Margarita Abstract: Over the course of Putin's two terms as president, national television, the most important form of media for the Russian population, fell increasingly under the control of the state and many independent channels were dismantled. Employing the 2000 and 2008 presidential elections as case studies, this thesis looks at the decline of media independence in Russia since the 1990s and considers the changing role of the mass media in Russian society and politics. In the late 1990s national television served as a means for competing oligarchs to propagate their views and political aspirations to the public. However, by 2008, pro-Kremlin coverage had become the dominant voice on national television. This is a reflection of wider trends of the time. Putin transformed the weak government that lacked sufficient coercive and organisational capacity to respond to elite challenges into a competitive authoritarian regime, where elections remain competitive, but the media and other crucial resources are biased in favour of the incumbent candidate.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Cartwright, Madison http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8280 2012-05-03T16:53:01Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Globalisation and Comparative Capitalism: The Industrial Relations of Volkswagen and Ford in South African Export Zones Authors: Cartwright, Madison Abstract: In the modern era of „globalisation‟ the strategic autonomy of both firms and states is considered to be on the decline. Developing countries such as South Africa are considered to be especially susceptible the demands of highly mobile and fickle capital. The result is said to be a convergence on neoliberal policies, including in labour relations. However the Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) approach has argued that the modern era of globalisation has seen a continuance of diversity amongst Liberal and Coordinated Market economies. This diversity, in turn, influences the strategies of firms that are embedded in these economies. Using a case study in a VoC analysis, this thesis will show that Volkswagen and Ford retain the industrial relations strategies of their home economies, even when operating in institutional environments considered to be the most conductive to convergence; Export Processing Zones in a developing country (in this case South Africa). The thesis thus illustrates the path dependency of firms in their multinational operations.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Pearson, Lucy http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8279 2012-05-03T16:53:00Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The Responsibility to Protect: Answering Civil Conflict in the 21st Century – A RAMSI Case Study Authors: Pearson, Lucy Abstract: This thesis will attempted to analyse the Responsibility to Protect, whether the doctrine has a future in the workings of the international system as an effective mechanism for conflict resolution and for consensus on issues that surround violations of life, liberty and security of person. The R2P is acknowledged as a very new doctrine, the that has its fair share of warranted criticism and a long way to go before it becomes customary law in the international system. Through an in-depth analysis of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, the thesis aimed to highlight the potential of the R2P in addressing modern conflict situations and providing long standing stability through committed assistance in capacity development. Despite failures in the RAMSI intervention, and the relatively small scale nature, it stands as a significant success in implementation of the R2P and exemplifies the doctrine‟s potential in application. At its base the R2P demonstrates a powerful normative shift towards the protection of the fundamental human rights of all people, and a shift away from traditional understandings of sovereignty as absolute.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Collins, Lisette http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8278 2012-05-03T16:52:59Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Sustaining Policies- A Case Study Comparison of University Implementation of Sustainability Policies Authors: Collins, Lisette Abstract: We are now more than halfway through the UN‟s “Decade for Education for Sustainability.” Universities around the world are working to teach and exemplify sustainable modes of thinking. This thesis is a case study comparison of two universities in Sydney, Australia who have declared a commitment to becoming more sustainable with a view to systemic transformation. The thesis outlines the different implementation paths of the University of Sydney and Macquarie University and concludes with the presentation of a model to explain the differences in implementation. Through inductive research, based on open-ended interviews, it is understood that the universities have achieved different levels of fulfilment in „groundwork factors‟ of Vice-Chancellor (VC) support, position in university structure and financial support. These factors are shown to affect the ability of sustainability teams to communicate and promote sustainability „visibility‟ on campus. Further analysis uncovers that Macquarie University has entered a „positive‟ capacity cycle that requires the sustainability team to be adaptive in their implementation while the University of Sydney is caught in a „negative‟ capacity cycle which stalls implementation.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Schirmer, Kelsey Ann http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8277 2012-05-03T16:52:58Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The Republic of South Africa: the Southern African Regional Hegemon - Analysing the ‘irresponsible’ leadership of a regional Southern African hegemon; post-apartheid, through case studies of Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe Authors: Schirmer, Kelsey Ann Abstract: Numerous informal regional leaders exist all around the world. These include Japan in South East Asia, the United Kingdom (UK), France and Germany in Europe, and the United States (US) in North America. However, southern Africa as a region and the question of South African regional leadership is an area that remains uncertain, and under researched. This thesis examines the issues that arise when there is an irresponsible informal leader of a region of states, through a focus on South Africa’s role in the southern African region, with an indepth look at its relationship with Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Further, a working theory has not been formulated for the role of a hegemon on the southern African region, and indeed there is not a fully applicable theory that can be used to theorize about a host of post-colonial states that are at such different levels of development, and have a wide variety of cultures, languages, and social dynamics. As such, this thesis uses South Africa’s current relationships with a select few states to form an analysis of the role of the hegemon, and develop a set of objectives for the South African government to turn around its leadership to become beneficial and effective to the development of the region as a whole. During the apartheid era South Africa played the role of a “regional surrogate”, and now it is time for South Africa to shake off this colonial image and become a responsible regional leader (Conteh-Morgan, 1997:55).

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Elias, Joseph http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8276 2012-05-03T16:53:03Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Lebanon: The Cycle of Death Authors: Elias, Joseph Abstract: This essay addresses the fact that as most countries in the Middle East have managed to protect themselves from external interference, why does Lebanon continue to be a target for intervention. Since the regional elements is the same for all the states in the Middle East, the paper focuses on internal factors within the Lebanese state that allow for foreign influence to prosper. Based on the evidence from crises that took place in 1958, 1975, and 2008; the paper argues that the political system and foreign policy of the Lebanese state are responsible for exposing Lebanon to foreign intervention. In response, proposals are put forward to resolve this inherent weakness of the Lebanese state. They include introducing a decentralised political system and introducing constant status of neutrality to Lebanese foreign policy.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z McCleary, Jessica http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8275 2012-05-03T16:52:57Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The Boat as a Prop in Election Theatrics: Constructing Maritime Asylum Seekers as a ‘Problem’ Authors: McCleary, Jessica Abstract: This article is concerned with the way Maritime Asylum Seekers (MAS) were constructed as a problem and negatively framed during the 2010 Australian Federal Election. It draws upon a comparative study of the representations of MAS in the 2001 and the 2010 election campaigns, through an analysis of election-seeking officials’ rhetoric and use of symbols, and the portrayal of the issue in select newspapers. It asserts that the construction of MAS as a problem has commonly been addressed within a broad ‘securitization’ framework or through explanation of MAS as ‘the other’, but that neither of those frameworks adequately explains that the issue involves pertinent humanitarian obligations. It introduces the concept of the ‘reverse humanitarian’ framework, and suggests that actors have used this framework to demonize and dehumanize MAS within the very framework that is supposed to provide protection. It suggests that the ‘reverse humanitarian’ framework better explains how the election-seeking officials in 2010 constructed MAS as ‘undeserving’ refugees, and also how select mainstream media challenged these constructions. Ultimately what the study shows is that rather than offer leadership on the issue, the election-seeking officials relied on the political opportunities of negatively constructing MAS. Such a finding emphasizes the need for leadership on issues of humanitarian concern.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Lee, Jenny KJ http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8274 2012-05-03T16:52:45Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The Tcard Implementation Failure - The Need to Reconfigure Pre-existing Structures Authors: Lee, Jenny KJ Abstract: The Tcard was first promised in time for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, but serious implementation plans only started in 2003 when the company ERG was contracted to deliver the Tcard. An amendment bill was passed to establish an organisation to overlook the technical rollout of the Tcard and massive financial investment followed. However, the Tcard was never implemented and the contract with ERG was cancelled in 2008. Meanwhile other global cities – Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, London as well as other Australian cities have successfully implemented smartcard systems over the last two decades. This study uses two theoretical frameworks to find out what caused the failure of Tcard implementation. Both frameworks reveal that the key actors’ decisions to leave pre-existing legacy fares and bureaucratic structures led to the failure. The study also uncovers beyond the direct findings of the two frameworks, exposing that key actors failed to reform pre-existing structures due to their confinement in electoral interests, causing policy myopia and a major misunderstanding of public demands on transportation.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Damnjanovic, Jelena http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8273 2012-05-04T18:52:28Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Organised Crime and State Sovereignty - The conflict between the Mexican state and drug cartels 2006-2011 Authors: Damnjanovic, Jelena Abstract: Since December 2006, the government of Mexico has been embroiled in a battle against numerous criminal organisations seeking to control territory and assure continued flow of revenue through the production and trafficking of drugs. Although this struggle has been well documented in Mexican and international media, it has not received as much scholarly attention due to the difficulties involved with assessing current phenomena. This thesis seeks to play a small part in filling that gap by exploring how and why the drug cartels in Mexico have proved a challenge to Mexico’s domestic sovereignty and the state’s capacity to have monopoly over the use of force, maintain effective and legitimate law enforcement, and to exercise control over its territory. The thesis will explain how the violence, corruption and subversion of the state’s authority have resulted in a shift of the dynamics of power from state agents to criminal organizations in Mexico. It also suggests implications for domestic sovereignty in regions experiencing similar problems with organized crime, perhaps pointing to a wider trend in international politics in the era of globalization.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Mason, William http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8272 2012-05-03T16:52:44Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The Politics of Nostalgia and Its Discontents: An Intensive Case Study of the Tea Party Social Movement in the United States of America Authors: Mason, William Abstract: The focus of the thesis is an intensive case study of the processes accompanying the mobilisation and growth of the social movement known as the Tea Party in the United States of America. The thesis is grounded in an analytical lens of issue framing, which has come to be regarded as an equally-important framework in understanding the dynamics of social movements (Benford and Snow 2000: 612) alongside the more traditional lenses of resource mobilisation theory and political opportunity structure. The thesis combines a cultural approach to the social movement with the political sociology of emotion by examining the emotional implications of cultural foci like historical narratives, figurative rhetoric and archaic artifacts, which have been utilised by the Tea Party in its protest performances. The thesis finds that by appropriating the cultural history of the United States in its resonant collective action frames, the Tea Party has consciously and rationally exacerbated the emotions of distrust of the government, outrage towards existing policies but hope for the future amongst its activist bases in order to mobilise and grow in support.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Cutbush, Vivienne http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8271 2012-05-03T16:52:43Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: China’s Rule of Law is Australia’s Business Authors: Cutbush, Vivienne Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implications of China’s rule of law, in the context of commercial corruption, on the Australia-China business relationship. This paper involves the analysis of three separate case studies: the ‘Melamine milk case’, the ‘Stern Hu case’ and the ‘Matthew Ng case’. The research undertaken in this paper is divided into two main sections. The first section involves a content analysis of media frames in both the Chinese and Australian news coverage in three separate cases. The section undertakes a critical analysis of Australian media and political discourse concerning the three cases. This research demonstrates the different conceptions of the rule of law between China and Australia, and that essentially China’s practice of the rule of law impacts on Australia. This paper’s originality is in its refinement about understanding China’s rule of law and its place in broader debates concerning the Australian-China business relationship. Moreover, this dissertation takes a unique research angle in this field through the use of discourse analysis.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Cheng, Huixin Shirley http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8270 2012-05-03T16:53:02Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Illicit Narcotic Economies and State Fragmentation: Colombia and Afghanistan Authors: Cheng, Huixin Shirley Abstract: This thesis argues that the illicit narcotics economy in Afghanistan and Colombia is the central force fragmenting state power through two main processes of internal regression and external attack. Internal regression refers to the capture, infiltration and corruption of the state by the drug industry that impairs effective state function. External attack refers to the territorial control, coercive force and political legitimacy that the illicit economy provides non-state armed actors. In this way, I contend that the fragmentation of state power by the illicit narcotics economy is two- fold. First, it diminishes state power in absolute terms - hindering the effective state function in terms of key institutions. Second the illicit narcotics reduces state power in relative terms - drug rents providing for the growth in reach and operational capacities of non-state power rivals when the state at the same time is losing its own.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z McCarthy, Gerard http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8269 2012-05-03T16:52:55Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Ties and Tiers: Decentralisation and Ethno-Communal Mobilisation in Post-Suharto Indonesia Authors: McCarthy, Gerard Abstract: Decentralisation of governance responsibilities to sub-national authorities has been one of the most significant trends in state-reform since the 1980s. Debate continues, however, regarding the consequences of the expansion of local/district government for ethno-communal relations. This study develops a strategic-relational theory of decentralisation and ethno-communal voter mobilisation, testing it in relation to electoral processes in two ethno-religiously diverse districts in Indonesia. It finds that in the context of city or district politics, outcomes of voter mobilisation can only be accounted for via the interaction between institutional incentives and candidates’ mobilisation of diverse personal, group and associational ties. This study has implications for analysing and theorising the impacts of decentralisation- especially the expansion of local and district government- upon patterns of ethno-communal mobilisation in other ethnically and religiously diverse societies undergoing transitions to democratic rule.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Dietrich, Dominic http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8267 2012-05-03T16:52:42Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Citizenship Status and Pressure Group Action Authors: Dietrich, Dominic Abstract: This thesis investigates the intersection between citizenship status and pressure group action. It asks a two-pronged question. First, does variation in citizenship status (to be citizen or noncitizen) produce variation in pressure group action? Second, where there is variation, how is it that citizenship status matters; where there is no variation, how is it that citizenship status (a decidedly political status) does not matter? In response to this two-part question, a two-part theoretical framework has been developed. To answer the question of whether citizenship status matters, an interactive model of action has been developed. This provides a common measure through which similarities and differences in action-paths between citizen and non-citizen pressure groups can be uncovered. It is found that citizenship status does have an effect on pressure group action, notably in a pressure group’s interaction with a) their constituency; b) potential allies; c) other-state political institutions; and d) other-state media. To answer the question of how citizenship matters and does not matter, the idea of the capability mechanism has been developed. This asserts that variation in citizenship status - understood through either a rights or identity framework - produces, reduces, or removes capabilities. This, in turn, shapes action. This model is also used to explain similarities. Both the empirical findings and the theoretical frameworks developed within this thesis are useful for further analysis of the significance of citizen or non-citizen status on one’s relationship to political systems.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Liu, Daniel Kai http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8266 2012-05-03T16:52:40Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Seas of Change - The Effects of China's Naval Modernisation on Southeast Asia. Authors: Liu, Daniel Kai Abstract: China‘s naval modernisation and assertiveness in the South China Seas (SCS) is causing major concerns for Southeast Asia. While substantial scholarship documents how Southeast Asian states have employed a ‗hedging‘ strategy, chartering middle way approaches between engagement/bandwagoning and containment/balancing, new evidence provided by this study suggest recent developments in China‘s naval and maritime policy over the past 5 years is pushing Southeast Asian states to recalibrate their individual hedging policies towards measures that more resembles balancing. Though a comparative study of reactions to China‘s naval rise from the Philippines, Vietnam and Singapore, this thesis updates existing scholarship by with two key findings: First, caused by increase Chinese naval modernisation and its activities in the SCS, there is a region wide shift towards negative threat perceptions and increased balancing measures. Second, variances in responses by individual states can be explained by a hybrid model proposed by this thesis amalgamating and amending Walt‘s Balance of Threat theory with Kuik‘s Spectrum of Hedging Responses, explaining how Economic Dependence, Historic memory and Geographic Proximity of Interests inform the extent of balancing measures of each state‘s reaction to China‘s naval rise.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Craven, Alice http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8264 2012-05-03T16:52:53Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Bush Level Bureaucrats - National Parks Rangers’ Use of Discretion in Implementing Wild Dog Policy Authors: Craven, Alice Abstract: Wild Dog policy in New South Wales is controversial. There is a clear conflict between wild dog control methods as specified by the policy, and the need to conserve the rapidly diminishing numbers of dingoes in Australian ecosystems. Through an analysis of the types of discretion that National Parks rangers use in their implementation of Wild Dog Policy, this thesis will analyse the way in which discretion can be used as a means of resolving conflict in controversial policy areas. An initial understanding of the background to the complex issue of wild dog management, and the legislation and policies surrounding wild dog control provides substance to theories of discretion. These theories have been applied to the interview data of nine National Parks rangers, and an analysis of their experiences in implementing the controversial policy issue. Fundamentally this thesis finds that the different 'types' of discretion allow rangers to resolve conflict and implement a difficult policy area effectively.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Yunespour, Ali Reza http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8263 2012-05-03T16:52:52Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Identity Politics - A Case Study of Afghanistan Authors: Yunespour, Ali Reza Abstract: Identity politics is a complex concept. However, it is rarely studied in the context of weak non-Western states. This study seeks to study identity politics in Afghanistan with a focus on ethnic and sectarian identities. The central hypothesis is that the manipulation and instrumentalisation of ethnic and sectarian identities as sources of political legitimacy have significantly constrained efforts towards state-building in Afghanistan. By taking a historical perspective, it shows that identity politics is not a new phenomenon in Afghanistan and that a weak historical state and widespread culture of poverty have caused, sustained and reinforced ethnic and sectarian identity politics over time. It will also demonstrate that ethnic and sectarian identity politics have been a dominant feature of Afghanistan’s post-Taliban statebuilding. Ethnic and sectarian identity politics have seriously undermined the process of statebuilding as they have prevented, amongst other things, a meaningful national reconciliation and the development of an effective state-society relation and a national identity in Afghanistan in the past decade.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Dzero, Alexandra http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8258 2012-05-03T16:52:45Z 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Contemporary Russian Identity and the Soviet Union: Continuity and Confrontation Authors: Dzero, Alexandra Abstract: Over the two decades since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russian society has continued to rely upon Soviet history for national pride and identification. Critics have voiced concerns over this reliance, arguing that the prevalence of symbols from Russia’s authoritarian past hampers Russian democratic development and has led to a rehabilitation of Stalinism. This thesis argues that analysis of the relationship between Russia and its Soviet past has more often than not existed in a contextual vacuum. It seeks to rectify this situation by contextualizing the Kremlin’s policy towards its uses of Soviet history. It argues that Soviet and Russian national identity are closely intertwined, making a condemnation of and total separation from the period impossible. It argues that the incorporation of Soviet symbols into the modern Russian Federation has been a policy of pragmatism, seeking to maintain ideological unification in a country lacking a national identity and social divided after the 1991-2000 decade of transition. It works to show that widespread Soviet rehabilitation has not occurred and where nostalgia exists, its nature is benign. The thesis illustrates that important changes have occurred in the Kremlin’s policy towards the Soviet Union under President Dmitri Medvedev, working upon the state consolidation achieved under Vladimir Putin and heralding a more critical stance towards Russia’s past.

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Courvisanos, Madeline http://hdl.handle.net/2123/7915 2012-05-01T17:08:20Z 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: BP in Papua: A chance for development or the return of the resource curse? Authors: Courvisanos, Madeline Abstract: This study focuses on explaining the absence of violent conflict, a symptom associated with the „resource curse‟, in resource extraction projects in volatile and resource dependent regions. An institutionalist approach is adopted in proposing that the agency of the resource extraction corporation is crucial in suppressing resource curse symptoms. This is illustrated in the case study of BP‟s Tangguh LNG Project in the separatist region of Papua, Indonesia. BP‟s undertaking of organisational learning, the evolution of institutions that influence company policies, and the governance role that BP has assumed in the region, are nominated as factors preventing the appearance of the resource curse in this case. The study concludes that by taking a greater institutional role in the region, BP has been instrumental in suppressing the resource curse, but that the threat of violent conflict will always linger in such precarious zones.

2010-01-01T00:00:00Z Solomons, Evan http://hdl.handle.net/2123/2166 2008-06-17T13:24:57Z 2007-12-21T02:37:09Z

Title: Gathering Storm: Structuring More Successful Responses to Disasters Authors: Solomons, Evan Abstract: Abstract The period between 1992 and 2005 was turbulent for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Failed responses to Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina resulted in academics questioning the efficacy of FEMA’s structure and ability to coordinate a response. The literature studying this phenomenon focuses on whether the failed responses were due to FEMA’s structure being too flexible or too hierarchical. This thesis argues this duality misses the point. First, the literature is overly focused on failure at the expense of success. This necessarily ignores half the story. Analysing successful responses will provide a more holistic view of what structures are the most appropriate in a response. Second, responses are never wholly open or closed but rather a mixture of both. FEMA’s responses need to be disaggregated into their strategic (policy-makers) and operational (implementers) components and their combinations examined. With reference to two failures, Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina, and two successes, The Great Midwest Floods and Northridge Earthquake, this thesis argues optimal response frameworks are strategically closed and operationally open.

2007-12-21T02:37:09Z Prichard, Nisha http://hdl.handle.net/2123/2165 2008-06-17T13:24:52Z 2007-12-21T02:35:54Z

Title: "Dangerously Radical?" - Explaining the position of the Revolutionary Association of Women in Afghanistan in Post Taliban Afghanistan Authors: Prichard, Nisha Abstract: ABSTRACT The Revolutionary Association of Women in Afghanistan is an organisation that provides a fascinating insight into understandings of gender, national identity and universal human rights. In its construction of a universal human rights message for women in Afghanistan the group responds to the philosophical debate surrounding universal rights and cultural relativism, and the support and criticism coming from the international feminist movement. In order to understand the way that RAWA has framed itself and its message, it is imperative to examine the ways RAWA has responded both to the international principles of universalism and feminism, but also to the national history and culture they operate in. RAWA’s firm local grounding and sense of unique history mean that they control, rather than are controlled by, international principles.

2007-12-21T02:35:54Z Mai, Lillian http://hdl.handle.net/2123/2164 2008-06-17T13:24:51Z 2007-12-21T02:35:13Z

Title: Women and Work in Contemporary Japan: Deconstructing the "Crisis" of the Gender Order Authors: Mai, Lillian Abstract: ABSTRACT The 1990s saw important developments in the employment practices of Japanese women as necessitated by economic recession. Japanese women are increasingly postponing their traditional roles of wife and mother in lieu of expanding education and employment opportunities, suggesting that we are approaching or witnessing a period of redefinition of the prevailing gender structure. This thesis offers a theoretical exposition of this “crisis” in the gender structure utilising Connell’s concept of “hegemonic masculinity” and Finnemore and Sikkink’s “norm life cycle model”. This thesis will be presented as follows: i) hegemonic masculinity will be applied to the Japanese context to argue for the centrality of masculinity defined through the corporation, and for its significance in an understanding of femininity; ii) discussion of the “feminisation” of part-time work in Japan will test whether a challenge to the gender order from within of this nature represents a profound redefinition of the hegemonic gender structure; and iii) discursive study of Japanese state legislation and policy will reveal government commitment to ensuring continuity in gender norm dynamics. The findings suggest that we are not witnessing a period of “crisis” or profound transformation in the gender structure for greater gender equality. The pervasiveness of gender norm ideology in Japan is such that once established these norms have maintained an internal momentum so that changes in the material sphere are constrained by these ideational structures and not vice versa. The current period is marked by cooptation of gender norm challenges by corporations and government in an effort to neutralise gender norm challenge.

2007-12-21T02:35:13Z Davis, Peita http://hdl.handle.net/2123/2163 2008-06-17T13:24:58Z 2007-12-21T02:34:40Z

Title: Filling the Void: Hizbullah's State Building in Lebanon Authors: Davis, Peita Abstract: Abstract Hizbullah is a militarised sub-state group that challenges Lebanon's authority by establishing a parallel power-structure within the state. This thesis argues that the failure of the Lebanese government to provide for its citizens, particularly the disenfranchised Shiite population, has allowed Hizbullah to fill the void of Lebanon's absent government by creating a parallel state-like structure. Hizbullah’s state building is driven by domestic politics, as it strives to “democratically” restructure the political system in its favour rather than take the state by force. Hizbullah occupies a political, social and military position within Lebanon that extends far beyond any traditional definition of a sub-state group. In analysing Hizbullah as a state-building movement, this thesis will shed light on the organisation’s autonomy, strength and objectives in Lebanon and also provide a holistic approach to further study of militarised sub-state groups. iii

2007-12-21T02:34:40Z Andren, Kim http://hdl.handle.net/2123/2159 2008-06-17T13:17:58Z 2007-12-19T03:32:15Z

Title: Prostitution, Pornography and Islamic Law Authors: Andren, Kim Abstract: ABSTRACT This thesis examines how increasing conservatism in Indonesia has affected Indonesian women. In order to avoid presenting them as passive victims of a conservative Islam ideology, the thesis examines women’s NGO responses to this increasing conservatism. This thesis focuses on three legal measures that embody this state-sponsored and local authority enforced conservatism: the Anti-Pornography Bill, Islamic or syariah law in Aceh, and syariah-inspired regional bylaws. The thesis uses Muslim feminist theory and techniques that are employed by Indonesian women’s NGOs in their efforts to repeal these patriarchal legal measures and analyses the nature of the Indonesian state and its relationship with Islam to discern how the state and Indonesia’s history have impacted on Indonesian women. The thesis makes use of open-answer survey responses from selected women’s NGOs to examine the responses of women’s NGOs to the conservative Islam inspired legal measures it examines. These organisations have been vocal defenders of women’s rights and have had some successes in refuting discriminatory policies. Description: Hon Thesis

2007-12-19T03:32:15Z