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< Back Baogang He Associate About Baogang He has become widely known for his work in Chinese democratization and politics, in particular the deliberative politics in China. He is Alfred Deakin Professor and Chair in International Relations since 2005, at Deakin University, Australia.

< Back SCIENCE FACTIONALISM: HOW GROUP IDENTITY LANGUAGE AFFECTS PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT WITH CONTROVERSIAL SCIENCE ON A POPULAR Q&A DIGITAL PLATFORM IN CHINA ABSTRACT Misinformation and outgroup bias language are two pathologies challenging informed citizenship. This paper examines how identity language is used in misinformation and debunking messages about controversial science on a Chinese popular Q&A platform, and their impact on how the public engage with science. We collected an eight-year time series dataset of public discussion (N=40,101) on one of the most controversial science issues in China (GMO) from a popular digital Q&A platform, Zhihu. We found that both misinformation and debunking messages use a substantial amount of group identity languages about a controversial science issue, which we term as the phenomenon of science factionalism – discussion about science is divided by factions that are formed upon science attitudes. We found that posts that use science factionalism receive more digital votes and comments, even among the science-savvy community in China. Science factionalism has consequences on the quality of public discourse, increasing the use of negative language. We discussed the implications of how science factionalism interacts with the digital attention economy to affect public engagement with science misinformation. BIO Kaiping Chen is an Assistant Professor in Computational Communication at University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Life Sciences Communication. She is also a faculty affiliate of the Robert & Jean Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies, the Center for East Asian Studies, and the African Studies Program. Chen’s research employs data science and machine learning methods as well as interviews to examine how digital media and technologies affect politicians' accountability to public well-being and how deliberative designs can improve the quality of public discourse on controversial and emerging technologies and mitigate the spread of misinformation and misperception. Chen received Ph.D. in Communication from Stanford University, MPA from Columbia University, and bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Fudan University. Chen’s work has been supported by the US National Science Foundation. Her work was published or accepted in flagship journals across disciplines, including American Political Science Review, Journal of Communication, New Media & Society, Public Opinion Quarterly, Public Understanding of Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), and among other peer-reviewed journals. Previous Next

Research Assistant < Back Alessandra Pecci Research Assistant About Alessandra worked as Research Assistant at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the Australian National University from 2009 to 2011.

Latest News - Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance < Back Olivia Mendoza has received the prestigious Deliberative Democracy PhD Scholarship 1 Sept 2023 This semester we are excited to welcome a new PhD student, Olivia Mendoza, to the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance. Olivia is the recipient of the prestigious Deliberative Democracy PhD Scholarship offered to students aiming to specialise in one of the core research areas of the Centre. Olivia's PhD project advances the Centre's research focus on theory and methods of deliberative democracy . It lies at the intersection of feminist philosophy and democratic theory focusing particularly on the role of emotions in public deliberation. Olivia's research is on ethics, feminist, and socio-political philosophy, with focus on emotions and social justice. She will investigate the role of emotions in the context of online political discussions in the Philippines. More specifically, she unpacks how emotions such as hate, resentment, or anger shape the dynamics of political participation and deliberation leading to exclusions, marginalization, illegitimate decision-making, or harms in the affective level. Prior to joining the Centre, Olivia was an Assistant Professor of Philosophy in the University of the Philippines Baguio (UP), where she taught courses on ethics and the history of philosophy and the social sciences. Her most recent work, "Emotions and Filipino Resilience," is forthcoming in Routledge, and is part of a collection of works of Filipino philosophers. She was also recently awarded the 'One UP Faculty Grant Award' in Philosophy (Ethics) for Outstanding Teaching and Public Service in UP. Asked what she is most looking forward to about her PhD, Olivia said that she is keen to learn more from other scholars in the Centre and how they masterfully blend theory and practice and produce impactful works on deliberative democracy. She finds the Centre's collegial atmosphere very conducive to intellectual work: "My supervisory panel is composed of very fine scholars who are experts in their fields and who are generous in their mentorship." Olivia’s PhD project is supervised by Dr Hans Asenbaum , Dr Adele Webb and Professor John Dryzek .

The CDDGG 10th Anniversary Conversation Series In 2024 the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, at the University of Canberra, turns 10 years old. In celebration, we are organising a conversation series that is open to all, addressing 10 of the most pressing questions facing deliberative democracy today. Each month we will host a one-hour hybrid conversation featuring two short talks by world-leading scholars and practitioners, followed by a moderated discussion. Events will be filmed and posted on our YouTube channel for wider dissemination. Please keep checking our upcoming events page for the details and registration of each month’s conversation. Next event 10 Big Questions 20 February 2024 11:00 am HYBRID How can deliberative democracy listen to nonhumans? Prof Danielle Celermajer, University of Sydney, Australia Frederic Hanusch, Justus Liebig University, Germany Watch Recording Moderated by Dr Hans Asenbaum 12 March 2024 11:15 am HYBRID Can deliberative democracy take root in settler colonial states? Dr Justin McCaul, Australian National University, Australia Dr Emily Beausoleil, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand Watch Recording Moderated by Dr Adele Webb 9 April 2024 11:00 am ONLINE Are mini-publics enough to promote deliberative democracy? Prof Simone Chambers, University of California Irvine, United States Prof Hélène Landemore, Yale University, United States Watch Recording Moderated by Prof John Dryzek 14 May 2024 6:00 pm ONLINE Does deliberative democracy stand a chance in neoliberal times? Prof John Dryzek, University of Canberra, Australia Prof Oliver Escobar, University of Edinburgh Watch Recording Moderated by Prof Nicole Curato 18 June 2024 6:00 pm ONLINE Are everyday citizens competent deliberators? Prof Simon Niemeyer, University of Canberra Prof Daniel Kübler, University of Zurich Watch Recording Moderated by Dr Lucy J Parry 2 July 2024 11:00 am HYBRID How should deliberative democracy respond to extremism? Dr Jordan McSwiney, University of Canberra Prof John Gastil, Pennsylvania State University Watch Recording Moderated by Prof Selen Ercan 6 August 2024 10:00 am ONLINE How can deliberative democracy challenge macho populism? Dr Hans Asenbaum, University of Canberra Dr Maria Esperanza Casullo, Universidad Nacional de Río Negro Watch Recording Moderated by Dr Jordan McSwiney 24 September 2024 6:00 pm ONLINE How can we build a global deliberative democracy? Nicole Curato, University of Canberra William Smith, Chinese University of Hong Kong Watch Recording Moderated by Wendy Conway-Lamb 8 October 2024 6:00 pm ONLINE What can deliberative democracy learn from social movements? Nicole Doerr, University of Copenhagen Claire Mellier, Iswe Foundation Watch Recording Moderated by Madeleine Egan 19 November 2024 6:00 pm HYBRID How deliberative is Australian Democracy? Selen Ercan, University of Canberra, Adele Webb, University of Canberra Andrea Carson, La Trobe University Ariadne Vromen, Australian National University Watch Recording Moderated by Ariadne Vromen Recordings The CDDGG 10th Anniversary Conversation ... Play Video Play Video 01:12:37 How deliberative is Australian democracy? Australian politics is becoming increasingly toxic. The ability to hold constructive discussions or to respectfully disagree on key political debates seems out of reach. While many democracies are embracing a surge in public deliberation, Australian political institutions seem hesitant to adopt innovations that could broaden and deepen democratic conversations. How can we improve the quality of political discourse in Australia and create space for diverse and marginalised voices? You are invited to watch this timely discussion featuring Selen Ercan (University of Canberra), Adele Webb (University of Canberra), and Andrea Carson (La Trobe University). The panel will unpack the reasons behind the state of deliberation in Australia and explore new ways of living together based on justice and mutual respect. The discussion will be moderated by Ariadne Vromen (ANU). Speakers Ariadne Vromen holds the Sir John Bunting Chair of Public Administration at ANU’s Crawford School of Public Policy. She is also Deputy Dean (Research) at the Australia and New Zealand School of Government. Selen Ercan is a Professor and Director at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, University of Canberra. Adele Webb is a Research Fellow in Democracy and Citizen Engagement at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, University of Canberra. Andrea Carson is a Professor of Political Communication in the Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy at La Trobe University. Andrea is a political scientist and journalism scholar. This event is part of the University of Canberra's Research Festival 2024 and hosted by the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance. Play Video Play Video 36:19 What can deliberative democracy learn from social movements? Around the world, social movements are prompting deliberative democracy's community of practice to reflect on their theories of change. What principles and taken-for-granted assumptions underpin the so-called 'deliberative wave' in OECD countries? Can deliberative mini-publics commissioned by public authorities spark systemic change, or do they reinforce existing power structures? How can social movements' communicative practices that involve narrative, visual, and artistic forms of expression transform deliberative thinking? What can deliberative democracy learn from social movements? You are invited to watch this conversation on this timely topic featuring Dr. Nicole Doerr (University of Copenhagen) and Claire Mellier (Iswe Foundation). This seminar was chaired by Madeleine Egan. This event is part 9 of a 10-part seminar series on 10 Big Questions on Deliberative Democracy convened by Dr Adele Webb. Speakers Nicole Doerr is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Copenhagen. Her work is on deliberative democracy and visual practices, deliberation and critical practices of intersectional translation and migrants' and minorities' contributions to deliberative democratic practice and theory. Claire Mellier is the Knowledge and Practice Lead at Iswe Foundation. She co-initiated and organised the world's first Global Citizens' Assembly for COP26. Moderator Madeleine Egan is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. Play Video Play Video 34:42 How can we build a global deliberative democracy? How can we build a global deliberative democracy? Attempting to build a global deliberative democracy before we’ve succeeded in building a national or even local deliberative democracy may seem premature, but the scale of the collective challenges facing humanity makes the question unavoidable. In this conversation, Nicole Curato and William Smith will chart plausible political strategies to build deliberative democracy within and beyond formal institutions of global governance. This event is part 8 of a 10-part seminar series on 10 Big Questions on Deliberative Democracy convened by Dr Adele Webb. About the speakers Nicole Curato is Professor of Political Sociology at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. She is the founder of the Global Citizens' Assembly Network and is leading the research on the world's first global citizens' assembly on the climate and ecological crisis. William Smith is a political theorist with interest and expertise in contemporary democratic theory and contentious politics. He has written extensively about deliberative democracy, exploring its relevance to topics such as civil disobedience, police reform, and transnational and global politics. In relation to the latter, he is currently exploring the limits and potential of ‘mini-publics’ as a means of enhancing the deliberative democratic credentials of transnational and global governance. Moderator Wendy Conway-Lamb is a PhD student at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, University of Canberra. She explores how those most affected by climate impacts at local levels can be more meaningfully included in global adaptation governance, with an empirical focus on Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. Seminar Convener: Adele Webb Online floor manager: Ferdinand Sanchez All Centre seminars are recorded. To access the recording of our seminar series and other events, visit our YouTube channel. Play Video Play Video 34:51 How can deliberative democracy challenge macho populism? Can deliberative democracy challenge macho populism? Can deliberative democracy challenge macho populism? For Hans Asenbaum, the field of deliberative democracy may have come a long way in recognising female marginalisation, but it has so far neglected cisgender, heterosexual, masculinities. Only when deliberative democracy recognises such hegemonic identities can it challenge the heterosexist domination underpinning macho populism. María Esperanza Casullo has a different take. For her, deliberative democracy can challenge macho populism by upholding the value of the most basic of human activities: talking. Macho populism seeks to define the simple act of talking as unproductive, decadent, in sum, feminine. It has a clear preference for supposedly masculine performances of aggression. Therefore, the act of deliberation itself has the potential to become the grounds for resistance. This event is part 7 of a 10-part seminar series on 10 Big Questions on Deliberative Democracy convened by Dr Adele Webb🌟 This seminar was chaired by Dr Jordan McSwiney. Speakers: Hans Asenbaum is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. María Esperanza Casullo is an Associate Professor at the National University of Rio Negro and a researcher at CONICET in Argentina. Jordan McSwiney is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. Load More

< Back Lucy J. Parry Senior Research Associate About Lucy J. Parry is a Research Associate at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance. She is currently the project manager of Monitoring Deliberative Integrity in Australia and a collaborator on the Australian citizens’ jury on genome editing . Prior to her current role she was a Research Associate with Participedia and has documented hundreds of cases and methods of democratic innovation around the world on their crowd-sourced, open access database. Her research interests include deliberative systems, deliberative mini-publics and democratic innovations, and animal ethics. Uniting these areas is a commitment to bring deliberative theory and practice together, along with her methodological expertise in Q Methodology. She has authored a number of publications and presented her research at international conferences in Australia, Austria and the U.K. Her current research explores the impacts and integrity of deliberative mini-publics. Key Publications Jean-Paul Gagnon, Paul Emiljanowicz, Lucy J. Parry, Bomikazi Zeka, Nick Vlahos, Angela Tan-Kantor, Alex Prior, Adrian Bua, and John Hawkins (2022) TaxTrack’: Introducing a Democratic Innovation for Taxation. Australasian Parliamentary Review. Parry, L.J., Asenbaum, H. & Ercan, S.E. (2021). Democracy in flux: a systemic view on the impact of COVID-19. Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, 15(2): 197-205. https://doi.org/10.1108/TG-09-2020-0269 Parry, L.J. & Ercan, S.A. (2020). Using Participedia to study the impacts of mini-publics. Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance Working Paper 2020/02 . Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance. Parry, L.J., Alver, J. & Thompson, N. (2019). Democratic Innovation in Australasia. In Elstub, S. & Escobar, O. (2019). Handbook of Democratic Innovation and Governance. Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781786433862 Parry, L.J. (2019). Discourses on foxhunting in the public sphere: a Q methodological study. British Politics. 14, 290-310. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41293-018-0089-5 Parry, L.J. (2017). Don’t put all your speech-acts in one basket: situating animal activism in the deliberative system. Environmental Values, 26(4), 437-455. https://doi.org/10.3197/096327117X14976900137340 Full list of publications available in GoogleScholar . Teaching Tutor, Language Center, Webster Vienna Private University. 2017-2021. Tutor, Public Policy and Administration, Faculty of Business, Government and Law, University of Canberra. 2017. Graduate Teaching Assistant, History of Western Political Thought, Department of Politics, University of Sheffield. 2014-2016. Administration Co-editor of the Journal of Deliberative Democracy, 2023-present. Editor of the Deliberative Democracy Digest, 2023-present. Co-editor, BroadAgenda, 50/50 by 2030 Foundation, 2017. Public Engagement Parry, L.J., Asenbaum, H., and Ercan, S. A. (2021) Recipes for democratic participation during the pandemic: from anti-lockdown protest to a participatory system. Agora . 15 March. Parry, L.J. (2017) #MeToo and Me: the transformative power in numbers, BroadAgenda , 20 October. Curato, N. and Parry, L.J. (2017) Deliberative Democracy must rise to the threat of populist rhetoric. The Conversation . 7 June.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow < Back Hayley Stevenson Postdoctoral Research Fellow About Hayley Stevenson's principal research interests include: global environmental politics and climate change, global civil society, legitimacy in international relations, and deliberative global governance. She is a Reader in Politics and International Relations at the University of Sheffield.

Latest News - Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance < Back Welcoming our new PhD and honours students to the Centre 5 Feb 2025 We are delighted to welcome four new students to our Centre this year, each bringing fresh perspectives and valuable contributions to our research community. Their work spans critical areas in relation to deliberative democracy such as sustainability, social work, neurodivergence, mental health, and extremist ideologies, further strengthening the depth and impact of our research. Dakila Kim Yee (PhD Student) Dakila Kim Yee joins us as a PhD candidate researching sustainability transitions in the Philippines. Under the supervision of Associate Professor Jonathan Pickering, Dr Adele Webb, and Professor John Dryzek, Dakila’s dissertation will explore the challenges envronmetnal governance face under the populist regime of Rodrigo Duterte. Elise Clark (Honours Student) With a background in social work, Elise Clark seeks to bridge social work and deliberative democracy. Her project explores and advances methods of engagement with disadvantaged communities. She is supervised by Professor Selen Ercan and Dr Adele Webb. Chris Brookhouse (Honours Student) Chris Brookhouse brings in a psychological perspective on deliberation, examining the intersection of neurodivergence, mental health, and deliberative engagement. His research interests also include neurodiverse and queer theory, disability studies and mad studies. Chris is supervised by Dr Hans Asenbaum and Dr Adele Webb. Micaela Wolf (Honours Student) Micaela Wolf aims to focus on the understanding and strengthening democratic resilience in an era of political polarisation. She will explore the manifestations of extremist ideologies in contemporary Australian democracy, working closely with Dr Jordan McSwiney and Professor Selen Ercan.

< Back Democratic Theorizing Hans Asenbaum, University of Canberra Tue 13 April 2021 8:00pm-9:00pm Virtual seminar Seminar recording is available on our YouTube channel. Abstract Over centuries, democratic theory has developed emancipatory ideals of inclusion, empowerment, and transparency. These ideals, however, have hardly been applied to the process of theorizing itself. Democratic theory is a product of the ivory tower. The Democratic Theorizing Project sets out to confront this problem. Democratic theorizing – opposed to established approaches to theorizing democracy – conceptualizes theory production as a participatory space. It applies the values of democratic innovations to theorizing. Democratic theorizing includes affected people, empowers those on the margins, and facilitates transparency. The proposed approach attempts to realize these ideals by building on three sources: grounded normative theory, which develops theory in an ongoing conversation with the data; participatory research, which invites participants as research collaborators; and new materialism, which flattens the hierarchies between researchers, participants, and data. The resulting approach of democratic theorizing draws on an ongoing theorizing project in collaboration with the Black Lives Matter movement. About the speaker Hans Asenbaum is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. His research interests include identity and inclusion in new participatory spaces, digital politics, and theories of deliberative, participatory and radical democracy. His work has been published in the American Political Science Review, New Media & Society, Communication Theory, Politics & Gender, the European Journal of Social Theory, and Political Studies. Hans is Co-convener of the Participatory and Deliberative Democracy Specialist Group of the Political Studies Association in the UK. Previous Next

< Back How do voters want to be represented? An investigation in how parties can strengthen democracy Annika Werner, Australian National University Tue 13 August 2019 11:00am - 12:00pm The Dryzek Room, Building 22, University of Canberra Abstract The diagnosis that large parts of democratic publics are disenchanted with political parties is wide spread. Also, that this is a problem for democracy is undeniable, given the crucial role parties play in the representative system. However, what parties can do about this is still much less clear. How should parties make representative democracy work to give it more legitimacy? Dominant democracy models assume that voters want parties to fulfil the promises of their election campaigns and that this is especially true for the party a voter supports. The congruence between voters’ policy preferences, party programs, and party behavior is argued to ensure policy responsiveness and the meaningfulness of elections. Whether voters agree with these assumptions, however, remains largely unclear. Thus, we actually have little robust knowledge about the yardstick against which political elites are judged. This article is one of the first empirical studies to investigate voter preferences regarding party behavior. It pits three ideal-type party representative styles against each other: promise-keeping, focus on public opinion, and seeking the common good. Furthermore, it tests whether voters prefer their party – over other parties – to keep their promises. Using innovative conjoint survey experiments in a most-different design – comparing Austria and Australia – this study finds that, generally, voters care least about parties keeping their promises and their preferences are unaffected by their party support. These results challenge common theoretical assumptions about the party behavior that might make democracy seem legitimate in the eyes of the people. About the speaker Dr Annika Werner is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Politics and International Relations, Australian National University. Her research focuses on party behaviour, representation and public attitudes in the democracies of Europe and Oceania and has been published in journals such as the Journal of European Public Policy, Democratization, Party Politics, International Political Science Review, Representation, and Australian Journal of Political Science. Her book “International Populism: The Radical Right in the European Parliament”, co-authored with Duncan McDonnell, is forthcoming with Hurst/Oxford University Press. Annika is Steering Group member of the Manifesto Project (MARPOR, former CMP) and Co-Editor of the Australian Journal of Political Science. Previous Next

< Back The consensus project and three levels of deliberation Emmanuel Ani, University of Ghana Tue 5 December 2017 11:00am - 12:00pm The Dryzek Room, Building 22, University of Canberra Abstract The basic argument is that the consensus debate has not been very meaningful until now because deliberation as well as issues for deliberation have not been categorized into different levels to expose the varying challenges of reaching common agreement and the kinds of deliberative approaches entailed in each category. The research attempts this categorization. The objective is to further clarify the debate and outline a few implications for further research regarding the viability of making consensus a stopping rule for deliberation. About the speaker Emmanuel Ifeanyi Ani is currently a Senior lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon. He obtained a National Diploma (ND) and a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Mass Communication with Distinction from the Institute of Journalism, Management and Continuing Education, Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) Consult, a BA in Philosophy from the University of Ibadan, a B. Phil in Philosophy from the Pontificia Università Urbaniana Roma (Urban Pontifical University, Rome), Italy, an MA and a PhD in Philosophy from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nigeria. Awarded best graduating student at graduate and post-graduate levels, he is a member of the Nigerian Philosophical Association. He was editor of Fact Magazine and is co-founder of Teleads Career Services. Previous Next

Postdoctoral Research Fellow < Back Nick Vlahos Postdoctoral Research Fellow About Nick Vlahos is working on participatory and deliberative democracy; particularly how public decision-making can mitigate inequality. He is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance.

< Back Francesco Veri Associate About Francesco Veri is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Democracy Studies at the University of Zurich , a Postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Geneva and a Research Associate at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra.

Latest News - Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance < Back New Books on Democracy - Reception and Celebration 27 Sept 2022 On 27 September, we celebrated new books on democracy as part of the 2022 APSA Conference. Authors of the following publications each shared a short synopsis of their books: Communication Forms and Deliberation Dynamic – A Relational Content and Sequence Analysis of Political Online Discussion on Participation Platforms (2022) by Katharina Esau. Chasing Freedom, the Philippines’ Long Journey to Democratic Ambivalence (2002) by Adele Webb. Collaboration and Public Policy, Agency in the Pursuit of Public Purpose (2022) by Helen Sullivan. Complementary Democracy, The Art of Deliberative Listening (2022) edited by Matt Qvotrup and Daniela Vancic. Crowdsourced Politics, The Rise of Online Petitions & Micro-Donations (2022) by Ariadne Vromen, Darren Halpin and Michael Vaughan. Democratizing Global Justice, Deliberating Global Goals (2021) by John S. Dryzek and Ana Tanasoca. Mending Democracy, Democratic Repair in Disconnected Times (2020) by Carolyn M. Hendriks, Selen A. Ercan and John Boswell. Deliberative Mini-Publics, Core Design Features (2021) by Nicole Curato, David M. Farrell, Brigitte Geissel, Kimmo Grönlund, Patricia Mockler, Jean Benoit Pilet, Alan Renwick, Jonathan Rose, Maija Setälä and Jane Suiter. Sexuality and Gender Diversity Rights in Southeast Asia (2022) by Anthony J. Langlois. The Politics of Social Democracy: Issues, Dilemmas, and Future Directions for the Centre-Left (2021) By Rob Manwaring Research Methods in Deliberative Democracy (Oxford University Press), forthcoming on 25 October. The Politics of Becoming: Anonymity and Democracy in the Digital Age (OUP), by Hans Asenbaum, forthcoming in 2022.

Research Fellow < Back Sonya Duus Research Fellow About Sonya Duus' research interests relate to the intersections of human and natural systems as they relate to current dilemmas. She has a particular interest in incorporating historical dimensions in her work.

Faculty Affiliate < Back Jonathan Pickering Faculty Affiliate About Jonathan Pickering's research focuses on democracy and justice in global environmental governance, with an emphasis on climate change and biodiversity. He is an Assistant Professor in the School of Politics, Economics and Society at the University of Canberra, where he teaches International Relations.

John S. Dryzek < Back Genome Editing: Formulating an Australian Community Response Investigator(s): John S. Dryzek

< Back EROSION OF DEMOCRACY AND DEMOCRATIC RESILIENCE ABSTRACT Research on erosion of democracy has blossomed during the last decade. Much less scholarly attention has been devoted to the issue of democratic resilience. But how can we understand democratic resilience? How can we conceptualize it? What role do institutions, actors and structural factors play? I sketch three potential reactions of resilient democratic regimes to erosion of democracy: to withstand without changes, to adapt through internal changes, and to recover without losing the democratic character of its regime and its core institutions, organizations and procedures.. BIO Wolfgang Merkel is Prof. of Political Science at the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) and Senior Scholar of the Democracy Institute at Central European University in Budapest. He is i.a. a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Science and a Prof. em. At Humboldt University of Berlin. Previous Next

< Back New water for water dispute resolution: Tribal water disputes in Arizona and refugee host communities in Lebanon and Jordan Rhett Larson, Arizona State University Tue 10 July 2018 11:00am - 12:00pm The Dryzek Room, Building 22, University of Canberra Abstract Water scarcity often leads to water disputes. New water supplies—such as bulk water imports, desalination, cloud seeding, or increased stream flows from improved forest management—can mitigate water scarcity and thus help avoid, resolve, or mitigate water disputes. However, new water supplies can also aggravate water disputes if not developed in concert with legal reforms. This Article evaluates the role of new water in two cases of water disputes in arid regions and proposes legal reforms to promote new water a means of water dispute resolution. The first case is the adjudication of water rights in the Gila River basin in Arizona, including the long-standing water dispute between the Hope Tribe and the Navajo Nation. The second case involved disputes over water resources in refugee host communities in Lebanon and Jordan. In each case, development of new water faces legal obstacles and environmental concerns that must be overcome if those augmented supplies are to help address ongoing water disputes. About the speaker Rhett Larson is a Morrison Fellow in Water Law and associate professor in the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. He is also a faculty fellow in the Center for Law and Global Affairs, and the Center for Law, Science, and Innovation. He is a senior research fellow with the Kyl Center for Water Policy at ASU's Morrison Institute for Public Policy. Professor Larson’s research and teaching interests are in property law, administrative law, and environmental and natural resource law, in particular, domestic and international water law and policy. Professor Larson’s research focuses on the impact of technological innovation on water rights regimes, in particularly transboundary waters, and on the sustainability implications of a human right to water. He works on dispute resolution and improved processes in water rights adjudications in Arizona and the Colorado River Basin with the Kyl Center for Water Policy. Professor Larson was a visiting professor and Fulbright Scholar at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, and works in the Middle East on water security issues. Professor Larson also practiced environmental and natural resource law with law firms in Arizona, focusing on water rights, water quality, and real estate transactions. Previous Next

Latest News - Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance < Back New Report Unpacks Risks to the Integrity of Deliberative Mini-Publics 17 Feb 2025 On 11 February 2025, close to 100 academics, practitioners, and policymakers joined the launch of Deliberative Integrity: Risks and Responses in Mini-Public Governance , authored by Dr Lucy J. Parry and Professor Nicole Curato (University of Canberra). The report highlights risks facing deliberative mini-publics (DMPs) and offers strategies to safeguard their integrity. Moderated by Professor Oliver Escobar (University of Edinburgh), the launch featured insights from the authors and expert discussants, including Tessa Dunlop (European Commission), Damien du Preez (Stellenbosch University), and Marjan H. Ehsassi (Federation for Innovation in Democracy – North America). The Report is based on three years of academic research, featuring interviews with over sixty members of the deliberative democracy’s community of practice from around the world. The project was funded by the Australian Research Council’s Special Research Initiative. Five Integrity Risks The report identifies five major risks that challenge the integrity of DMPs including economic pressures, control and constraint of commissioning authorities, the orthodoxy of design where "process is prioritized over people," poor governance structures, and ambiguous integration and impact to the wider political system. Responses to these risks, according to research respondents, are already taking place within the design and implementation of DMPs, within community of practice, and within the broader political systems, although more can be done to mitigate them. “Many people are acutely aware of and anticipate risks to deliberative integrity and try to address them, and that there is already a proactive and collaborative community of practice," said Lucy Parry, one of the report’s authors. “Our aim here has been to help provide a foundation upon which further collaborations can be built,” she added. A Call for Action The authors stress the importance of “honest and reflexive conversations” to uphold deliberative integrity and cautioned that failure to address these risks could reduce DMPs to “another form of citizen engagement instrumentalised for political or commercial gain”. With a growing appetite for institutionalizing participatory governance, the report urges policymakers, academics, and practitioners to adopt stronger safeguards and rethink DMPs' role within the political system. For more details, the full report is available via the University of Canberra . Access the presentation slides and event transcript, here (1) presentation slides and (2) transcript .