Measuring Social Cohesion: Conceptual Fragmentation and Policy Consequences
Author/editor:Rouven Link, Matteo Vergani, Andrea Giovannetti, Simon Angus, Melanie Rayment, Nicholas Biddle, Hugh Piper, Alex Fischer
Year published:2026
Governments, academics, and communities have defined social cohesion through multiple, overlapping lenses, reflecting different policy objectives, disciplinary traditions, and national contexts. Across disciplines and public policy domains, these definitions vary substantially. For instance,…
Measuring Social Cohesion: Towards a Shared Measurement Framework for Social Cohesion in Australia
Author/editor:Matteo Vergani, Andrea Giovannetti, Rouven Link, Simon Angus, Melanie Rayment, Nicholas Biddle
Year published:2026
Public perceptions of Higher Education and its role in strengthening (and weakening) democracy in Australia
Author/editor:Professor Nicholas Biddle, Dr Alex Fischer, Professor Matthew Gray, Professor Geoff Mulgan, Professor Rabee Tourkey
Year published:2026
Australian higher education is internationally competitive and globally connected, yet domestically strained, politically contested, and increasingly judged through the lens of affordability, accessibility, and public value. We examine how Australians perceive their universities and, in particular…
Information Manipulation and Harassment of Local Leaders: Impacts and Implications
Author/editor:Ika Trijsburg, Paul Costello
Year published:2026
The issue of targeted disinformation and harassment of local elected representatives is a local manifestation of broader societal trends. Harassment is enabled by new technologies and capabilities to manipulate information. This includes social media platforms as carriers and amplifiers, and…
Disasters and democratic resilience: evidence suggesting the need for a long-term community approach and new monitoring systems
Author/editor:Briony C. Rogers, Mark Duckworth, Elise Park, Simon Angus, Rebecca Wickes, Marc Ablong, Daniel P. Aldrich and Alex Fischer
Year published:2026
This discussion paper asks two questions: what do we know about how disasters affect social cohesion in Australia, and how can strengthening democratic resilience improve our capacity to prepare, respond and recover? As climate change causes extreme weather events like heatwaves, droughts and heavy…
Social Cohesion and Support for Democracy in Australia: Assessing recent polling data and frameworks
Author/editor:Professor Nicholas Biddle and Professor Matthewu Gray
Year published:2026
This paper is the first in a series examining the relationship between support for democracy and social cohesion in Australia. Following the terrorist attack in Bondi in December 2025 targeting Jewish Australians, the Federal Government expanded social cohesion to be a more central policy concern…
Resilient Democracy | Exploring Evidence and Models for Experiential Civic Education Opportunities
Author/editor:Professor Murray Print, University of Sydney
Year published:2026
A Framework for Understanding the Drivers of Cohesion and Polarisation in Australia
Author/editor:Tim Dixon and Nicholas Biddle
Year published:2025
Democracies around the world are confronting rising polarisation, driven by changes in media environments, political incentives, and social fragmentation. Australia has not experienced the severe divisions seen in some comparable democracies, but recent evidence shows emerging risks across…
Artificial Intelligence, False Information, and Electoral Integrity Perceptions
Author/editor:Nicholas Biddle, Svitlana Chernykh, Constanza Sanhueza Petrarca, and Sophie Farthing
Year published:2025
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming information environments, amplifying both opportunities and risks for democratic systems. Among the most pressing concerns are the ways in which generative AI and digital misinformation may affect citizens’ perceptions of electoral integrity.…
Civic Infrastructure in the Age of Digital Engagement
Author/editor:Peter Lewis, Alex Fischer, Adele Webb, Nicholas Biddle, Sally Cripps, Thea Snow, and Geoff Mulgan
Year published:2025
We are in a race to rebuild trust and meaningful citizen engagement at a time when economic, social, political, and technological forces pull in the opposite direction. Traditional in-person engagement is declining, and government consultation processes are not meeting expectations. At the same…