Towards a relational democracy in Australia: Key insights from the Human Government Workshop
Author/editor:Martin Stewart-Weeks, Alex Fischer, Maia Gould, Hugh Piper, Llewelyn Ross, Bonnie Shaw, Nicholas Biddle, Caroline Croser-Barlow and Geoff Mulgan
Year published:2026
This report provides a summary of the February 2026 Human Government Workshop, the fourth in a series originally convened by ANZSOG and ANU. This session was an opportunity for the inaugural ARDN Global Fellow, Sir Geoff Mulgan, to join ANZSOG Practice Fellow Martin Stewart-Weeks in a conversation…
Mapping the civic life journey (ARDN Report)
Author/editor:Llewelyn Ross, Alex Fischer, Brenton Prosser, Liz Vahtrick, Nick Biddle and Hugh Piper
Year published:2026
Australia's civic participation is declining, according to our current measurement tools. Volunteering rates are down, engagement in public forums and consultations is inconsistent, and membership rates in organisations are lower than a decade ago. While young people report sharply lower senses of…
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
Income, Place, and Perceptions of Fiscal Fairness: Evidence from Australian Federalism (Article)
Author/editor:Fenwick, Tracy and Thiago N. Silva
Year published:2026
How do citizens assess whether the state or territory in which they live receives its ‘fair share’ of federal resources? We develop a theory of dual positional logic, which holds that perceptions of fiscal fairness emerge from the intersection of individual income and territorial context. Citizens…