Research Higher Degrees
Current RHD Students and Their Topics
Past RHD Students and Their Topics
Student Testimonials
Research Higher Degree Theses
Research Supervisors & Areas of Interest
More Information

Research Higher Degrees

PhD and MA
The School of Government offers Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Master of Arts (MA) degrees by research in the fields of Political Science, Public Policy, Public Administration and International Relations. The department can offer thesis supervision broadly within the research interests of members of staff.

Research Supervisors and Areas of Interest

Dr Megan Alessandrini (Hobart)

•Community sector and public policy
• Management and structure of non-government organisations
• Feminist theory / women's policy
• Research and evaluation methodology
• Political theory
• Welfare policy
• Social capital / social economy

Dr William Bostock (Hobart)

• Language planning and policy
• Comparative politics: Western Europe
• Race and ethnic politics
• Mental health policy
• Media and politics

Dr Kate Crowley (Hobart)

• Green politics, parties and governance
• Federalism and environmental policy
• Environmental politics and policy
• Governance for sustainability
• Policy theory and analysis
• Cross cutting, network governance and inter-governmental partnerships

Dr Richard Eccleston (Hobart)

• Comparative political economy with an emphasis on fiscal policy
• Business politics
• Policy analysis and institutional theory
• Globalisation and international tax competition
• Tax reform

Dr Fred Gale (Launceston)

• Local, national, global and comparative forest policy and politics
• Trade and the environment
• International organization
• Global civil society
• Ecological political economy

Dr Robert Hall (Hobart)

• Antarctic and Southern Ocean politics
• International regime theory
• Nature conservation
• Marine policy
• Politics of policing
• Rural policing

Associate Professor Marcus Haward (Hobart)

• Marine resources policy - coastal and ocean management
• Antarctic and Southern Oceans
• Federalism and intergovernmental relations
• Resource policy and management
• Regional development policy


Professor Aynsley Kellow – Head of School (Hobart)

• Australian politics
• Environmental politics and policy, including international dimensions
• Electricity planning
• Trade and environment
• Environmental administration
• Energy policy
• Interest groups and NGOs
• Global governance
• Climate change policy and politics

• Politics and science

Dr Tony McCall (Launceston)

•Regional Development and Innovation
•Agri-food Innovation and Business Collaboration
•Tasmanian Politics and Public Policy
•Environmental politics and policy

Dr Terry Narramore (Hobart)

• Politics of Chinese journalism
• Human rights in China
• Sino-Japanese relations
• Politics of Japanese identity
• Japanese politics and foreign relations
• Asia-Pacific regional politics
• Terrorism
• Media and politics

Dr Matthew Sussex (Hobart)

• International security
• Great power foreign policies
• European and Russian politics
• International relations theory
• Strategic studies
• Conflict, war and defence studies
• Politics of transition

Dr Dirk Tomsa (Launceston)

• Indonesian politics and society
• Authoritarianism and democratization in Asia
• Asia-Pacific international politics
• Non-traditional security issues in Southeast Asia
• Political Islam in Southeast Asia

Dr Joanna Vince (Launceston)

• Australia's oceans policy
• International ocean governance
• Policy development and implementation
• Policy transfer
• Risk policy
• Environmental NGOs and ocean governance

Research Higher Degree Theses

Federalism and the Australian Offshore Constitutional Settlement, Marcus Haward, 1992

Power and Environmental Policy, Kate Crowley, 1994

International Regime formation and Leadership: The Origins of the Antactic Treaty, Robert Hall, 1994

The Transition in Australian Science Policy 1965-1990, Judith Homeshaw,1994

Ideas in Public Policy, David Adams, 1996

Legistative Benefits and the Enforcement Process: The Administration of Food Hygiene Laws in Tasmania 1977-1989, Eve richards, 1996

The Influence of Feminism on Public Policy: Abortion and Equal Pay in Australia and the Republic of Ireland, Elizabeth Shannon, 1997

Democrary Denied: Civil Society and Liberal Democracy in Hong Kong, Nicholas David Thomas, 1997

Political Corruption, Accountability and the media: A Study of Motives and Justifications, Stephen Tanner, 1999

The Art of Governing Conduct: Liberalism and the Paradox of Regulated Freedom, Christine Standish, 2000

From Ethnic to Civic Identity: The European Experience, Adam Grover, 2001

Independence at a Price: The Relationship Between Non-government Human Service Organisations and the Polity in Texas and Tasmania, Megan Alessandrini, 2001

Policy Responses to Environmentalism in Liberal Democratic Political Systems: A Case Study of Ecologically Sustainable Development in Australia, Tony McCall, 2001

The Politics of National Identity in Post-Tiananmen China: Cultural Nationalism v. State Nationalism, Yingjie Guo, 2001

The International Dimension of Democratisation: East Asia, R. Shelley, 2003

A Greener Alternative? Deliberative Democracy Meets Local Government In Australia, Ivan Zwart, 2003

The Development of Australia's Oceans Policy: Change and Stability in a Policy Community, Joanna Vince, 2004

Intergenerational Equity and Australian Agri-environmental Policy (1992-2002), Vicki Maree Sherburd, 2004

Qualitative Changes in Ethno-linguistic Status: A Case Study of the Sorbs in Germany, Ted Cichon, 2004

Diplomacy, Public Opinion and the "Fractalization" of U.S. Antarctic Policy, 1946-1959, Jason Kendall Moore, 2006

A Dialogue of the Deaf: The Rise and Stall of Harm Reduction Policy in Australia from 1980 to 2000, Jacqueline Hallam, 2006

The Responsibility to Protect: No More Rwandas. The International Community and Humanitarian Intervention in the 21st Century, Donald Potter, 2006

Jayaprakash Narayan, democratic Theory and Practice, S. McGushin, 1992

Institutional transfer in Western samoa: A case study in mutual adjustment, Rick Snell, 1994

The Alternative Vision: Australian Republicanism, Jamie Malcolm Robertson, 1997

The Australian Heritage Commission: A vain hope? The role, function and operation of the A.H.C. 1975-1995, Richard Wesley, 1997

The Church and the Conflict in Northern Ireland: A Case for Corrymeela?, Ted Cichon, 2000

Identity Power and Prosperity, Stewart Prins, 2004

The Political Economy of Currency Transaction Taxes, Peter Willans, 2006

Current Research Higher Degree Students and Their Topics

PhD/MA Students

More Information

For information about entry requirements, application procedures and scholarships for higher research degrees contact the Graduate Research Unit at the University of Tasmania. International students should go to the international students site for details.

Prospective students are encouraged to contact staff members working in their research areas. For further information please contact:

Dr William Bostock - Graduate Research Coordinator, School of Government
Phone: (03) 6226 2316 or (03) 6226 2329
Fax: (03) 6226 2864
Email: William.Bostock@utas.edu.au