http://hdl.handle.net/2440/15618 2013-05-20T05:26:51Z 2013-05-20T05:26:51Z King, Marshall William http://hdl.handle.net/2440/77831 2013-05-20T02:30:12Z 2011-12-31T13:30:00Z

Title: The troubles of free speech theory Author: King, Marshall William Abstract: We seem to think there is something “special” about freedom of speech, but on closer examination, this proposition becomes difficult to maintain. This paper assesses and problematises the search for a “free speech principle”. A “free speech principle” denotes the attempt by legal and political theorists to isolate free speech as a standalone, independent value; to find a reason that sets speech apart from arguments regarding a commitment to liberty in general. This search is seemingly destined to revolve around endless conceptual and terminological disputes regarding what is and isn’t justified “free speech”, and attempts to categorise speech that should be precluded by the very freedom it proclaims. In an attempt to understand these difficulties I explore the arguments of Stanley Fish and the idea of free speech as a “social condition” in a recent case. The result is the conclusion that in spite of its universal aspirations, the idea of free speech may be more particular (and thus contested) than is usually acknowledged.

2011-12-31T13:30:00Z Errington, Wayne http://hdl.handle.net/2440/77830 2013-05-20T02:30:10Z 2011-12-31T13:30:00Z

Title: Surplus to requirements: budget politics and the quality of economic debate in Australia Author: Errington, Wayne Abstract: The Gillard Government's insistence on forecasting a budget surplus in the 2012-13 financial year was maintained in the face of deteriorating domestic and international economic conditions, and in the face of criticism from economic commentators and a range of interest groups. The opposition, to the extent it had a discernible budget policy, wished to see a larger budget surplus. The reasons why the government thought that promising a budget surplus was a good idea, and sticking to that promise as conditions changed, are various. The Labor Government needed to lift its ratings for economic management. The importance of this promise to the political fortunes of the government tells us much about the state of economic policy debate in Australia. Nearly thirty years after the Hawke Government set in motion the reforms that now enjoy bipartisan (if not public) support, the quality of economic debate does not appear to have improved a great deal. This paper explores a range of possible explanations for this phenomenon: a poor quality government, the notion of liberal populism, and the decline of the quality press.

2011-12-31T13:30:00Z Hill, Lisa Ellen http://hdl.handle.net/2440/77829 2013-05-20T02:30:06Z 2011-12-31T13:30:00Z

Title: Conceptions of political corruption in ancient Athens and Rome Author: Hill, Lisa Ellen Abstract: There were two broad discourses of corruption in antiquity. The first (‘corruption 1’) conceived corruption in moralistic terms as a loss of virtue in the polity; a generalised condition afflicting political elites and citizens indiscriminately. The second discourse (‘corruption 2’) is the narrow, legalistic view of corruption as the abuse of public office for private gain and, as with contemporary understandings of corruption, this involved activities such as patronage, bribery, extortion and embezzlement. It is sometimes suggested that the first discourse was either the only, or else the dominant, discourse in antiquity. But, as will be shown in the following discussion, corruption 2 was very well developed in the classical period, particularly in Athens and Rome. I also attempt to map and comprehend the fractures and contradictions in the classical attitude to corruption 2 that prevented it from being either monolithic or universally adopted.

2011-12-31T13:30:00Z Davis, Alexander Edmund http://hdl.handle.net/2440/77825 2013-05-20T01:30:06Z 2011-12-31T13:30:00Z

Title: Fear, security and the other: competing conceptions of India in the Australian colonial imagination Author: Davis, Alexander Edmund Abstract: The constructivist project in international relations (IR) has recently extended beyond the transhistorical approach of Alexander Wendt to examine the foundations of state identity. Scholars such as Srdjan Vucetic, Anthony Burke and Priya Chacko have recently examined state and identity formation in the context of Indian and Australian foreign policy. This paper examines Australia’s development of a unique national identity in the context of its external imperial relations with India. The first section discusses the theoretical approaches taken in IR to state formation and state identity and the forming of Australia identity. The second section examines Australia’s perception of India through analysis of the negotiations between Indian and the Australian colonial governments on the regulations over ‘coolie’ labourers and internal debate within Australia on whether or not Indian indentured labour should be accepted. It concludes by examining the affect of colonial ideology on the forming of Australian national identity. It will be argued that India held a potentially friendly / potentially threatening place in Australian national thought during this formative period of Australian identity. The ambivalent position of India in Australian thought played a part in forming Australian identity as conceptually ‘white’ and can be viewed as having a lasting effect on what is perceived as possible in Australian foreign policy.

2011-12-31T13:30:00Z