Current Research
1.Everyday Life in a Ministry
This book will be an anthropological study of life in a ministry as experienced by both ministers and their top civil servants. I will write an ‘insider’ account of ‘life at the top’. I collected the information in three ways. First, I interviewed ministers and permanent secretaries on how they see their world. I conducted three x 2-hours interviews with each person. Second, I sat in the private office and watch its comings and goings as a non-participant observer. Finally, I ‘shadowed’ the minister and permanent secretary; that is, literally followed them around for a week at a time. I completed the field work in April 2005. I will complete the book in 2009.
2.The Australian Study of Politics
Funded by the Australian Political Science Association (APSA) this project documents the history of the study of politics in Australia, whether it is described as political studies or political science. It focuses on the twentieth century and covers the main institutions, fields, and themes. Duration 2007-9. Amount $30,000. The book will be published by Palgrave-Macmillan in November 2009.
3.The State as Cultural Practice
This book will be the third volume with Mark Bevir developing our interpretive approach to the study of politics. It will be published by Oxford University Press in 2010.
4. Portrait of a Journal: 25 Years of Public Administration, 1986-2011.
In 2011, I will have been editor of Public Administration for 25 years. Wiley-Blackwell has agreed to publish a 100,000-word selection of articles published in the journal during that time. I will write an introductory essay, contribute one chapter and there will be a short ‘afterword’ on each essay by its author.
