• myGriffith
    • Staff portal
    • Contact Us⌄
      • Future student enquiries 1800 677 728
      • Current student enquiries 1800 154 055
      • International enquiries +61 7 3735 6425
      • General enquiries 07 3735 7111
      • Online enquiries
      • Staff phonebook
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • Griffith Theses
    • Theses - Higher Degree by Research
    • View Item
    • Home
    • Griffith Theses
    • Theses - Higher Degree by Research
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

  • All of Griffith Research Online
    • Communities & Collections
    • Authors
    • By Issue Date
    • Titles
  • This Collection
    • Authors
    • By Issue Date
    • Titles
  • Statistics

  • Most Popular Items
  • Statistics by Country
  • Most Popular Authors
  • Support

  • Contact us
  • FAQs
  • Admin login

  • Login
  • Policy Design and the Calculation of Political Risk

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    Althaus_2005_01Thesis.pdf (1.519Mb)
    Author(s)
    Althaus, Catherine E.
    Primary Supervisor
    O'Faircheallaigh, Ciaran
    Other Supervisors
    Weller, Pat
    Hollander, Robyn
    Year published
    2005
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    This thesis examines the concept of political risk. It explores how political actors determine whether something is politically risky and what implications this judgment holds for policy design. It establishes that calculations of political risk are a day-to-day occurrence in political life, that they uniquely and influentially structure the public policy process, and that political risk analysis is a valid and distinct conceptual framework. Surveying an extensive multidisciplinary literature, the thesis clarifies its definition of political risk and identifies a gap in the existing political science literature concerning ...
    View more >
    This thesis examines the concept of political risk. It explores how political actors determine whether something is politically risky and what implications this judgment holds for policy design. It establishes that calculations of political risk are a day-to-day occurrence in political life, that they uniquely and influentially structure the public policy process, and that political risk analysis is a valid and distinct conceptual framework. Surveying an extensive multidisciplinary literature, the thesis clarifies its definition of political risk and identifies a gap in the existing political science literature concerning the concept. It exposes a hiatus between the political science discipline and political practice in the recognition of political risk calculation as a central aspect of political judgment. Because the theory of political risk is underdeveloped in political science, the thesis pieces together the existing wisdom from other disciplines that might inform a definition of political risk. It then plots a set of hypotheses to assist in constructing a foundational appreciation of what political risk calculation might entail. The thesis tests the resulting hypotheses using empirical research. A survey of 111 Australian political actors is conducted in order to determine how political risk is understood and operationalised in political practice and to ascertain the consequences of political risk for decision making and policy design. Survey results are complemented by a comparative analysis of four policy issues. The case studies selected were the Citizen's Charter and Mad Cow crisis of the British Major Government and the Charter of Social and Fiscal Responsibility and Smart State policies initiated by the Queensland Beattie Government. The comparative analysis of these cases is designed to add rigour to the interview data. It also provides additional information concerning the policy design implications of political risk calculation by relating interview findings to substantive policy problems. Together, this multi-method research demonstrates that political risk provides a fresh analytical perspective on public policy. Political risk analysis describes a unique aspect of political reality and explains in new ways the decision making process underpinning policy design. Political risk analysis also defends political action against claims of irrationality and attacks that suggest that politics is based on sheer cynicism, because it shows that political risk calculation boasts a defensible logic of its own. In fact, the thesis concludes that political risk provides a conceptual tool that begins to unravel some of the 'mystery' of politics that confounds technocratic models of policy analysis. Awareness of political risk calculation re-establishes political decision making as an endeavour where investigation must proceed with an appreciation of the integrated nature of human judgment that utilises both 'rational' and 'extra-rational' capacities to confront uncertainty.
    View less >
    Thesis Type
    Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
    Degree Program
    Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
    School
    Department of Politics and Public Policy
    DOI
    https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/2814
    Copyright Statement
    The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise.
    Item Access Status
    Public
    Subject
    Political risk
    political science
    policy design
    public policy
    Publication URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10072/366701
    Collection
    • Theses - Higher Degree by Research

    Footer

    Disclaimer

    • Privacy policy
    • Copyright matters
    • CRICOS Provider - 00233E

    Tagline

    • Gold Coast
    • Logan
    • Brisbane - Queensland, Australia
    First Peoples of Australia
    • Aboriginal
    • Torres Strait Islander