Prof Ron Levy

Professor Ron Levy’s work adapts the political theory of deliberative democracy to understand how contentious legal problems might be settled more effectively. He is the winner of several research awards including grants from Australian and overseas funding bodies. His extensive research, media commentary and governmental/NGO advice approaches contentious areas such as armed conflict, deeply-divided societies, Indigenous-settler conflicts, human rights and the environment.

Levy's books include Deliberative Peace Referendums (Oxford University Press, 2021, with Ian O'Flynn and Hoi Kong); The Law of Deliberative Democracy (Routledge, 2016, with Graeme Orr) and The Cambridge Handbook of Deliberative Constitutionalism (Cambridge University Press, 2018, with Hoi Kong, Graeme Orr and Jeff King eds). He has published works on law and political theory, in five countries, in books and journals including Public Law, McGill Law Journal, UNSW Law Journal, Melbourne University Law Review, Public Law Review, Election Law Journal and The Oxford Handbook of Deliberative Democracy.

He was a chief investigator on two ARC Discovery Projects: 'The Law of Deliberative Democracy: Theory and Reform' (DP130100706, 2013-2015) bridging research on election law with deliberative democratic theory; and 'Confronting the Devolution Paradox' (DP140102682, 2014-2016) on federalism and political culture.

His current and former roles include:

• Convenor of the International Advisory Panel on Referendums;
• Board Member of International Society of Constitutional Law (I•CON-S) Aus/NZ Branch, and Co-convenor of Constitutional Theory Group;
• Associate at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance; and
• Former Co-Director of the Project on Deliberative Governance and Law.

Levy has been a Visitor at Yale, Cambridge, Stanford, McGill, Hebrew University, Sydney University, King's College London and Oxford.