Pathways to Power: Australian Political Careers

The project aims to uncover the determinants of successful careers of elected and non-elected political elites. The project expects to generate new knowledge about elite career paths (politicians, political staff, media, interest group personnel and bureaucrats), examine the impact of political elites on the quality of government, and whether this has changed over time. The project should provide significant benefits to academics via theoretical development of processes driving careers progression and establishing Australia as a benchmark case facilitating future international collaboration. It hopes to enhance the capacity of citizens and policy makers to assess the overall effectiveness of governance and the regulation of political life.