The Decline of Political Leadership in Australia?

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

   PDF

2. Introduction: What Is Wrong with Our Politicians?

   • Jan Pakulski, Bruce Tranter

   Pages 1-16

3. Political Elites, Elite Quality and Elite Recruitment

   • Jan Pakulski, Bruce Tranter

   Pages 17-34

4. Political Candidates

   • Jan Pakulski, Bruce Tranter

   Pages 35-50

5. The Australian Federal MPs: Changing Recruitment and Career Profiles

   • Jan Pakulski, Bruce Tranter

   Pages 51-73

6. The Leaders

   • Jan Pakulski, Bruce Tranter

   Pages 74-88

7. Conclusion

   • Jan Pakulski, Bruce Tranter

   Pages 89-99

8. Back Matter

   Pages 100-115

   PDF

This book analyses the changing political recruitment of the Australian federal parliamentary elite. It argues that the elite's quality has been reduced to a worrisome degree, especially since the 1990s. It suggests that the declining quality of the Australian 'political class' is a major factor behind the declining public trust in politicians.

• Political leaders
• political recruitment
• political elites
• federal parliament
• Elite recruitment
• Political professionalisation
• Ministerial careers
• Leadership recruitment
• Party functionaries
• Australian prime ministers
• parliament
• quality
• trust
• us politics

• University of Tasmania, Australia

  Jan Pakulski, Bruce Tranter

Jan Pakulski, MA (Warsaw), PhD (ANU), is Professor Emeritus at the University of Tasmania, Australia and Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA). He is the author-editor of 9 books and over 120 scholarly articles on elites, democratization, multiculturalism, post-communism, social movements, and social inequality. His most recent books are Globalizing Inequalities (Allen and Unwin, 2004), Toward Leader Democracy (with Andras Korosenyi, Anthem, 2012) and Violence and the State (co-edited and co-written with Matt Killingsworth and Matthew Sussex, MUP 2015).

Bruce Tranter is professor of sociology at the University of Tasmania, Hobart. His research interests include the study of political and environmental leaders, environmental attitudes and behaviour, social movements and national identity. Articles based upon his quantitative and qualitative research have been published widely in international sociological and political science journals.

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