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Papers by Robert Smith

Asia maior/Asia Maior, 2022

Jindal Journal of Public Policy, 2022

Labour History, 1989

... Acts of Parliament: A narrative history of the Senate and House of Representatives, Commonwea... more ... Acts of Parliament: A narrative history of the Senate and House of Representatives, Commonwealth of Australia. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: Author: Souter, Gavin (b. 1929, d. ----. PUBLISHER: Melbourne University Press (Carlton, Vic. and Portland, Or.). SERIES TITLE: ...

Development, Governance and Gender in South Asia, 2021

RFI Smith This paper is about governance and capability. Current public policy challenges give th... more RFI Smith This paper is about governance and capability. Current public policy challenges give these topics bite. Citizens in many countries are dissatisfied with how governments treat them; faith in market led approaches in public policy and management has dropped, often dramatically; and issues that do not stop at national borders continue to generate conflicts that representative democracy struggles to contain. A focus on governance is relevant because it examines how citizens, community organisations, private sector enterprises and governments organise themselves and relate to each other. A focus on capability is relevant because it relates what governments wish to do to what they actually do and how they go about it. Such examination probes the different ways in which social, economic and political

Public Organization Review, 2007

South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 2017

‘We want governance’, a friend in Delhi said. His plea, he continued, was not for ‘good governanc... more ‘We want governance’, a friend in Delhi said. His plea, he continued, was not for ‘good governance’, just ‘governance’. The conversation took place a year or so before the 2014 elections at which Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised ‘Minimum government; maximum governance’. Why were they talking about ‘governance’, what did they mean, and why is it important? Two strands of thought are relevant. The first is about persistent demands for more effective and accountable political and policy leadership in India; the second is about trends in international scholarship and in institutions such as the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in thinking about state and society. In this strand, which is admittedly diverse, usage has expanded to cover how a broad range of social and political relationships can provide guidance and direction. The first strand is dominant in India. Its focus on the institutions of government and how well they perform sits at the more specific end of the international range of meanings. It fits comfortably with the word for governance in Hindi, ‘shaasan’, which is also used for administration and other terms such as kingship, dominion, rule, direction, edict, management and guidance. But the term for good governance, ‘sushaasan’, introduces elements of the second strand that are familiar beyond India. For this reason, and others that emerge below, when governance is used in relation to India, its meaning needs to be interrogated. The significance of the second strand is that its focus on patterns of rule and social coordination shifts attention from formal arrangements to activity and practice. Government and administration are part of a wider web. While government is about the institutions of state—constitutions, laws, elections, legislatures, executives, judiciaries and other formal arrangements—governance is about how rule and co-ordination emerge from relationships among a wide range of participants within and between states. Within governments, a focus on relationships directs attention to how elected and appointed participants perceive their roles and the complex interactions through which they aim to shape directions and achieve outcomes. More widely, governance is about mechanisms of social, economic and political organisation in which the roles of government may vary, for example, from creating market-supporting institutions to backing private-sector winners, or from direct provision of public services by government agencies to provision through markets and networks. More widely still, governance is about the evolution of

Political Science, 2000

The last five chapters, beginning with chapter six, develop research methodologies framed by indi... more The last five chapters, beginning with chapter six, develop research methodologies framed by indigenous concerns and located within an ’idea of a self-determining indigenous world’ in which research ethics stress a sense of respect and humanity. Chapter seven rearticulates research so that it is defined by and practised within the indigenous communities themselves. Smith suggests that indigenous researchers may find a guide helpful as they shift between roles as both community member and Western-trained researcher. Their research, she believes, must

Labour History, 1976

... Australia, Cheshire, Melbourne, 1974; RW Connell, 'Notes and Speculations on Class and t... more ... Australia, Cheshire, Melbourne, 1974; RW Connell, 'Notes and Speculations on Class and the Cities', unpublished paper; John R. Robbins, 'State and Federal ... paper, July 1975. 42 Page 2. Collingwood, Wren Left-overs and Political Change ...

Labour History, 1974

This paper is about events in the Victorian branch of the A.L.P. since intervention by the Federa... more This paper is about events in the Victorian branch of the A.L.P. since intervention by the Federal Executive of the party in 1970. It is not about the process of intervention itself, but about the effects of intervention on established patterns of influence and procedures, and the response of forces within the party in Victoria. Specifically it examines the institutionalisation of a new constitution for the branch, the associated crystallisation of a new set of pragmatic rules, the emergence of a factional system which has acquired a certain legitimacy among party members and may well persist for some time, the inter action between factions leading to an early and agreed revision of the new constitution, and the substantial re-integration of most significant sections of the party into the life of the branch. While having roots in intervention and what took place before it, these themes are never theless sufficiently detachable to allow a separate treatment. In the exercise of power within the A.L.P., intervention by the federal executive in the affairs of a state branch can range from the cosmetic to the thoroughgoing, and where it is the latter it is one of the most drastic of measures. In such cases it may take various forms including attempts to force inconvenient participants from the party, to subvert their following, or to reduce their effectiveness by changing the rules of their branch. These entail great effort, considerable risk and consequences that flow well beyond the intentions of the coalition assembled for the purpose. The operation is rarely accomplished with neatness and economy. Assembling and holding the numbers to support intervention involves appealing to a large number of people in a variety of posi tions inside and outside the branch affected. As in any coalition the reasons prompting support are likely to be varied and changeable. Whatever the apparent solidarity of different forces?whether their cohesion is attributed to class consciousness or group affiliation?the operative forces in intra-party struggles tend to be teams of individuals linked to each other largely by transactional ties. In these, calcula tions in terms of personal interests are vital. Moreover an attempt to dispossess an entrenched force in the A.L.P. creates a context of tension and turbulence in which individual calculations and the disposition of forces are constantly under pressure. Mistakes are easily made and situations change rapidly. Leaders and followers who are confident of the accuracy of their appreciation of the scene can be rudely surprised. The process of intervention thus proceeds step by step with repeated searches for the numbers and the adaptation of objectives to tactics judged likely to produce them. The results of intervention depend considerably on responses from within the affected branch. The federal forces cannot for long remain directly in charge of affairs. Having taken the decision to interrupt the life of the branch they are under pressure to make whatever

Labour History, 1974

... pooling during the 1914-18 War the proposals in 1930 arose from con siderations of national p... more ... pooling during the 1914-18 War the proposals in 1930 arose from con siderations of national policy and during a time of emergency. As the 1. P. Loveday, "Pressure Groups" in VG Venturini (ed.), Australia?A Survey, Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1970. 49 Page 2. jR. FI Smith ...

Australian Journal of Public Administration, 1999

Australian Journal of Public Administration, 1977

: In reviewing the literature on policy studies, as in studying policy making itself, what you se... more : In reviewing the literature on policy studies, as in studying policy making itself, what you see depends on where you look. Studies of public policy vary widely in forms, methods and rationale. This paper does not try to categorize and capture the spirit of all aspects of a diverse and burgeoning literature. Its focus is on a number of recent books that straddle broadly the categories of process and administrative studies. The questions addressed in the volumes discussed are about how institutions handle issues in public policy, their relevance to the actual content of policy, and the ways in which individuals and groups within them see and respond to opportunities for choice. Each book is concerned with questions of theory but the books do not, either singly or together, suggest a single compelling theory of institutions and policy processes. Indeed, considering their theoretical sophistication, one may doubt whether such a goal is practicable. The better the work done on policy studies the more open-ended theoretically the field seems to be.

Australian Journal of Political Science, 1977

This paper discusses the Whitlam government's procedures for handling cabinet material. In or... more This paper discusses the Whitlam government's procedures for handling cabinet material. In order to place these procedures in context reference is also made to the structure and working of cabinet and to the role of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. It is a central assumption of the paper that the rules, procedures and structures for the handling of cabinet business all require careful understanding by the participants of the times and can be adjusted and made workable in a variety of ways. In this process the preferences and style of the prime minister are critical. He has more resources than any of his colleagues. The experience of the Whitlam government illustrates these propositions.

The Australian Quarterly, 1967

... Australian Farm Organizationsand the Quest for Unity By GS Harman and RFI Smith* ... In the 1... more ... Australian Farm Organizationsand the Quest for Unity By GS Harman and RFI Smith* ... In the 1930s militant new organisations established themselves in Victoria and South Australia and from the end of the 1930s wheatgrowers began enrolling small woolgrowers. ...

The Australian Quarterly, 1970

This paper is about the complex task of organizing the use of ICT in government. Ideas about how ... more This paper is about the complex task of organizing the use of ICT in government. Ideas about how to handle the task are examined by analysis of two recent reports on the use of ICT in Australia—the Gershon report on the management of ICT in the federal government and a report by Ovum on e-government in Victoria. First, a comparative analysis of the main themes of the two reports is made. Second, the analyses of the impact of ICT on government by Jane Fountain and on business by Peter Weill and Jeanne Ross are compared. This is done to illuminate the issues analysed by Gershon and Ovum and to suggest that despite the differences between government and business the work of Fountain and Weill/Ross is complementary. However it is concluded that even the most promising suggestions for improving the governance of ICT in the public sector remain provisional.

This paper is about where corporate governance and public governance meet. It explores selected i... more This paper is about where corporate governance and public governance meet. It explores selected issues on which business and government interact and the arenas in which resolution is sought. Four themes stand out: the continuing impacts of implementation of private sector approaches to governance and management in the public sectors; drives to extend mechanisms of public accountability to public services delivered through the private sector; continuing controversies about the regulation of business; and continuing flows of impacts of interaction both ways. When reform of the public sector began the impacts of market approaches on government captured most attention. More recently attention has turned to how changes in the public sector have been followed by significant impacts on the regulation of markets and business. Shared themes in emerging agendas for both corporate and public governance deserve close and continuing attention.

This paper examines capabilities in government in India. Possibilities for improvement have impli... more This paper examines capabilities in government in India. Possibilities for improvement have implications for all levels of government. The intention of many proposals is twofold: to help citizens get what they need from officialdom and to enable different levels of governments to relate more effectively to diverse communities and to each other. The paper explores four topics: ways of thinking about capability in government; how strategies for politics can overshadow directions in government; how improving management of relations between different levels of government can benefit all; and how opportunities for improving civil service capabilities, central, state, and local need political as well as internal leadership. This paper examines capabilities in government in India. Recent exploration of possibilities for improvement includes a wide range of policy and operational fields. It has implications for all levels of government. The intention of many proposals is twofold: to help citizens get what they need from officialdom and to enable different levels of governments to relate more effectively to diverse communities and to each other.

Asia maior/Asia Maior, 2022

Jindal Journal of Public Policy, 2022

Labour History, 1989

Development, Governance and Gender in South Asia, 2021

Public Organization Review, 2007

South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 2017

Political Science, 2000

Labour History, 1976

Labour History, 1974

Australian Journal of Public Administration, 1999

Australian Journal of Public Administration, 1977

Australian Journal of Political Science, 1977

The Australian Quarterly, 1967

The Australian Quarterly, 1970

We ask a big question; we both come from the progressive side of politics, and we have both been ... more We ask a big question; we both come from the progressive side of politics, and we have both been both horrified at the consequences of Coalition governments at Federal level and their ability to win elections. Policies presented by the ALP in 2019 were reasonable, fair, and progressive, but they lost to an election campaign that was peppered with effective but basically irrational attacks. These two books offer us a way into our discussion; they themselves are rational and fair accounts, but their reasonableness is not, we note from the start, focused on a discussion of different policies and their relative value, but of politics viewed as a search for power and office.

For Australia COVID-19 was a phenomenon external in origin, protean in transmission and community... more For Australia COVID-19 was a phenomenon external in origin, protean in transmission and community wide in impacts. Coming to grips with it entailed a route march of professional and public controversy. Public health infrastructure was radically tested. Medical and public health professionals raced to keep up. New information, including about asymptomatic transmission, super-spreaders, clusters, incidence in children, and long lingering after effects, kept coming. Political leaders hashed out responses on the run. Progressively more drastic restrictions on social and business activity descended. These led to low infection and death rates but massive social and economic disruption.

In the extensive literature on federalism in India intergovernmental relations tends to languish ... more In the extensive literature on federalism in India intergovernmental relations tends to languish in the shadows. Arguments for improved management of relationships between levels of government in India are diverse. But in summary they comprise two elements. First is that national policy itself would benefit from greater engagement between national, state and local governments. Second, such engagement should be substantive. Consultations and negotiations should not be confined to questions of implementation. Implementation often begins at the beginning and not at the end of decision processes. The paper examines the context in which such arguments have arisen, the directions they suggest and implications for state capacity.

This is an indispensable introduction to the phenomenon of Indian federalism. The drafters of the... more This is an indispensable introduction to the phenomenon of Indian federalism. The drafters of the constitution made no mention of federalism; in the tragic circumstances of partition they preferred an explicitly strong Union. But trends in subsequent practice have been visibly federal. As the author makes clear, they have also been anything but linear. A description in the book from a serving Union minister is apt: 'Comprehensive, Cooperative, Collaborative, Competitive, Consensual and Compassionate Federalism'. Readers will find that even such a wide ranging characterisation is by no means exhaustive. The book has four main strands: India's federal model and constitutional design; federalism and diversity; centre-state relations; and federalism and the economy. Examination of these strands raises significant questions about state capacity and approaches to the development and implementation of authoritative national policy. The book starts with an insightful account of the impacts of the extensive concurrent central and state responsibilities set out in the constitution. The sharing of responsibilities was intended to encourage both levels to work together. Measures such as the design of the all India civil service cadres, in which officials are allocated to particular states but also available to be called to the centre, were intended to reinforce links between levels of government. The approach is described as 'cooperative federalism'. But as other federations have also found, cooperation depends on more than constitutional design. A second dimension of 'cooperative federalism' includes measures to complement constitutional design by regulating vertical and horizontal interaction between units of government. The book's exploration of this dimension includes the roles of the former Planning Commission in setting national goals, approaches of the periodic Finance Commissions in managing fiscal federalism, and the management of linguistic and other diversity by adjusting state borders. However, readers familiar with intergovernmental relations in other federations will notice an absence. The InterState Council, GST Council and NITI Aayog, each with heavyweight representatives from both levels of government, flit through the narrative like wraiths. The reason is that the latter two are still feeling their way and the InterState Council, set up pursuant to the constitution by a short lived non-Congress government, has rarely had sustained political support. It is argued persuasively that for much of the time the most influential agent of coordination has been the party system. When the governing party in the centre holds sway also in many of the states, as Congress did for many years, intergovernmental relations has tended to be handled as an internal party matter. But as the book shows, too firm a hand at the centre can promote defection in the regions. This was a factor in the decline of the Congress Party. The prominence of central control in the BJP together with its patchy performance in recent state elections make questions about the efficacy of the party system in federal coordination of continuing relevance. In these circumstances a trend to watch out for will be the emergence of one or more of the bodies mentioned above as authoritative forums for intergovernmental negotiation. The chapter on federalism and the economy brings into sharp relief the sheer variety of trends and tensions in federal practice. In contrast to the rest of the book it is unruly. However this reflects no discredit on the author. The subject matter is hard to pin down.

This paper is about the implications for governance and state capability of the results of the na... more This paper is about the implications for governance and state capability of the results of the national elections in 2019. The dramatic victory confirmed the immediate authority of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the political dominance of the BJP. But what comes next? Will the government continue to operate in a similar manner? If so can it meet the continuing high expectations of voters? Can it deliver an ambitious second term agenda?
Such questions arise from the government’s critics. They arise too from prominent advocates of improvements in governance and capability. However they arise also from a sprinkling of supporters of the government. In the first term criticism of how the government operated had little bite and few electoral consequences. But is it possible that in the second term questions about operating approach and performance could become an issue? If so, what changes to improve overall government performance might be appropriate and feasible?
This paper responds to such questions in two ways. First, it examines how issues of governance and capability matter and questions about how the government operates. Second it examines arguments for change in arrangements for governance and capability, including in two sensitive fields: the role and capabilities of the civil service and the role and capabilities of the states.

This book shows that regular observation of election campaigns can be about much more than electo... more This book shows that regular observation of election campaigns can be about much more than electoral politics and results. The story begins with tractor rides by the author to political rallies in his grandparents' home town in western Uttar Pradesh. It then chronicles how a youthful obsession with rallies grew into a continuing program of road trips during state and national elections in India. These have taken place, sometimes several times a year, even as the author transformed from a young journalist in Mumbai to an investment strategist in New York. The result is an informal but informative history of 25 years of Indian politics. It is distinguished by snappy reflections about what Indian politicians focus on and what they do not. The disjunction between energy in gathering votes and timidity in economic management and public sector performance is strongly brought out. So is why it matters.

The India Economic Strategy, presented to the Australian government in 2018 and commissioned foll... more The India Economic Strategy, presented to the Australian government in 2018 and commissioned following the visit by Prime Minister Modi in 2014, is an ambitious, strategic and nuanced platform for improving economic links between India and Australia.
Although it does not say so in so many words, the report suggests that Australia needs India more than India needs Australia. It argues that the burden of effort lies with Australia. It disabuses anyone who thinks that relations with India can follow Australia’s commodity driven trade with East Asia. Trade in wool and wheat and then coal and iron ore has always been transactional (shiploads of stuff for shiploads of money).

Published at: http://insidestory.org.au/the-battle-for-indias-soul