Research and Publications

The core of Dr Deem’s doctoral research and beyond examines how authority is allocated within a federation, and how citizens’ values and political culture shapes centralizing and decentralizing forces in a federation. Most recently, Dr Deem has been part of an Australian Research Council Discovery project examining how federalism manages the relationship between trust, mistrust (healthy scepticism) and distrust in government, which received funding of $1.2m.

This research has contributed to publications in peer reviewed A and A* journals such as sole and lead authorship of ‘Subsidiarity in the Public Service’ (2015, Australian Journal of Political Science), ‘Supportive Subsidiarity: The case for federal reform’ (2021, UNSW Law Journal) and co-authorship of ‘A Tale of Two Regionalisms’ (2016, Regional Studies), and book chapters ‘Beyond the Canberra Bubble’ (From Turnbull to Morrison), ‘Australian Politics in Town and Country’ (Oxford Handbook of Australian Politics) and ‘Deliberative Federalism’ (A People’s Federation). Dr Deem has also presented this research at a range of domestic and international conferences, most notably the International Political Science Association’s Global Conference. His forthcoming research monograph Rethinking Decentralization: Mapping the Meaning of Subsidiarity in Federal Political Culture (2023, McGill Queen’s University Press) represents the culmination of this work, combining rich theoretical analysis with empirical public attitude data from eight countries to reconceptualise the role of decentralization as an animating feature of federal political culture and the institutional success of federalism.

Dr Deem led the 2021 Australian Constitutional Values Survey, funded by a New Staff Research Grant, to investigate Australians’ attitudes towards a First Nations Voice. Establishing a Voice, which is Australia’s “longest standing and unresolved project for justice” (Pearson, 2021), is the subject of significant national debate. In an Australian-first, Dr Deem found that public support for a constitutionally protected Voice exceeds support for the government’s proposed legislated model, a finding that was reflected in government’s recent commitment to re-engage with the constitutionally-enshrined pathway. This research received significant national media attention

Dr Deem has also used his research insights to inform public discourse through media engagement on Australian Politics. In the lead-up to the 2019 federal election he participated in several local, national and international media interviews, and featured in public information videos explaining fundamental aspects of the electoral process which have over 60,000 views on YouTube. Dr Deem also contributed several blog posts, including an article for The Conversation which was read over 300,000 times and was in the 50 most read publications in The Conversation in 2019. Dr Deem is a fortnightly guest on ABC Radio Capricornia where he offers commentary and analysis on current federal political news. He has also been interviewed by ABC TV 7pm News, ABC Radio Brisbane, ABC Gladstone and Australian Community Media to provide expert commentary on the 2022 federal election, with over 70 media mentions over the election period.

Dr Deem has an emerging research profile studying how technology can help improve access to justice for marginalised and diverse community members. With partners at CQUniversity, the Victorian Mental Health Legal Centre, Central Queensland Community Legal Centre, the Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association and Legal Tech Helper, Dr Deem has participated in three externally-funded research projects exploring how online self-help tools and videoconferencing technologies can improve outcomes for community legal centre clients and their families.