AbstractsPolitical Science

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) The Howard government’s family law reforms presented a unique set of power relations that Non-Government Community Service Organisations (NGCSOs) had to negotiate in the policy process. How NGCSOs negotiated networks of power through their participation in this reform process offered a fruitful area of enquiry for the study of political influence in policy development. A governmentality approach framed the conceptualisation of power and power relations and the strategies and tactics used by NGCSOs to negotiate the policy process and influence government decision-making. The analysis of NGCSO participation was based on data collected from policy submissions and public hearing evidence given to a House of Representatives Standing Committee Inquiry into custodial arrangements following family separation. In addition, questionnaires and interviews with government officials and NGCSOs involved in the reform process provided further insights into the negotiation of power relations. A key factor in the participation of NGCSOs was the need to work within a system of gender politics that governed the policy-making process to favour the ideological and political objectives sought by the Howard government. The analysis of policy participation in this context found that political influence correlated with the ability to accurately assess the political environment and apply this knowledge to influence government officials. The NGCSOs able to apply their understanding of the policy environment to create supportive and sympathetic political relations were also found to have exerted higher levels of political influence that helped them achieve policy gains. A set of identifiable skills relating to the assessment and management of the gendered political environment by the NGCSOs that more successfully negotiated power relations was framed as demonstrating political acumen. This thesis offers a conceptualisation of political acumen that, through the skills it entails, provides an innovative framework for the analysis of interest group policy participation and political influence.