Recently I was given the opportunity to travel to Brisbane, Australia to attend the World Congress of the International Political Science Association (IPSA). The Congress provides a forum for academics across the entire spectrum of the discipline to share, discuss and debate world-class research.

My PhD research at the University of Leeds is based on citizen engagement with parliaments, as well as methods of strengthening this dynamic through utilising narratives and storytelling. With this in mind – and in order to make the most of my time in Australia – I endeavoured to visit as many cities as I could, in order to get some first-hand experience of Australian universities and legislative buildings.

The IPSA congress was held in the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, on the south bank of the Brisbane River.

I presented my paper as part of a panel entitled “Beyond Talk: Non-verbal Communication in Institutions and Democratic Innovations”. My paper (“This Infinite Variety of Forms”: Exploring Storytelling as a Parliamentary Means for Strengthening Political Engagement) discussed parliamentary engagement campaigns and their (thus far nebulous) use of narrative devices. A series of short films released by Parliament – entitled Your Story, Our History – was a key example cited during the presentation.

My presentation gained positive responses and generated some very incisive questions. Responding to these questions facilitated a broader discussion of parliamentary narratives, institutional accessibility and Select Committee engagement. It was a highly valuable experience that gave me a chance to reflect on my own research (both empirically and theoretically) at a crucial point during my PhD. 

Though my PhD focuses on the UK Parliament, I’m always interested in drawing comparisons with other legislatures; for example, my work has definitely benefited from visits to the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly. With this in mind, I travelled over to Canberra to visit Australia’s national parliament (on a particularly cold and windy day in the depths of the Australian winter!).

I was also keen to explore the Parliament of New South Wales in Sydney and learn about its history. I have an especial interest in parliamentary systems derived from the ‘Westminster Model’, and the traditions and rituals that it encapsulates. For example, I learned that the practice of ‘dragging the Speaker of the House’ (based on the frequent need to ‘persuade’ the Speaker to accept the post, since – in older times – the job could end in death if the monarch didn’t like what they heard) was still in place in the Legislative Assembly. I was able to compare this institution with the Parliament of Victoria in Canberra, which I also visited, and spoke with several of its staff members about engagement campaigns and dominant perceptions of parliaments. 

Canberra is also home to the Australian National University (ANU), a world-leading institution that I was very enthusiastic about visiting. In addition, I took the opportunity to go to the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne, and to speak with some of the academics I have corresponded with during my three years at Leeds University. Many of the academics who have proved most influential to my research (in terms of theories and methods, as well as writing style!) are based at Australian universities. These include John Keane, the author of The Life and Death of Democracy, which was a seminal text for me in the early days of my PhD study. Our discussion covered a range of topics including parliamentary politics, global democracy, political communication,and the trials and tribulations of Leeds United FC.

I am very grateful to the PSA for their support, and for the funding that they generously offered as part of the Overseas Conference Grant scheme. I look forward to returning to Australia one day, and would encourage academics at any stage of their career to attend future IPSA events.

Alex Prior is a PhD Researcher at the University of Leeds, undertaking a PhD on the UK Parliament and political engagement. He tweets at @VoterEngagement.

Image: Fergus Tuomy