Shahar Hameiri

My research interests are diverse, including global political economy, development, overseas aid, governance and security. My PhD project combines these interests by examining post-Cold War international interventions in so-called failed or fragile states. The thesis sets out to conceptualise contemporary interventions and understand what assumptions drive them, how they operate and what their limitations are.

In an era in which interveners aim not only to stop violent conflict with coercive force but also to ‘build’ states, promote good governance, foster market-led economic development and establish democratic institutions, it is essential to move beyond the internal-external dichotomies that dominate the literature on interventions. Fieldwork for this project will take place in Melanesian and Southeast Asian countries in which recent interventions have taken place.

Refereed Publications:

• ‘Failed State or a Failed Paradigm? State Capacity and the Limits of Institutionalism’, Journal of International Relations and Development 10, no. 2 (2007), pp. 122-49.
• ‘The Trouble with RAMSI: Reexamining the Roots of Conflict in Solomon Islands’, The Contemporary Pacific 19, no. 2 (2007), pp. 409-41.
• ‘Why Development Requires Less Nuance and More Class: a Response to Patrick Kilby’, Australian Journal of International Affairs 61, no. 3 (2007) (with Toby Carroll), 306-311.
• ‘Good Governance and Security: the Limits of Australia’s New Aid Programme’, Journal of Contemporary Asia 37, no. 4 (2007), pp. 410-30 (with Toby Carroll).
• ‘Risk Management, Neoliberalism and the Securitisation of the Australian Aid Program’, Australian Journal of International Affairs, 62(3), September 2008, pp. 357-371 (forthcoming).

Publications, conference papers presented and media contributions:

• ‘The Fallacy of Capacity: is it State Building or State Transformation’, paper presented at the 49th Annual International Studies Association conference, San Francisco, 25-29 March 2008.
• 'Julian Moti and the future of RAMSI', Australian Policy Online, 18 July 2007
• 'Our parlous region', The Age, 13 January 2007 (with Toby Carroll)
• 'Howard's Doctrine', On Line Opinion, 28 November 2006
• ‘Cole Removal about Politics, not Diplomacy’, The Age, 15 September, 2006
• ‘AusAID’s White Paper and the Limits of Market-led Development’, ASIAVIEW, 16 (1), September 2006.(with Toby Carroll)
• 'The Politics of AusAid’s White Paper', Policy Commentary on Australia’s White Paper on Overseas Aid, The Australian Institute of International Affairs, July 2006 (with Toby Carroll)
• ‘Aid Misses the Mark’, The Age, June 8, 2006. Reprinted on Australian Policy Online (June 9, 2006)(with Toby Carroll)
• ‘What Really Went Wrong in Solomons’, The Age, 24 April 2006, p.11

Postgraduate Researcher, Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University, South Street, Murdoch, WA 6150. Tel: 9360 6228, Fax: 9360 6381, Email: s.hameiri@murdoch.edu.au