Overview
Background
Alastair is a public policy scholar, a crisis management expert and has an ongoing interest in the institutionalization of participatory modes of governance. His current policy research examines the role that institutional amnesia plays in the policy process, his crisis management research has been focused upon the relationship between public inquiries and lesson-learning, and in relation to participatory governance, he is currently examining the validity of different forms of deliberative democracy in the context of Australian environmental policy. Alastair has published widely in high-ranking international journals and is the recipient of the Mayer Prize (best paper in the Australian Journal of Political Science) and the Lasswell Prize (best paper in Policy Sciences). He has authored three books, won three large-scale Australian Research Council Discovery grants and is always looking for outstanding students who may be interested in completing PhDs in relation to the topics outlined above.
Availability
- Dr Alastair Stark is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Masters (Coursework) of Science, University of Strathclyde
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Strathclyde
- Bachelor (Honours) of Arts, Glasgow Caledonian University
Research interests
-
Public Policy
-
Governance
-
Crisis Management
-
Deliberative Democracy
Works
Search Professor Alastair Stark’s works on UQ eSpace
2026
Book Chapter
Treatments for Institutional Amnesia
Stark, Alastair, Gajurel, Hridesh, Corbett, Jack, Grube, Dennis C, Lovell, Heather and Scott, Rodney J (2026). Treatments for Institutional Amnesia. Memory and Institutional Amnesia in Government. (pp. 186-208) Oxford University PressOxford. doi: 10.1093/9780197905012.003.0010
2026
Book Chapter
The UK Treasury : Memory as Orthodoxy and Convention
Stark, Alastair, Gajurel, Hridesh, Corbett, Jack, Grube, Dennis C, Lovell, Heather and Scott, Rodney J (2026). The UK Treasury : Memory as Orthodoxy and Convention. Memory and Institutional Amnesia in Government. (pp. 152-168) Oxford University PressOxford. doi: 10.1093/9780197905012.003.0008
2026
Book Chapter
The Ghost of Aid Agencies Past : Narrating the Lives and Deaths of an Institution
Stark, Alastair, Gajurel, Hridesh, Corbett, Jack, Grube, Dennis C, Lovell, Heather and Scott, Rodney J (2026). The Ghost of Aid Agencies Past : Narrating the Lives and Deaths of an Institution. Memory and Institutional Amnesia in Government. (pp. 120-134) Oxford University PressOxford. doi: 10.1093/9780197905012.003.0006
2026
Book Chapter
Conclusion
Stark, Alastair, Gajurel, Hridesh, Corbett, Jack, Grube, Dennis C, Lovell, Heather and Scott, Rodney J (2026). Conclusion. Memory and Institutional Amnesia in Government. (pp. 209-217) Oxford University PressOxford. doi: 10.1093/9780197905012.003.0011
2026
Book Chapter
Formal-Institutional Amnesia
Stark, Alastair, Gajurel, Hridesh, Corbett, Jack, Grube, Dennis C, Lovell, Heather and Scott, Rodney J (2026). Formal-Institutional Amnesia. Memory and Institutional Amnesia in Government. (pp. 21-46) Oxford University PressOxford. doi: 10.1093/9780197905012.003.0002
2026
Book Chapter
The Effects of Institutional Amnesia
Stark, Alastair, Gajurel, Hridesh, Corbett, Jack, Grube, Dennis C, Lovell, Heather and Scott, Rodney J (2026). The Effects of Institutional Amnesia. Memory and Institutional Amnesia in Government. (pp. 73-98) Oxford University PressOxford. doi: 10.1093/9780197905012.003.0004
2026
Book Chapter
Remembered, Retold, and Forgotten : New Public Management Stories in New Zealand
Stark, Alastair, Gajurel, Hridesh, Corbett, Jack, Grube, Dennis C, Lovell, Heather and Scott, Rodney J (2026). Remembered, Retold, and Forgotten : New Public Management Stories in New Zealand. Memory and Institutional Amnesia in Government. (pp. 135-151) Oxford University PressOxford. doi: 10.1093/9780197905012.003.0007
2026
Book
Memory and Institutional Amnesia in Government
Stark, Alastair, Gajurel, Hridesh, Corbett, Jack, Grube, Dennis C, Lovell, Heather and Scott, Rodney J (2026). Memory and Institutional Amnesia in Government. Oxford University PressOxford. doi: 10.1093/9780197905012.001.0001
2026
Book Chapter
Public inquiries as advisory policy tools
Stark, Alastair and Yates, Sophie (2026). Public inquiries as advisory policy tools. The Routledge handbook of policy advisory systems. (pp. 277-292) edited by Giliberto Capano, Jonathan Craft and Michael Howlett. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003465720-29
2025
Book Chapter
Policy inaction and agenda setting
Brown, Prudence R. and Stark, Alastair (2025). Policy inaction and agenda setting. Handbook of Public Policy Agenda Setting. (pp. 270-284) Cheltenham, Glos, U.K.: Edward Elgar Publishing. doi: 10.4337/9781035318513.00029
2025
Book Chapter
Something old, something new: public inquiries and policy advice
Stark, Alastair and Yates, Sophie (2025). Something old, something new: public inquiries and policy advice. Handbook of Policy Advice. (pp. 340-351) edited by Michael Howlett and Ishani Mukherjee. Cheltenham, Glos, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing. doi: 10.4337/9781035318087.00037
2024
Book
Risk and Crisis Management in the Public Sector
Drennan, Lynn T., Dudau, Adina, McConnell, Allan and Stark, Alastair (2024). Risk and Crisis Management in the Public Sector. 3rd ed. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003367499
2024
Journal Article
Institutional Amnesia in Government : How much is enough?
Stark, Alastair (2024). Institutional Amnesia in Government : How much is enough?. Policy Quarterly, 20 (1), 3-9. doi: 10.26686/pq.v20i1.9046
2024
Book
Public inquiries and policy design
Stark, Alastair and Yates, Sophie (2024). Public inquiries and policy design. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781009286879
2023
Journal Article
The traveller's guide to policy learning
Stark, Alastair and van der Arend, Jenny (2023). The traveller's guide to policy learning. Journal of European Public Policy, 31 (7), 1-22. doi: 10.1080/13501763.2023.2243997
2023
Book Chapter
Measuring public inquiry success
Stark, Alastair (2023). Measuring public inquiry success. New directions in royal commissions and public inquiries: do we need them?. (pp. 195-215) edited by Scott Prasser. Australia: Connor Court.
2023
Journal Article
A return to the classics? The implementation of royal commissions in Australia
Stark, Alastair, Punter, Helen and Zarrabi, Behnaz (2023). A return to the classics? The implementation of royal commissions in Australia. Australian Journal of Political Science, 58 (1), 19-36. doi: 10.1080/10361146.2022.2117017
2022
Journal Article
Dramaturgy and crisis management: a third act
Ball, Sarah, McConnell, Allan and Stark, Alastair (2022). Dramaturgy and crisis management: a third act. Public Administration, 100 (3) padm.12775, 585-599. doi: 10.1111/padm.12775
2022
Journal Article
Policy inaction meets policy learning: four moments of non-implementation
Brown, Prudence R. and Stark, Alastair (2022). Policy inaction meets policy learning: four moments of non-implementation. Policy Sciences, 55 (1), 47-63. doi: 10.1007/s11077-021-09446-y
2021
Journal Article
Public inquiries as procedural policy tools
Stark, Alastair and Yates, Sophie (2021). Public inquiries as procedural policy tools. Policy and Society, 40 (3), 1-17. doi: 10.1080/14494035.2021.1955485
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Alastair Stark is:
- Available for supervision
Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
The Effectiveness of Rapid Evidence in Fast-Paced Policy Contexts
Principal Advisor
Completed supervision
-
2026
Doctor Philosophy
Institutional Amnesia in New Zealand's Climate Change Policy Network
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Adam Hannah
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding the causes of conflict in disaster recovery collaborations
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Morgan Brigg
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Evaluating hydrogen attitudes and citizen transformation through deliberation
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kiah Smith
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Policy innovations and agency under the one-party system of Vietnam: the study of primary education decision-making
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Melissa Curley
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Balancing Resilience in a Developing Context: Disaster Management in Vietnam
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Nicole George
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
Individual Risk Perception and Flood Mitigation: An Empirical Study of Protective Actions in Australia
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Simone Blomberg
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
Post-Crisis Recovery and Policy Implementation: Public Asset Restoration in Queensland Local Government.
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Ryan Walter
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Small is Beautiful: Knowledge Sharing Dynamics in Indonesia's Puskesmas Model of Primary Health Care
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Sam Hollingworth, Associate Professor Ryan Walter
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Universal Basic Income: Disarticulating and Rearticulating Australian Discourses
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Greg Marston
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Bridging the Open Data and Public Policy Gap: Barriers and facilitators for effective government data sharing
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Frank Mols
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
The Institutionalisation of Special Autonomy as "Ethnic" Conflict Resolution? The Case of Papua, Indonesia
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Morgan Brigg
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
The design and implementation of gambling regulation: a Queensland case study
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Brian Head
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
Kiwi across the Ditch: An Interpretive Account of the 2001 Changes to Policies in Relation to Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangements
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kath Gelber
-
2016
Doctor Philosophy
Much Ado About Nothing? The Rhetoric and Reality of the Nuclear Renaissance
Associate Advisor
-
Media
Enquiries
For media enquiries about Dr Alastair Stark's areas of expertise, story ideas and help finding experts, contact our Media team: