Course Title: Doctor of Philosophy in Government

Thesis Title: Developing Parliamentary Capacity in the Middle East: An Institutional Approach to the Parliaments of Egypt, Jordan and Syria.

Supervisors: Professor John Halligan and Dr Christopher Roberts.

It has been widely observed that the institutional development of parliaments is increasingly dependent on the quality of their administrative systems (Zafarullh, 1998; Sawi, 2005; Haddadin, 2008; Boutaleb, 2009). The modernisation of parliaments is critical in countries undergoing political change. A significant factor in institutional development is the parliamentary administrative system and the support it provides to parliamentary committees.

The research focuses on three parliaments that are at a turning point in their institutional development. The parliamentary administrative systems in the parliaments of Egypt, Jordan and Syria face significant challenges. On the one hand, at a maco level, their staff and functions need to be competent in order for the parliament to work; at a micro level, they are required to provide specialized support to foster the work of their parliamentary committees. Parliamentary administrative systems deal daily with a variety of important issues including management, conducting inquiries, research, departmental structural matters, and organizing committee’s sessions and reports. There is frequently a lack of clarity about the respective work tasks to be carried out by the different departments and directorates. Moreover, there is a great deal of concern about the administrative system’s role in the rapidly changing political environment in the Middle East.

The objectives of this study are to determine the parliamentary administrative systems’ current level of effectiveness, their interactions, and methods of supporting committees, and how these contribute to institutional development. The research questions driving this study therefore are:

1. How the operations of parliamentary administrative systems are executed and what are their levels of effectiveness?
2. What factors account for variations in administrative support for committees and parliament across the three country systems? In what ways can their effectiveness be improved?

The aim of this study is to contribute to institutional development theories, through providing a model and empirical evidence of the relationship between parliamentary administrative systems effectiveness and institutional development. The study also aims to contribute to parliamentary practice, by informing the parliaments studied about the effectiveness of different methods and sources of practice.

Gus Olwan is currently Director Academic Group at the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission in Canberra. Gus graduated with a Master degree in International Policy Studies from La Trobe University in 2006. He has a Master and Bachelor degrees in International Trade from Victoria University of Technology. He is doing his PhD in government at the University of Canberra. His research interests are in the areas of governance, public administrations, international trade theories and practice, Middle Eastern Studies and parliamentary studies and development.