Emerita Professor Carol Johnson

Emerita Professor Carol Johnson

  • Biography/ Background

    Carol is Emerita Professor of Politics and International Relations. She is a graduate of the Universities of Adelaide and Manchester. As well as having taught at the University of Adelaide for over thirty years, she has also taught in Communications at the University of Technology, Sydney and was a Visiting Fellow in the Political Science Program, Research School of Social Sciences, at the Australian National University for two years. Carol has now retired from teaching but remains an active researcher. Her main research interests are in Australian (and comparative) politics, the politics of gender and sexuality, the politics of emotion and analyses of ideology and discourse. She has a particular interest in the politics of social democracy. She has published extensively in these areas (see publications). 

    She is a former President of the Australian Political Studies Association (APSA), the peak professional organisation of Australian political scientists. In 2019, Carol joined (what was then) only 12 other Australian political scientists in being the recipient of a rare APSA Lifetime Achievement Award.

    Carol was elected to be a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia in 2005. She has served on the Academy Panel C Committee (which covers History, Philosophy, Law and Political Science) from 2007-11 and on the Academy's Workshop Committee from 2010. She was  Chair of the Academy's Workshop Committee from 2012-14 and a member of the Academy's Executive Committee from 2012-14.

    Her applied research interests focus on how Governments govern social, economic and technological change. 

    Amongst other research projects, Carol's sole-authored 2019 book on Social Democracy and the Crisis of Equality is the major output from her sole-CI grant ARC DP14010016 ($147,000) "Expanding equality: A historical perspective on developments and dilemmas in contemporary Australian social democracy".  Her  2024 book The Politics of Gender Equality: Australian Lessons in an Uncertain World is the major output from her sole-CI grant ARC DP 180100251 ($216,272), "In the frame: Analysing Liberal and Labor government gender equality policy". 

  • Research Interests
    • Australian politics and political discourse
    • Australian Labor Governments from Curtin to Albanese
    • Howard, Abbott, Turnbull & Morrison Governments
    • Theories of Ideology and Discourse
    • Politics of Identity
    • Politics of Sexuality
    • Politics of emotion
    • Politics of social democracy
    • Race/ethnicity and politics
    • Gender and Politics
    • Politics of technology
    • Feminist Theory
    • Comparative British/Australian Politics
    • Socialist Theory

  • Publications

    A list of Carol Johnson's publications can be found at https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/carol.johnson

     

  • Media Expertise
    CategoriesPolitics & Government, History
    ExpertiseLabor Party including Kevin Rudd, past Labor governments, Federal Australian politics, especially Liberal Party and Labor Party, women and politics, republic debate. Gay and lesbian issues at both federal and state level.

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Entry last updated: Friday, 25 Jul 2025