A tale of two ex-dominions: why the procedures for changing the rules of succession are so different in Canada and Australia

Andrew Smith*, Jatinder MANN

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

In 2011, the leaders of the nations that share Queen Elizabeth as their head of state agreed to change the rules governing the inheritance of the throne. The federal nature of the Canadian and Australian Crowns raises the question of whether Canadian provinces and Australian states should be involved in the process for modifying the rules of succession. Australia's federal government has decided to include its states in the process, whereas Canada's did not. This article will assess what the differences between these two approaches reveal about the political cultures and leaders of these nations. The issues discussed include relations between the civil service and elected politicians, the contested social memory of the British Empire, and the relationship between neoliberalism and cooperative federalism.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)376-401
Number of pages26
JournalCommonwealth and Comparative Politics
Volume52
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2014

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Political Science and International Relations

User-Defined Keywords

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • federalism
  • Julia Gillard
  • monarchy
  • Stephen Harper

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