Dr Adele Webb is Research Fellow at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance.

She studies democracy in theory and practice, with interests in political attitudes, the role of subjectivities in political behaviour, and the potential for democratic innovation. Adele has expertise in Philippine politics and US colonialism in the Philippines. Her book Chasing Freedom: The Philippines’ Long Journey to Democratic Ambivalence (Liverpool University Press) was published in 2022.

As the Centre's Research Lead in Democracy and Citizen Engagement, Adele leads two current projects: (1) The ‘Connecting to Parliament’ project seeks to translate research into actionable ideas for improving representative democracy in Australia. (2) 'Improving multiculturalism and belonging in Australian democracy' explores how people experience belonging and perceive of their place in Australian democracy. 

Globally, Adele helped design International IDEA’s new comparative survey on Perceptions of Democracy and she has consulted for the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

Before completing her PhD at the University of Sydney in 2018, Adele worked in international development for almost a decade. Alongside her academic work, Adele maintains an active profile in public engagement. She has a track record of disseminating her research findings through high impact media commentary.