[2] In 2007, Dowding arrived at the Australian National University and began teaching as Professor of Political Science.

Expanding on Brian Barry's concept of "luck," he argues that some groups of people are "systematically lucky" in that they are advantaged because of the way society is structured.

This argument has caused great controversy with critics including Brian Barry, Steven Lukes, Peter Morriss and more recently Andrew Hindmoor.

He has extended this work into examining Albert Hirschman's Exit, Voice and Loyalty Model and has a forthcoming Cambridge University Press book Exits, Voices and Social Investment co-authored with long-time collaborator Peter John extending and applying Hirschman's model to citizen satisfaction with government services.

[8] The article challenges Michael Foley’s theory that British politics is becoming increasingly similar to that of a presidential system.