May 3, 2022Tactical voting and IndependentsIf you normally vote for the Greens or you are a traditional ALP supporter in a blue-ribbon Liberal seat such as Goldstein, Wentworth, Kooyong, Mackellar or North Sydney, at this election you face a choice between voting for your preferred party candidate or removing the Morrison Government from power. The…6 min read6 min read
Apr 21, 2022On Leaders’ DebatesSocial media and saturation coverage of politics has rendered leaders’ debates almost irrelevant. They rarely change the minds of voters en masse unless one of participants stuffs up badly. When this happens the mistake may go viral and capsize a campaign, but it is increasingly rare. Consequently, both leaders try…Auspol2 min readAuspol2 min read
Apr 18, 2022Problems in Australian Journalism(updated and expanded) Whether we are being directed to a news story by an editor or an algorithm, the task of filtering the dross from the insightful remains the most important challenge for those who ‘consume’ political information. This is a much more important concern than perennial angst about concentrated…12 min read12 min read
Mar 12, 2022The Ukrainian Crisis: Three PerspectivesThe Ukrainian Crisis: Three Perspectives It is sometimes said of the war in Syria that there aren’t even any bad ideas for resolving the conflict, let alone good ones. The war in Ukraine is quickly approaching a similarly intractable state. This is how it looks through Russian, Western and Ukrainian eyes. Russian perceptions From the…Ukraine8 min readUkraine8 min read
Feb 27, 2022A Moral Position on Ukraine?A Moral Position on Ukraine? The Russian attacks on Ukraine are both immoral and illegal under international law. They should be unconditionally opposed, regardless of how they have been rationalised by the Kremlin. Ukraine is an independent state, its sovereignty has been violated, and there is no “self-defence” justification for…Ukraine9 min readUkraine9 min read
Aug 25, 2021COVID and the electionIn polities without fixed electoral terms, where the prime minister can manipulate the timing of elections to confer additional advantages on his government, guessing when the next vote will take place is as fraught as forecasting the result. Recent political manoeuvrings and a public health crisis may, however, provide us…Auspol4 min readAuspol4 min read
May 18, 2021Is the tide turning against Israel?Is the tide turning against Israel? The history of Palestinian nationalism is strewn with false dawns and bitter disappointments. On the surface the recent evictions — more accurately ethnic cleansing — of civilians in Sheikh Jarrah, IDF attacks on worshippers at the Al-Aqsa mosque and yet another violent bombing campaign…Israel4 min readIsrael4 min read
Jan 17, 2021The ALP: how to be progressive againThe ALP: how to be progressive again Scott Burchill Here is some gratuitous advice for the ALP as it struggles to understand why Scott Morrison and the LNP remain significantly more popular than them at the midpoint of this electoral cycle, despite the Government’s well-earned reputation for incompetence and corruption…Auspol6 min readAuspol6 min read
Jan 15, 2021After the attempted coupIn the aftermath of Donald Trump’s attempts to overthrow the result of last November’s election in the United States, what can we expect of Joe Biden and what will happen to the GOP (Republican Party)? Biden will only be a disappointment to those naive enough to think he isn’t Obama-light…6 min read6 min read
Sep 24, 2020The revolt against the West and the rise of ChinaThe revolt against the West and the rise of China In his 1983 Hagey Lectures, Hedley Bull defined the revolt against the West as “the struggle of non-European or non-Western states, peoples and political movements to challenge the dominant position of the Western nations in the international system”. At the time he was writing, Bull identified five demands for justice…Auspol27 min readAuspol27 min read
