While droughts are caused by weather – the failure of the rains – famines are invariably political. The current famine in southern Somalia should have come as no surprise. Aid agencies have been warning…
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Politics + Society – Articles, Analysis, Comment
Displaying 13001 - 13025 of 13429 articles
When does “national interest” equal “national sovereignty”? Apparently when Australia looks south. That position seems to be emerging from think tanks and senior government officials in the stop/start…
The recently-released Lowy Institute report, Antarctica: Assessing and Protecting Australia’s National Interests is both timely and likely to stimulate much discussion about Australia’s future presence…
The United States has stepped up sanctions against Syria, targeting President Bashar al-Assad’s financial resources. Syria claims to have withdrawn its troops from the city of Hama, which has played a…
The recent riots in major English cities like London have seen the media focus on the involvement of young people. In particular, many media outlets have claimed that organised youth gangs have orchestrated…
AFTER THE INTERVENTION: Ciaran O'Faircheallaigh of Griffith University explains why mineral wealth rarely ends up in Indigenous hands. Native title creates the potential for indigenous communities to share…
The violence that took hold of London at the weekend has spread to other English cities. Sixteen thousand police were on the streets of the capital on Tuesday night, but the trouble has extended to Manchester…
AFTER THE INTERVENTION: Marilyn Wise from the University of New South Wales and Peter O'Mara from the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association ask whether the NT Intervention has made Indigenous communities…
The United Nations is set to vote on recognising Palestine as an independent state next month. What the chances of the Palestinian initiative succeeding? What implications would recognition of Palestinian…
Police across Australia have called for a uniform national law to deal with what they say is a severe criminal threat by outlaw motorcycle gangs. The law would be similar to legislation in South Australia…
Be happy for the good of your country. Happy people save more and consume less because they are concerned with the future rather than today. Their savings will be transferred into investment which is a…
The Census is useful and important. Governments and policy makers remain dependent upon the information it provides to govern responsibly. Beyond being a simple count of people and assets, contemporary…
Without the firing of a single shot in anger, a country has been, at least in a sense, brought to its economic knees. The capitalist system, with variations and aberrations, is now reacting. Shares are…
Amidst the widening global financial turmoil, a strong Chinese economy is certainly one positive for the Australian economy. But should we believe it is only factor that will save the day? The answer is…
AFTER THE INTERVENTION: ANU’s Jon Altman investigates Noel Pearson’s efforts to improve Indigenous welfare on Cape York. In discussions about the NT intervention, Noel Pearson’s work in Cape York is often…
The High Court’s extension of an injunction preventing the deportation of asylum seekers under the so-called Malaysian Solution threatens to present the Gillard Government with a major political problem…
AFTER THE INTERVENTION - Today, The Conversation launches a series looking at the recent history of Indigenous policy in Australia, and some ways forward. Are any of the current approaches working? What…
Emeritus Professor Brian Stoddart, former Vice-Chancellor at La Trobe University, returned recently from an extended assignment working with universities in Syria. Below is his account of his time in a…
Sometimes an historian will challenge one of the key ideological myths of Australian capitalism. Henry Reynolds does it in his work on the colonial treatment of Aborigines, a treatment some go so far as…
Over the last couple of decades, the pharmaceutical industry has come under attack for its perceived shortcomings amid claims that it’s greedy, profiteering nature has caused significant harm. However…
“Most importantly it will allow us to avoid default and end the crisis that Washington imposed on the rest of America. And it will allow us to lift the cloud of doubt and uncertainty.” President Barack…
Despite the apparent disgust of many Americans and the contempt held by many outside observers, US politics is supposed to look this way – at least sometimes. The widely diagnosed dysfunction of the recent…
Debates have raged in the media in the aftermath of recent events in News Ltd UK. Curtailing the freedom of the press; the ethics of methods used to source stories; quality of media reporting; and the…
After five months of conflict in Libya, the Gaddafi regime remains in power in Tripoli despite the rebel campaign and NATO airstrikes. Recent days have seen serious developments in the country. Muammar…
“A catastrophe on multiple levels.” That’s how New York Times columnist Paul Krugman characterised the US debt deal brokered this week between Democrats and Republicans. President Obama on Tuesday signed…