Home and the World

This issue of Arena analyses social and cultural disruptions at home and abroad. We look at the questions posed by migration for settler colonial societies, the future of independent politics in Australia, life in the suburban fringe-worlds at the edge of Australian cities, and how bushfire management threatens the future of our forests. Elsewhere we trace the rise of the right in Germany, the problem of digital authoritarianism in Indonesia, and the politics of international law in situations like Gaza. We ask, has the NDIS been a victim of its own success, and can the growing fears around techno-misinformation be addressed beyond the narrow frames of liberal moralism? The culture wars around education and phonics are explored, and there are reviews of new books on the working class, the legacy of Race Matthews on collectivism, and the novels of British-Palestinian author Isabella Hammad. There’s the usual excellent poetry, and we end with the strange but true tale of King Zog.

Editorial: Trump and the crisis of progressivism

Will this significant event mark the point at which there is a serious re-evaluation by the Left of the changed character of the contemporary world?

Read more...

Arena Quarterly issue no. 20, 2024

Contents

TitleAuthorPagePg.
Editorial
The Arena Editors1
The Arena Editors3
Home and the World
John Hinkson6
Misinformation in the Digital Age
Lizzie O'Shea10
Cam Walker14
Ben Gook17
Gaza Letter
Gaza in the Courtroom
Gerry Simpson24
Asia
Zacharias Szumer30
Arts Essay
In Dreams, Begins...
Madeleine Kelly35
Society
Julia Cretan39
Politics
Cathy McGowan46
Essay
Mitchell Welch50
Poem
Selections from Carnet Beaune
Kevin Hart53
Culture
Lucinda McKnight and Carly Sawatzki57
Reviews
Guy Rundle63
Re-installing the Distributor?
Ray Cassin68
Vanessa Francesca70
Endnotes
The Last Eagle over Albania
Robert James Stove76
Poetry
How many poets does it take to change a light bulb?
Edith Speers61
Bits of Sea
John Falzon61

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