Politics – Arena

3 Dec 2020

…there was a non-violent solution to this—not clear or simple or easy, but possible. Instead, a calculated decision was made to use catastrophic violence—the lives and homes of tens of thousands be damned. The result, now clear, will be one unjust state of peace built upon the ruins of another.

A Frozen Conflict Melts: Nagorno-Karabakh and War in the South Caucasus

Arena Online

Binoy Kampmark

19 Nov 2020

Empires can prove rather loose in dividing up territory. The Soviet Union, in leaving Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan in 1923, was setting the scene for future violent squabbles, not least because the initial decision in 1921 had favoured Armenia. The former autonomous oblast comprises the north-eastern flank of the Karabakh Range of the Lesser Caucasus, extending […]

What the victory of Territory Labor means for Aboriginal children and youth justice

Arena Online

Thalia Anthony

10 Sep 2020

This commitment to law and order in a society that has deep roots in discriminatory justice practices—overtly legitimated under the NT Intervention in 2007—signals another four years of the state’s punitive management of Aboriginal children.

Lebanon’s Predicament

Arena Online

Amin Saikal

13 Aug 2020

Lebanon is in the grip of long-term instability that threatens its viability as a functioning state. This instability can only be addressed if its internal political system is fundamentally reformed and decoupled from outside powers’ interference in pursuit of conflicting regional geopolitical interests.

Trump as political calculator, narcissism as design for living

Arena Online

Mark Furlong

13 Aug 2020

For Trump, it is better to bring the whole country down than to experience the private horror show that would be his lot if he were to be publicly rejected in the forthcoming election.

Unacknowledged Legislators

Arena Quarterly no. 2

Robert DiNapoli

Jul 2020

All the received wisdoms and shibboleths of contemporary politics and economics, which have (among much else) lifted Donald Trump to his present bad eminence and left parliaments in many lands beset by extreme right-wing parties and ideologues, need reviewing in a fresh light.

"Prime Minister O’Neill steps down as the wolves circle

PNG Politics, by Damien Kingsbury

Arena Magazine no. 160

Damien Kingsbury

Jun 2019

Prime Minister O’Neill steps down as the wolves circle

"The stakes are high and feelings volatile. This is where we are now.

Trump’s Trajectory? by John Hinkson

Arena Magazine no. 145

John Hinkson

Dec 2016

The stakes are high and feelings volatile. This is where we are now.

"Progressivism has to take some of the blame and will have to deeply reconsider its…

The Cost of Trump’s Victory

11 Nov 2016

Progressivism has to take some of the blame and will have to deeply reconsider its project if we are to counter the forces of Trumpism.

"In today’s race for the White House, falsehoods and deceptions are no longer marginal to…

Chameleon Clinton the ‘Saviour of Children’

4 Nov 2016

In today’s race for the White House, falsehoods and deceptions are no longer marginal to political debate but rather shape much of what is said by US presidential candidates. This is shockingly true for Trump, who has organised much of his campaign around endless fabrications, sending fact-checkers into a frenzy of activity. On the other hand, Hillary Clinton has earned a reputation as a chameleon, willing to say almost anything to promote her political career.…

"With Trump setting the agenda, Clinton retools 'diversity'