Back in 2020, as the Covid-19 health crisis descended on the world, I made an effort to help people pass the time by posting each week a set of past highlights from this blog. (Read the first of those posts here, and you can find the others under the new category of “Highlights” in the sidebar.) Since, in my humble opinion, there has been some more quite good stuff published in the intervening six years, I’ve decided it’s time for a new highlights series.
The plan is that each week, on Tuesday or Wednesday, I’ll present a dozen or so posts that I think are worth reading or re-reading. As I said last time, I’ve tried to pick pieces that “have continuing relevance beyond the immediate occasion,” although sometimes the immediate occasion was interesting enough to be worth reliving for its own sake.
So here goes for week one:
The pre-poll revolution, part I and part II (June 2020). An examination of the rise of pre-poll voting in Australia, including both its logistical and political implications.
Insurrection in the USA (January 2021). A response to the events of 6 January in the United States, when Donald Trump and his supporters tried to derail democracy.
What is self-determination? (February 2021). Does self-determination mean a right to independent nationhood, and is it antisemitic to question such a right in the case of Israel?
Death of a show pony (April 2021). An obituary for Andrew Peacock, former leader of the Liberal Party and twice an unsuccessful candidate for prime minister. It’s not mere nostalgia to think that he was a great deal more admirable than most of his successors.
More trouble in the Mediterranean (May 2021). One of Spain’s enclaves in North Africa becomes the focus of a debate about immigration, colonialism and territorial integrity, to which none of the parties come with clean hands.
Europe’s far right consolidates (July 2021). Far-right parties agree on a declaration of policy towards the European Union. Could it be a step towards bigger things?
Ukraine & Finland: compare & contrast (March 2022). Among the various historical precedents for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Winter War of 1939-40 between the Soviet Union and Finland was perhaps the most noteworthy.
Return of the veteran in East Timor (April 2022). East Timor’s presidential election was supposed to be for a non-partisan head of state, but in reality it was another step in a long-running political conflict.
Johnson wraps up (July 2022). As Boris Johnson comes to the end of the road, his failure is symptomatic of a larger failure of modern politics.
Further adventures of neoliberalism (February 2023). Jim Chalmers opens up a debate, yet again, on “neoliberalism”. An attempt at clarification.
Election preview: United States (November 2024). An attempt to explain the numbers that would determine a crucial presidential election.
Let’s talk about preferences again (April 2025). A look at preference deals in advance of Australia’s election. They matter, but not always in the way you might think.
The World is Not Enough 