Another selection of highlights from the last few years of blogging.
Vote later or vote postal? (April 2020). Covid-19 leads to debates over all-postal or electronic voting, raising important questions about what ballot secrecy amounts to and how it can be protected.
Watching media that aren’t (August 2020). The fact that something calls itself a media organisation doesn’t mean that’s what it really is. Media Watch gives us two clear examples.
A short history of Trumpism (January 2021). As Joe Biden assumes office, he and his supporters need to understand is that Donald Trump did not appear from nowhere. The politics of which he is a symptom has a history and will not disappear of itself.
Full circle in Kabul (August 2021). The Taliban reconquers Afghanistan, leaving 40 years of American policy in ruins. Could things have been done differently?
The minor league steps up (May 2022). Labor in Australia is on track for a parliamentary majority with less than a third of the vote. Voters are saying clearly that they are unhappy with what the major parties are offering.
What Truss means (October 2022). Liz Truss bows out, and the Conservative Party tries changing the rules to prevent further embarrassment. But the constitutional problem runs deep.
Defeat in Syria (May 2023). The Arab League’s normalisation of relations with Syria and its dictator seems like the final act of the Arab Spring. That’s not how things turned out.
Territory representation, yet again (November 2023). The federal government, via a parliamentary committee, suggests increased Senate representation for the territories. Here’s why that’s a bad idea.
Macron’s surprise (June 2024). France goes to the polls unexpectedly following the government’s poor performance in European elections, with the far right eyeing power but facing a difficult task.
The fish rots from the head (January 2025). A political scientist explodes the myth of an irresistible “populist wave”.
Breakthrough in the South Pacific (July 2025). Negotiations in Paris settle on a new constitutional status for New Caledonia, which students of the Australian constitution might find familiar.
Liberals aiming vaguely (November 2025). The divisions in Australia’s Liberal Party are again on display, but one side completely lacks the ruthlessness of its opponents.
The World is Not Enough 