Tag Archive for: "politics"
Turkey’s baffling coup

Military coups—successful or otherwise—follow a predictable pattern in Turkey. Political groups—typically Islamists—deemed by soldiers to be antagonistic to Kemal Ataturk’s vision of a secular Turkey gain increasing power. Tensions rise, often accompanied by violence on …

Malcolm Turnbull the fixer

Politicians can be divided into ‘straights’, ‘fixers’ and ‘maddies,’ and Malcolm Turnbull must quickly find his inner fixer. The transformation isn’t impossible because Turnbull has already tried the other two categories. In his first stint …

ANZUS in Trumpland—should we have seen it coming?

Andrew Davies’ recent post on the possibility of Donald Trump as US President presents an interesting alternative future that could cause a fundamental rewrite of our defence plans. In concluding, he noted Andrew Carr’s concerns …

Oz election: internal, not international

Happy the democracy waging an election with little argument about foreign affairs and defence. The outside world isn’t pressing too hard. The threats are far off and chances are good. A democracy that dwells inward …

Do we want powerful leaders?

A trend toward greater authoritarianism seems to be spreading worldwide. Vladimir Putin has successfully used nationalism to tighten his control over Russia and seems to enjoy great popularity. Xi Jinping is regarded as China’s most …