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Gough Whitlam, addressing supporters on the day of his dismissal, November 11, 1975 ABC Edward Gough Whitlam has passed on, leaving behind millions of citizens saddened by scores of eloquent obituaries reminding us how, once upon a time, Australian politics produced world-class leaders courageously...
Read MoreWith the outbreak of uncivil wars on a regional scale, in central Africa, the Arab-speaking world and eastern Europe, readers shocked and sickened by their terrible violence may find of interest my short foreword to the just-published Chinese edition of...
Read MoreManus Island camp Refugee Action Coalition The following commentary on the Abbott government’s policy of forcibly preventing people from seeking asylum within Australia has aroused considerable controversy. Several thousand public and private comments, from a wide variety of sources, have so far...
Read MorePerhaps the only bright democratic light in this dark crisis surrounding Syria is the unexpected growth of a cross-border, large-scale and ultimately global denunciation of the follies and horror of war, writes John Keane. Does democracy have anything to do with...
Read MoreWhen making sense of the weird things happening in the northern hemisphere one trend should not escape our notice: a deepening crisis caused by bankers’ greed is beginning to rip the guts out of democracy. Here’s what the textbooks say: in...
Read MoreOsama bin Laden is dead – assassinated a fortnight ago by bullets sprayed from the guns of special armed forces of the United States. During the wild celebrations that followed, the word “assassination” was never once used by politicians. There were...
Read MoreGlobal Civil Society Violence and Democracy Civil Society: Old Images New Visions Reflections on Violence The Power of the Powerless Civil Society and the State Politika i strah (Politics and Fear) ...
Read MoreBerlin 2001 It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it. Aung San Suu Kyi (1991) Despotism Many things shall be said for a long...
Read MoreMacmillan, London 2009 ISBN 978-0-230-74408-0 This book review first appeared in International Affairs, Chatham House, March 2010, pp. 16-18 PDF John Keane's review: During the past decade, as ‘democracy promotion’ and military campaigns against enemies dubbed ‘terrorists’ gathered pace, war, violence and democracy...
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