John Keane | Topics of Interest
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Topics of Interest

  |   Articles & Essays JK, Articles in the Press, Democracy Field Notes, Religion and Politics   |   No comment

God, the gods and democracy [part three]

The Masses, by Mexican muralist José Clemente Orozco (1935) The widespread belief that religion is plainly bad for democracy is misleading, or so the following dialogue on religion tries to illustrate, with reasons and examples. Conducted in Melbourne by the distinguished...

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10 November 2015
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  |   China, Democracy in the 21st Century, Media, News, Podcasts, Videos and Interviews   |   No comment

TAIWAN INTERVIEW | Historic Singapore Meeting of Presidents of China and Taiwan

“习马会”料促两岸商经贸旅游 学者:或是台湾“大选”前最后会谈机会 本报悉尼讯记者李紫鹏报道11 月7 日,中国国家主席习近平将与马英九在新加坡举行会谈。悉尼大学政府与国际关系系教授John Keane 表示,此次会议是两岸高层领导人在明年1 月台湾举行选举之前的最后一次会谈机会。 49 年后两岸领导人首会 这次会议是自1949 年以来两岸领导人的第一次会谈。Keane 认为,习近平和马英九会在推动两岸关系方面交换意见。不过,在发展两岸关系方面仍然面临一系列的压力。马英九在最近一次接受的采访中表示关于“统一”,“台湾还没准备好”。Keane 认为,此次会议可能会以较为私密的方式进行,不会有协议的签署和发布。值得一提的是,2014 年APEC 会议在北京举行期间,马英九提出在会议期间与习近平举行会谈,但是遭到了北京方面的回绝。Keane认为有两个原因,第一,当时马英九的支持率不高,只有10%;第二,当时北京方面的国际策略还不够清晰,后来才提出了“一带一路”的战略规划。Keane 表示,此次会议是两岸高层领导人在明年台湾举行选举之前的最后一次会谈的机会。根据目前的情况,国民党很可能会输掉明年的选举。 台民众情感正在改变 Keane 表示,台湾是很独特的一个地区,受到日本文化的影响,并形成了选举的制度。“台湾民众的情感改变正在发生,”Keane 说。2014 年11 月份台湾的地方选举中,国民党大规模落败。目前,台湾民众对台湾独立和统一的支持率都比较低。台湾某具有声誉的智库调查结果显示,台湾民众对“一个中国”的支持率仅为13%;77%的台湾民众认为内地与台湾应该互相尊重。Keane 表示,此调查结果表明,台湾为中国一个省的观点失民心。Keane 认为,台湾已形成“选举的文化”,其“监测民主”和“公民社会”的发展已较为成熟,这些观点是在年轻人当中尤为强烈。对于习近平与马英九此次为何选择在新加坡进行会晤,Keane 认为,如果选择台北或北京作为此次习近平与马英九的会晤地点,势必激起台湾民众在台北的大规模游行示威。新加坡是一个较为中立的城市,但是安保工作仍然十分紧要。关于美国对于此次会议的态度,Keane 认为,美方的立场是,内地与台湾高层本次“平等地会谈并非一件坏事情”。他表示,海峡两岸爆发军事冲突是不太可能的。北京方面处理台湾问题的态度比较微妙。此次会议很可能讨论两岸在投资、旅游方面的合作。他认为,北京知道用战争处理台湾问题是最差的选择。 Originally published on xkb.com.au PDF Version...

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06 November 2015
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  |   Articles & Essays JK, Articles in the Press, Citizenship, Democracy Field Notes, Democracy in the 21st Century, Podcasts, Videos and Interviews, Videos   |   No comment

A Short History of the Future of Elections

The following remarks on the future of elections sketch the ambitious scope of an exciting Sydney/Berlin research project launched last week at the the University of Sydney We live in times shaped by the conviction that periodic ‘free and fair’ elections...

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15 October 2015
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  |   Audio, Citizenship, Democracy in the 21st Century, Media, Podcasts, Videos and Interviews, War, Violence, Fear   |   No comment

ABC The Minefield | Syrian Refugee Crisis: Is current compassion obscuring a long-term catastrophe?

Aired on Thursday 10 September 2015 11:30AM Over the last five years, the phenomenon of mass displacement and forced migration has posed intractable political problems for Western nations and sparked an upsurge in popularity for Europe's anti-immigrant political parties. In recent weeks the...

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10 September 2015
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  |   Articles & Essays JK, Articles in the Press, Democracy in the 21st Century, Religion and Politics   |   No comment

In Conversation With John Keane: Gods, Power, Democracy

By Irfan Ahmad, Institute for Religion, Politics, & Society, Australian Catholic University Publisher: Routledge Journal of Religious and Political Practice, published online: 29 Jul 2015. [caption id="attachment_9246" align="alignright" width="355"] John Keane in conversation with Irfan A hmad.[/caption] In a wide-ranging conversation with Irfan Ahmad, John...

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29 July 2015
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  |   Audio, Democracy in the 21st Century, Media, Podcasts, Videos and Interviews   |   No comment

Greek debt: Is it morally binding? – ABC Radio National The Mindfield

John Keane interview with ABC Radio National The Mindfield, 9 July 2015 Listen to audio [audio mp3="http://www.johnkeane.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/mld_20150709_1130.mp3"][/audio]   [caption id="attachment_10276" align="alignleft" width="300"] Image: Queuing for cash at a Greek bank (SAKIS MITROLIDIS/AFP/Getty Images)[/caption] Democracy was born in Greece out of a struggle against the oppressive...

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09 July 2015
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