One of President Barack Obama’s main goals this year, as laid out in both his 2015 budget and State of the Union address, is to provide relief to the middle class. The divergent responses to two of his…
The mansion tax could be good for you.
David Howes
When the great and the good met at last year’s Davos event to discuss the major global challenges to prosperity and well-being, it was clear that one theme dominated all others – inequality. But has anything…
The world’s rich and powerful are gathering for the World Economic Forum at the Swiss ski resort of Davos to discuss, and hopefully find solutions to, the world’s economic and social problems. The 45th…
Amid clouds of teargas, the Hong Kong ‘Umbrella Man’ defies police attempts to end the protest.
Wikimedia Commons/Pasu Au Yeung
The haunting image of a masked protester defiantly hoisting two black umbrellas amid a cloud of tear gas flickered across global social media platforms in the seconds and minutes after the Umbrella uprising…
The media spotlight has shifted away from Hong Kong and toward President Obama’s visit to Beijing, but students and activists remain in Admiralty and Mong Kok, and their demands for political change have…
Jane Goodall is one of many scientists who have revealed how much there is to learn from animals about social organisation and communication.
AAP/Julian Smith
To endow animals with human emotions has long been a scientific taboo. But if we do not, we risk missing something fundamental about both animals and us. – Frans De Waal Some time ago I began reading scientific…
Dilma Rousseff has narrowly won re-election to the presidency of Brazil, capturing 51.6% to her rival’s 48.4% in a second-round run-off election. Now, as her second term begins, she faces the challenge…
“Who do you trust?” has become a common mantra in Australian politics. Our political leaders should do much more to stop the answer being “no one”.
AAP Image/Julian Smith
A fundamental lack of trust is at the heart of Australian politicians’ extremely poor reputation. It is the main reason why people’s opinions about their elected representatives have mutated from healthy…
Salafi mosques are among the few to reach out to local converts in Europe.
EPA/Julian Stratenschulte
Esra Özyürek, London School of Economics and Political Science
Governments in Europe have been horrified to see their young nationals turning to extremist groups and committing terrible acts in their name, but few have stopped to think about how their own policies…
Bundilla elder Aunty Barbara Raymond with schoolchildren in Darwin last year, supporting the cause of Indigenous constitutional recognition.
AAP Image/Supplied by Richard Oppusunggu
Constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australia has been on the national agenda for a long time, but is back in the headlines with the news that the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader hope to release…
There’s a long-term shift underway in Australia that all politicians should be watching.
AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy
Tony Abbott is spending this week in North-East Arnhem Land, part of his long-held hope “to be not just the Prime Minister but the Prime Minister for Aboriginal Affairs”. We asked our experts: what stories…
The following remarks were presented at a recent public forum in Sydney to celebrate the launch of Kerry Brown’s _Carnival China: The People’s Republic in the era of Hu Jintao; Essays on Politics, Society…
Our relationship with non-human animals must be understood as a question of morality.
Patrick Bouquet/Flickr
The traditional point of view in western intellectual thought – and one which is reflected in our own day-to–day views – is that of human exceptionalism, or anthropocentrism: the belief that humans are…
Social, economic inequality is on the rise - and represents a threat to our nation’s fabric. The notion of a fair go and the concept of social mobility are both central to the Australian psyche and culture…
Indigenous groups are concerned about proposed changes to the process for determining heritage sites in Western Australia, including the location of the Nyoongar Tent embassy.
Allen Stewart/Newspix
In June, the Western Australian Government released draft amendments to the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972. This is the legislation that determines what qualifies for heritage protection in the state – and…
Former Liberal leader John Hewson, Australian Youth climate Coalition co-director Lucy Mann and the Climate Institute’s chief executive John Connor greet a dinosaur outside Parliament House.
AAP/Katina Curtis
Australians are deeply cynical about both sides’ approach to climate change but especially mistrust Tony Abbott’s attitude, according to polling released by the Climate Institute on the eve of the reintroduction…
Reflecting rising resentment of European austerity policies, people from Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece protested in 2011 at the European Central Bank.
EPA/Frank Rumpenhorst
European integration has been an enormous success since its inception in the Treaty of Rome in 1957. For the next five decades European Union (EU) member states enjoyed unprecedented peace and prosperity…
Is new Qatari emir as keen on World Cup as predecessor Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani?
EPA
The highly visible role played by Qatar in spearheading the Arab Spring uprisings in north Africa and Syria in 2011 focused world attention on this tiny Gulf emirate. It capped a remarkable year that began…
Chinese artist Chen Guang, a former soldier who served during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, has painted a series of works based on his experience.
Chen Guang/Internet Exhibition
June 4, 2014, marks the 25th anniversary of the bloody military crackdown to end student protests in Tiananmen Square. For weeks, global media coverage had highlighted the protesters’ concerns and greatly…
Higher-income Americans are much more likely to vote than the poor, which reduces political parties’ incentive to tackle inequality.
EPA/Michael Reynolds
Recent weeks have been all about elections and broken promises: from early April to mid-May, half-a-billion Indians went to the polls in what many described an astonishing display of democratic prowess…
Professor of Comparative Political Science and Democracy Research at the Humboldt University Berlin; Associate of the Sydney Democracy Network, University of Sydney; Director of Research Unit Democracy: Structures, Performance, Challenges, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.