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Keywords: Authoritarian

  • INTERNATIONAL

    Turkish democracy gets the shake-up it needs

    • William Gourlay
    • 12 June 2013
    5 Comments

    Turkey's increasingly dictatorial prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid little heed to last week's violent demonstrations, dismissing protesters as looters and blaming social media for inflaming the situation. The protests are hardly on par with Egypt's government-toppling anti-Mubarak demonstrations, yet may still lead to a rejuvenation of Turkish democracy.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Freewheeling fantasies of European citizenship

    • Benedict Coleridge
    • 22 February 2013
    1 Comment

    Does citizenship need to be built upon close cultural, linguistic and historical ties, as in a national community? Or can a broader conception of citizenship be formed? In Brussels I spot a mural of a mosque on a garage door, surrounded by people from North Africa, Eastern and Western Europe, speaking French, Flemish, English and Arabic.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Best of 2012: No lowly scapegoats in 'necessary' Royal Commission

    • Moira Rayner
    • 08 January 2013
    14 Comments

    One of the informing moments of my career as a lawyer came from the survivors of a family who disclosed that an authoritarian father had beaten and raped every one of his children — under the very eye of their mother. The Royal Commission isn't about punishing predators. It must find a way to institutionalise the right of every child to be heard. Tuesday 13 November

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Best of 2012: Thoughts on democracy from a martial law baby

    • Fatima Measham
    • 08 January 2013

    Today marks 40 years since martial law took effect in the Philippines. I was born during this time, part of a generation who grew up not knowing any other president. Given the numerous regressions that have occurred since, it is not surprising many Filipinos look back on the Marcos era with nostalgia. Friday 21 September 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    No lowly scapegoats in 'necessary' Royal Commission

    • Moira Rayner
    • 13 November 2012
    58 Comments

    One of the informing moments of my career as a lawyer came from the survivors of a family who disclosed that an authoritarian father had beaten and raped every one of his children — under the very eye of their mother. The Royal Commission isn't about punishing predators. It must find a way to institutionalise the right of every child to be heard.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Thoughts on democracy from a martial law baby

    • Fatima Measham
    • 21 September 2012
    11 Comments

    Today marks 40 years since martial law took effect in the Philippines. I was born during this time, part of a generation who grew up not knowing any other president. Given the numerous regressions that have occurred since, it is not surprising many Filipinos look back on the Marcos era with nostalgia.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    How not to have a revolution

    • Justin Whelan
    • 23 August 2012
    6 Comments

    Syria was touted as an example of the limits of nonviolent struggle against a ruthless dictator. Now it is fast becoming a case study on the even greater strategic weaknesses of violence. As the nonviolent movement came under sustained repression, some people decided to take up arms, and opened a Pandora's Box.

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  • RELIGION

    Greater transparency will evolve the Church

    • Frank Brennan
    • 24 May 2012
    44 Comments

    Bishop Morris wrote at considerable length to Archbishop Chaput, in a highly respectful and fraternal tone. To be fair to Chaput, I will quote his breathtaking response in full. It illustrates what still passes for due process and pastoral care in the Roman Church. We have to insist on something better. And with greater transparency, we will get something better.

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  • RELIGION

    Best of 2011: Trust at stake in Toowoomba

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 12 January 2012
    10 Comments

    The treatment of Bishop Bill Morris risks further blurring the image of the Church. The story told of a good man who encouraged his church, who was resolute in dealing with sexual abuse, but was removed in an untransparent process, will confirm many in their distrust of the Church. Published 15 May 2011

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Eurozone trashed

    • Binoy Kampmark
    • 16 November 2011
    10 Comments

    Many Italian protesters have called 12 November a day of liberation. This is a misunderstanding of what has happened. One does not have to be a fan of Silvio Berlusconi's sordid regime to see the madness of austerity that is stripping away the sovereignty of states through the eurozone. 

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  • RELIGION

    Arrogant ethics

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 08 September 2011
    24 Comments

    When I argued that the Malaysia solution was ethically flawed, I implied that ethical arguments in favour of the solution were unsupportable, and that those who disagreed with me should change their views. That may seem arrogant, but it is the nature of any ethical argument.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Sects and power in the Arab revolution

    • Shahram Akbarzadeh
    • 07 September 2011
    4 Comments

    The unfolding events in the Arab world are not simply about finding a path to democracy and political openness, but a maze of sectarian tensions and regional power-plays. There is widespread consensus that the opening up of the political space will benefit Islamist forces.

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