Category: democracy

17 Mar

5 Comments

Whatever happened to the Indignados? 1: Radical struggle

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LUKE STOBART with the first instalment of a special three-part analysis of the radicalisation that has swept Spain since the 15-M protests of 2011.   *** Anti-politics and the 15-M movement On 15 May 2011 the new collectives Juventud Sin Futuro (Youth Without Future) and ¡Democracia Real Ya! (Real Democracy Now!), demonstrated in Madrid using […]

05 Dec

6 Comments

The Greens NSW, unions & political donations

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With the Unions NSW-led High Court challenge to Barry O’Farrell’s donations laws awaiting a decision, a flurry of articles and commentary emerged in the press and social media recently, with several Greens activists defending the laws, and unionists, including Greens member and Fire Brigade Employees’ Union Secretary, Jim Casey, attacking them. Also coming out against […]

04 Dec

10 Comments

Abbott & the auto-unravelling of the Right

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For some time, this blog has insisted that an Abbott government — far from getting a smooth ride, even with a big parliamentary majority — would most likely face “crisis and volatility” at least as much as the ALP had over the last few years. By way of contrast, the rapid accumulation of problems for Abbott in […]

20 Nov

Comments Off on The Greek crisis: Between democracy & dictatorship?

The Greek crisis: Between democracy & dictatorship?

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By THANASIS KAMPAGIANNIS This is a translation of “Democracy, Dictatorship and Fascism” from the latest issue of the theoretical journal of the Greek Socialist Workers Party (SEK), Σοσιαλισμός από Κάτω (Socialism From Below). 40 years after the Athens Polytechnic uprising, the debate on democracy is now more relevant than ever. As if one needed to be […]

31 Oct

18 Comments

Anti-politics: Elephant in the room

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By ELIZABETH HUMPHRYS & TAD TIETZE At a certain point in their historical lives, social classes become detached from their traditional parties. In other words, the traditional parties in that particular organisational form, with the particular men who constitute, represent, and lead them, are no longer recognised by their class (or fraction of a class) […]

08 Oct

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Athens anti-fascist conference: a milestone for the Left

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By KEVIN OVENDEN This piece is a follow-up to “Greece, the state & anti-fascism”, which was subsequently also posted at Socialist Unity in the UK and Socialist Worker in the US. The anti-fascist conference in Athens last weekend hosted by the Greek anti-fascist/anti-racist coalition KEERFA was a major step forward. About 600 people, from a broad spectrum […]

06 Sep

Comments Off on The Left, the Greens and the crisis (from Overland)

The Left, the Greens and the crisis (from Overland)

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My long-form essay on the trajectory of the Greens since 2010 is now up at Overland Journal‘s website, and will be in the print edition due out next week. No comments option at Overland, so feel free to comment below. The rise of the Greens represented a historic realignment of the Left of Australian politics, […]

01 Aug

2 Comments

Egypt: The coup, the Brotherhood & the revolution

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Historical analogies can often be misleading, especially when a notable anniversary places them readily to hand. Mohamad Morsi is not Salvador Allende, overthrown in the seminal Chilean coup 40 years ago. But General Abdel Fatah al-Sisi is Egypt’s Augusto Pinochet — complete with military regalia and sunglasses. The response of Western governments betrays all the […]

22 Jul

7 Comments

Making things happen: race, borders & the state

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One of the most striking things about the mainstream media coverage of Kevin Rudd’s “PNG solution” is how the discussion is mostly framed by ideas, policies and language that are increasingly relics of a past phase of the interminable “border security” debate. By outmanoeuvring opponents to both his Right and Left on this issue, Rudd […]