Writer
Mark Beeson
Mark Beeson is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology Sydney and Griffith University. His latest book is <em>Environmental Anarchy? International Relations Theory and Practice in the Anthropocene</em>, (Bristol University Press: 2021) He has also written <em>Environmental Populism: The Politics of Survival; in the Anthropocene Palgrave 2019</em>
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Asia, America or independence: Australians have decided, will politicians listen?
A recent poll conducted by The Guardian found that nearly twice as many people agreed with Paul Keating’s suggestion that Australia should be an independent ‘middle power’ in Asia, rather than an ally of the United States. Perhaps the electorate are smarter than some of our political class seem to think. Continue reading »
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Is ASIO’s paranoia hypocritical?
Some of my best friends are Chinese. This is entirely unsurprising given my frequent visits to the PRC, the Chinese students I have supervised and the colleagues I have collaborated with over the years. I used to think such relationships were unambiguously a good thing and the possible basis for a better understanding between our Continue reading »
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West Australia and the art of state capture
The idea of state capture is usually associated with the global south, but Australia, and Western Australia in particular, demonstrates that established democracies are far from immune. As the Australian Democracy Network explains, ‘a key element of state capture is the management of political parties both in government and opposition…a range of techniques are brought Continue reading »
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The new Dark Age
Sometimes one event encapsulates the zeitgeist. Alexei Navalny’s death from what are almost certainly unnatural causes is one such moment. One of the most heroic figures of our time appears to have been eliminated by one of the most despicable and loathsome. The only thing that is really surprising given Vladimir Putin’s track record is Continue reading »
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Plutocrats and political elites: The way we do things in the West
Western Australia is famously a long way from everywhere. Given our isolation, it’s not surprising that politics can be a bit parochial. While this may have been forgivable in another era, at this current historical juncture it’s becoming rather embarrassing. Continue reading »
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Saving the world, one suburb at a time
Privileged people trying to save the world shouldn’t be dismissed as bourgeois virtue signalling. There are worse things to signal and it could make a difference. Continue reading »
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Losing my religion
Theology has long been used to justify war. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, it’s happening again in the Middle East. Continue reading »
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The razing of the Warsaw Ghetto: Are our leaders incapable of learning from history?
If we are looking for historical parallels to the current destruction in Palestine, then the razing of the Warsaw Ghetto by the Nazis is unfortunately one that comes readily to mind. While we would all agree that this was appalling, inhuman and unfathomable, is blowing women and children to pieces in Gaza any less so? Continue reading »
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Australia and the US: Breaking up is hard to do
I don’t think it’s too controversial or anti-American to suggest that our long-term strategic partner has been having a few issues lately. We may have grown used to people in the US shooting each other in large numbers, taking too many drugs, and generally over-indulging in self-destructive and planet destroying ways, but we still expected Continue reading »
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As good as it ever got? Hurtling towards the environmental abyss
As we collectively hurtle toward the environmental abyss, it’s worth asking whether we have definitively passed the highwater mark of human development. If so, should baby boomers be wracked with guilt about their entirely underserved good fortune and failure to avert the imminent crisis? The answer to both questions is probably yes. Continue reading »
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Inside the AUKUS bubble
UWA Defence and Security Institute’s Masterclass Series AUKUS: Pillar 1 provided an illuminating insight into what some of our brightest and best think about national security and how to achieve it. The net effect was profoundly depressing and unsettling. Continue reading »
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Australian foreign policy is traditionally hitched to the US – but the rise of China requires a middle path for a middle power
Few nation-states have been shaped by their underlying physical geography and location in the world quite as much as Australia. Continue reading »
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AUKUS: Paul Monk praises elitism, derides Australia’s vibrant civil society
In an opinion piece published in The Weekend Australian (10 June 2023), Paul Monk offers his response to critics of the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine agreement. A central focus of his critique is this open letter signed by more than 100 academics. As two of the principal co-authors of the letter, we requested a right of Continue reading »
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All’s not quiet on the home front
Labor’s ability to seamlessly follow in the Coalition’s strategic footsteps is showing welcome signs of weakening as opponents of AUKUS and the submarine deal find their voice. Continue reading »
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An open letter to Mark McGowan
WA premier Mark McGowan was rightly popular and admired as a consequence of his leadership, especially during the Covid crisis. Now he has a real opportunity to make an even more important contribution beyond state borders. Continue reading »
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Harbinger: US allies low priorities amidst America’s poisonous politics
Joe Biden isn’t coming to Australia. The good news is he hasn’t had a senior moment and forgotten all about an appointment with another interchangeable ‘fella down under’. The bad news is that the United States’ increasingly poisonous domestic politics and crises take priority over everything else, including the long-term security of the Indo-Pacific. Continue reading »
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Australia’s special responsibilities
Do some states have ‘special responsibilities’ or obligations to help solve collective action problems as a consequence of their position in the international system? Australia should. Continue reading »
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What’s the point of the Australian Labor Party?
The ALP seems intent on abandoning progressive policies and turning itself into a competent version of the Coalition. This is not good for them, our collective future, or democracy. Continue reading »
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Strategic culture and the AUKUS echo chamber
Despite some brilliant analyses of the AUKUS agreement from credible and informed commentators, it is hard for critics to get a hearing, much less influence policy. Continue reading »
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Environmental apocalypse? Don’t blame us
Like the environment itself, discussions of our collective future are becoming heated. They are also contradictory, polarised and – in my case, at least – increasingly pessimistic. Continue reading »
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China, UK leadership transitions illustrate how the world has changed
The leadership transitions in China and the UK shed an illuminating light on their very different political systems. Continue reading »
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The Defence Strategic Review: How not to think about security
In both Australia and China strategic debates are dominated by specialists with similar views, a situation epitomised by the forthcoming Defence Strategic Review. A fixation with traditional threats wastes resources, increases the risk of conflict, and makes addressing the immediate danger posed by climate change even more difficult. Continue reading »
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Notes from Nomadia
Thousands of ‘grey Nomads’ are travelling endlessly around Australia contributing in a small way to the destruction of the very environment they apparently admire. Good luck to them. Continue reading »
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Rational despair and with the US almost always at war…
It’s hard to know how to respond to a situation in which you have absolutely no confidence in the intelligence, the motivations or the historical understanding of those who lead us. Continue reading »
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Stupid or cynical? How our leaders contribute to climate crisis
Effective leadership on climate change is in short supply. Are our leaders too stupid or too cynical to respond to the world’s greatest problem? Continue reading »
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Could AUKUS open a Chinese window to international leadership?
While there may still be quite a bit of debate about the strategic merits of AUKUS, there’s one thing most people agree about: China is not very happy. Continue reading »
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Max Suich, China and the greatest example of our diplomatic self harm
How did it come to this? How did Australia’s foreign policymakers and their advisors manage to devise policies that have simultaneously enraged our most important trade partner, and made us even more dependent on an increasingly unpredictable notional guarantor of our national security? If our political and strategic elites had intentionally set out to undermine Continue reading »
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If Australia needs nukes, who doesn’t?
Sensible people are making the case for a nuclear-armed Australia. Given Australia’s other problems, the ruinous cost, and the dangers of proliferation, this is the last thing we should be considering. Continue reading »
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Greg Sheridan: Principles, privilege and punditry
The Australian newspaper’s foreign affairs editor Greg Sheridan epitomises the capacity columnists have to promote ideological agendas – even ones that are seemingly at odds with their professed values and beliefs. They are hardly conservative. Continue reading »
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2020: Apocalypse now (or next year)
2020 was an unambiguously bad year. Unfortunately it won’t be the last. Will political rhetoric eventually have to change to acknowledge this? Continue reading »