Joseph Camilleri
Joseph Camilleri is Emeritus Professor at La Trobe University in Melbourne, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences, Convener of Conversation at the Crossroads, and Co-Convener of SHAPE (Saving Humanity and Planet Earth)
Joseph's recent articles
12 April 2025
Australia’s fading democracy calls for radical rethinking
Donald Trump has declared a global trade war and unsurprisingly America’s most faithful ally has not been spared.
9 March 2025
Joseph Camilleri and Allan Patience: Beyond the crises – How can we inspire people and institutions to take action?
Allan Patience and Joseph Camilleri discuss global crises — climate change, war, the mental health epidemic, and human rights violations — highlighting the lack of leadership across politics, business, media, education, and religion. The discussion encourages us to ask not only why we’re in this state, but how we can create a better future and overcome the obstacles in our path.
22 December 2024
Unholiness reigns in the Holy Land, but its reign is faltering
Over the last fifteen months the world has watched in disbelief Israel’s horrifying military assault on the people of Gaza and its escalating use of force in the West Bank, Lebanon, and now Syria.
13 November 2024
Trump’s America: ecstasy or agony?
Trump’s election victory is not the momentous or unexpected event many have made it out to be. It is, however, a sure sign of a slowly decaying society where frustration, anger and bewilderment are at epidemic proportions.
27 June 2024
The sun sets on the American empire: the perils of containment
Much water has flown under the bridge since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the breakup of the Soviet Union, the collapse of communism, and America’s triumphalist proclamation of a new world order. Three decades later America’s global dominance is under challenge as never before.
26 June 2024
The Sun sets on the American empire: Dead-end in Ukraine
Like Gaza, Ukraine is one of the great tragedies of the post-Cold War period. Like Gaza, it is the result of a deadly game pursued by great powers intent on inflicting maximum damage on each other, seemingly oblivious of the costs.
25 June 2024
The sun sets on the American empire: the Gaza debacle
The mayhem of the last eight months suggests that the United States remains ascendant in the Middle East, and its global hegemonic presence undiminished. Reality points in a different direction. In this series, Joseph Camilleri explains how, despite its global military reach and expanding alliances in Europe and Asia, America today stands adrift and diminished. Gaza, Ukraine and the China obsession tell the story.
9 June 2024
Australia's handling of the war in Gaza
A catastrophe is unfolding in Gaza right now – with terrible ramifications for Australia. It’s an issue no citizen of this country can ignore.
23 May 2024
The bleak picture of Australian politics: this is how we change
We are confronting a deep structural crisis in our society. We have confused the idea of democracy with the institutions of political parties and representative democracies. The major parties have become structures representing economic and security elites to which only second rate personalities flock, incapable of navigating the huge challenges we face globally. Meanwhile, the under resourced education system has become an iron cage, captured by industry, that we have been imprisoning young minds into, and from which they are now breaking free.
19 February 2024
Arab governments fiddle while Palestine burns
The Arab response to the unfolding Palestinian catastrophe has been underwhelming. Palestinian intellectuals, journalists, activists, and the wider Palestinian public have had no illusions as to what to expect of the US political and military elites. They did, however, expect more of Arab governments.
5 February 2024
A looming China-US collision can dtente come to the rescue?
The call issued by Bob Carr and Gareth Evans for a comprehensive dtente between the US and China is timely and constructive. But as with all things to do with peace and war, the issues are complex and the way forward strewn with difficulties.
17 December 2023
An annus horribilis and Australias conduct less than distinguished
For those who had hoped Australia might bring a more constructive approach to issues of peace and security, years end cannot come soon enough.
16 October 2023
Palestines unending torment: A stain on the worlds conscience
Mainstream Western coverage of the recent Hamas foray into Israel and its aftermath has been marked by sensationalism, lack of historical context, and superficial moralising.
3 July 2023
Globalising NATO to preserve US dominance
The containment policy pursued by the United States during the Cold War years is back with a vengeance.
19 April 2023
Australia adrift and a foreign minister all at sea
On Monday, Penny Wong delivered her much awaited address to the National Press Club. What a disappointment! So many words, and so little substance. One could dismiss the episode as just another case of a minister whos not up to the task. Unfortunately, the speech points to a deeper ailment a government oblivious to the dangers ahead, and incapable of steering the ship to safer waters.
24 March 2023
Xi Jinping in Moscow: A historic partnership in the making
Since 2010, Xi Jinping has met Vladimir Putin on 40 separate occasions, but this last visit may prove to be their most significant meeting yet. The stakes for both have never been higher.
19 March 2023
To all who care about humanitys and the planets future
Humanity has reached a tipping point. It is time for governments, international institutions and people everywhere to take stock and act with renewed urgency.
13 February 2023
Foreign policy under Labor: beholden, bereft and befuddled
Labor came to office last May, replacing a government that had steered Australias relationship with the United States to new heights of servility. Our ties with China were in tatters. Many had hoped that the change of government would usher in a shift to a more imaginative and less subservient foreign policy. Nine months later such hopes are little more than idle fantasy.
1 February 2023
2023: a make-or-break year for the global order
Many of the accounts we hear of the current Russia-NATO conflict are deeply flawed. and risk degenerating into pure farce a crude melodrama, in which an upright, democratic Ukrainian government headed by hero Zelensky is pitted against a corrupt and brutal autocracy led by the deluded ogre, Putin. What is really in question, is the unsustainable global security framework.
7 November 2022
War with China looms: Questions that need answers
We now have a clearer picture of how deeply entangled with US strategic priorities and war preparations Australia has become. We also know that China is viewed as the principal adversary, and that US military planners and their Australian counterparts are busily planning for a major military confrontation with China, most likely over Taiwan.
20 October 2022
China policy: A casualty of Australias addiction to imperial power
Its now close to five months since Labor came to office, but little has changed in the governments position on China or the dangerous escalation in great power tensions.
28 September 2022
To all who care about humanitys and the planets future
Humanity has reached a tipping point. It is time for governments, international institutions and people everywhere to take stock and act with renewed urgency.
9 September 2022
The Defence Strategic Review: Will it question the China phobia that currently holds sway?
Hardly a day goes by without an Australian politician, commentator, or member of the security establishment reminding us that China poses a clear and present danger. The messaging, consistent and unrelenting, provides the backdrop to the Defence Strategic Review recently announced by the Albanese Government.
27 July 2022
The Ukraine conflict calls for sharper vision and bolder action
The Ukraine conflict is a sign of our dire predicament, potentially a taste of worse to come.
19 July 2022
The tragic obsession with the Chinese threat
Seven weeks in government, and still no sign that Labor in office is prepared to rethink the relationship with either China or the United States. The two are not unconnected. The link is their common addiction to the China threat thesis.
24 February 2022
The best of times, the worst of times
The best of times, the worst of times. Few words better describe the contradictions of our world precariously poised between noble aspirations and sordid politics. Three questions immediately arise: Are the contradictions deepening? If so, why? Can anything be done about it?
3 November 2021
In Glasgow, a historic tragedy may reach its climax. Where to from here?
The Glasgow climate summit may end long on rhetoric and short on substance. Among the sobering questions: are our institutions fit for purpose?
5 October 2021
Australia adrift: how to be a good society Part 2
There is no denying it. Australia is at the crossroads. If a reminder were needed, the pandemic has obliged. COVID-19 has exposed the fragility of life, the uncertainties of the future, and the shortcomingsof our institutions.
4 October 2021
Australia adrift and uneasy; time to set a new course. Part 1
A pall of unease hangs over Australia, yet it's hardly acknowledged. The government's failings and the implications of ill-judged policies preoccupy more insightful commentators. But it may be time to consider the ills of society as a whole.
19 September 2021
AUKUS security pact: a story of recklessness and delusion
The AUKUS security pact is another provocative alliance that can only end in blood and tears. And for no good reason other than a nostalgic addiction to imperial power.
17 August 2021
Afghanistan debacle exposes the limits to Empire
The chaotic scenes at Kabul airport are symbolic of a military intervention that has brought the people of Afghanistan nothing but loss and destruction. The United States and its allies, not least Australia, have a great deal to answer for. This twenty-year war has been an unmitigated disaster from beginning to end. And what an ignominious end it is, especially for the United States.
20 June 2021
Biden's strategy exposed - tempestuous times ahead
It is safe to conclude that neither China nor Russia will be intimidated by shows of US strength or alliance solidarity. They will keep on strengthening their military capabilities and continue to use every bit of soft and hard power to advance their vision of a multi-centric world.
4 May 2021
Time to silence the drums of war
For many familiar with the excesses of Cold War rhetoric and the hyped-up fears used to justify our ill-fated interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, the current China bashing is a case of dj-vu. But the latest bout of politically contrived anti-China hysteria is especially troubling.
19 April 2021
America's place in the world under Biden: the omens betide no good
The only way to manage the emerging pluralist world order at all safely is to cultivate international institutions and mindsets that are genuinely inclusive and conducive to a respectful and sustained dialogue. Are the United States and its allies, Australia included, open to this sobering thought?
27 December 2020
A post pandemic world: glimmers of hope amid the bleak reality
With much of the world engulfed by the first, second or third waves of Covid-19 transmission, predicting when or how the post-pandemic future will emerge remains a hazardous occupation. One assumption, though, seems safe enough. When the spread of the virus eventually subsides, we will face a grim social, economic, environmental, and political landscape.
29 November 2020
Why the Biden victory is not the answer to our prayers
Much of America is breathing a sigh of relief that, gracefully or otherwise, Trump will soon vacate the White House. Allies of the United States not just governments but much of the commentariat are expecting a less turbulent and more predictable international environment. That may be wishful thinking.
1 November 2020
Australia and the World <i>after Trump</i>? The moment of decision is fast approaching
Much of the commentary on the US election has focused on the personalities, the contest, the likely result. Will it be Biden or Trump again? But is this the nub of the question?
23 August 2020
The parlous state of our security policies thinking through the hard questions
In Australia security policy is made largely behind closed doors, and subject to remarkably little scrutiny by parliament or our mainstream media. It has at best a fleeting presence in our political and public discourse.
6 July 2020
Its time to strip national security of its sacred cow status. Part 2
On closer inspection, the immense financial, institutional, and rhetorical investment in this elaborate security edifice rests on questionable assumptions. The costs may far outweigh any likely benefits.
5 July 2020
Its time to strip national security of its sacred cow status. Part 1
The Prime Minister has just announced the most hawkish turn in Australias defence policy since the end of the Cold War. All in the name of national security, the mantra of governments intent on justifying sprawling, costly and often unaccountable security establishments.
23 June 2020
Living with China: There is a way, but is there a will? Part 3
To enter into a sustained and productive dialogue with China, Australia needs to do its homework. As indicated In Parts 1 and 2, both government and society have to cultivate a better understanding of contemporary China, its history, culture, economy and politics.
22 June 2020
Living with China: There is a way, but is there a will? Part 2
In Part 1 we saw that the post-1945 Western dominated world order is rapidly giving way to a multicentric world, in which different players, each with its own system of governance and civilisational inheritance, are vying for power and influence. In this part, we examine How Australia can accommodate this shift, as it goes about the demanding task of rethinking its relationship with China.
21 June 2020
Living with China: There is a way, but is there a will? Part 1
There is a growing sense that its time to step off the merry-go-round of China bashing and the Australia bashing that inevitably follows. But what is to take its place? Many would like to see a more solid foundation for our relationship with China. But what would this look like in practice? And how well equipped are we for the task?
24 May 2020
JOSEPH A. CAMILLERI. Can we rescue the China relationship from the abyss?
For some time now we have been routinely mishandling our relations with China. Our petulant demand for an international Covid-19 inquiry, whose thinly veiled purpose was to point the finger at Beijings misdeeds, is the latest in a long series of missteps.
30 April 2020
JOSEPH A. CAMILLERI. Covid-19 Lessons Not Yet Learnt
For weeks now Covid-19 has dominated the worlds media. Weve had endless facts, advice and commentary on the virus itself, the number of deaths and infections, the level of testing, the dos and donts of hygiene and social distancing, the flattening of the curve, and much else. But on the underlying significance of the pandemic remarkably little.
20 August 2019
China policy drowning in empty rhetoric time for an informed public debate
China is in the news and rightly so. If its not events in Hong Kong, its the China-US trade dispute, or tensions in the South China Sea, Beijings expanding influence in the South Pacific, the prospect of a Chinese military base in Cambodia, Chinas treatment of the Uighur minority, or Chinas massive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). For Australia, this is a time for uncomfortable soul searching.
29 May 2019
JOSEPH ANTHONY CAMILLERI. Was this 'the election we had to have'?
It is two weeks since Australia went to the polls, but are we any wiser as to what actually transpired at the ballot box and during the preceding weeks of mind numbing electioneering? Politicians and commentators alike have single-mindedly focused on the surprising election result shocking for some, miraculous for others. But few if any of the explanations ring true.
11 February 2019
JOSEPH A. CAMILLERI. Just Peace: A timely roadmap for Australia or impossible dream? Part 2
If just peace requires peacemaking and peacebuilding to be sensitive to the cries of the poor and the cries of the Earth, how relevant is it to Australias present circumstances? If what is proposed is a holistic approach to the problem of violence that encompasses social and ecological violence as well as physical violence, is Australia capable of adopting the approach as a guide to its domestic and external policies? To judge by the parlous state of Australian politics and public discourse, at least as filtered by mainstream media, the omens are less than propitious. And yet, the possibilities are...
10 February 2019
JOSEPH A. CAMILLERI. Just Peace: The only antidote to the age of violence Part 1
Endemic violence, the hallmark of the last hundred years, shows no sign of abating. The death toll resulting from war in the 20th century is 187 million and probably higher. The number of armed conflicts in the world has risen steadily since 1946 and now stands at 50 or more in any one year. In each case just war rhetoric has been invoked to defend the indefensible. It is time to shift our thinking and public discourse from 'just war' to 'just peace'.