AQ – Volume 81, Issue 3

Afghanistan and the War on Terror

Outside observers of the US and western response to the terrorist attacks of September 11 could see that the approach adopted was disastrous for civil liberties and lacked any depth of analysis. Because it was so predictable, it actually played into the hands of terrorists. Because it was oppressive towards whole categories of people such as Arabs and Muslims, it invited reaction. Because the military option is so blunt an instrument, it ignored the need to undermine terrorists by addressing the inequalities that spurned them.

Dr Tony Smith

Download this feature article [594KB, PDF].


Growing the Greens

The Greens are commonly said to be the new “third force” in Australian politics. Over the last few years the growing strength of the Greens in the parliaments shows that, if the Greens are at least notionally combined with Labor, the Left now has an ascendancy in Australian politics perhaps not seen since the time of World War One. The assumption here is that the Greens are indeed part of the Left and yet distinct from Labor, raising the question of where that distinctiveness lies and whether it can be maintained against a more flexible Labor party.

Geoffrey Hawker


Australian Attitudes to Heritage

Australians and their governments seem to have very ambivalent views of our heritage. One could characterise Australians as being concerned with the present and, up to a point, with the future, but little concerned with the past. This article explores some factors that could explain why so little serious attention has been given to heritage preservation in Australia and why heritage is frequently so low on our personal and national lists of priorities.

Graeme Aplin


Sexism and Livestock Breeding

The notion that the female of our species is inferior to the male of course long preceded the 19th century, although arguably it was during this time that sexist attitudes were particularly prevalent among males, as well as pervasive in society generally, with considerable effort being devoted to their validation. Some historians have ascribed the pervasiveness of sexism in the 19th century to the persuasiveness of “scientific” arguments in its support. This article argues that the interpretation of observed results in the area of livestock breeding made a significant contribution to perceived knowledge in the area.

John Perkins


Halfway to Heaven: Teacher Training Sixty Years Ago

Alan Barcan


John Manning Ward, Sir Bertram Stevens and the Politics of War 1939 – 1942

George Parsons


Russel Ward and the Making of the Australian Legend

Drew Cottle



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