Books & arts
22 October 2025
A prize-winning account of Soviet-era human rights activists throws light on Putin’s Russia
National affairs
25 July 2025
The International Court of Justice has opened the door for human rights–based legal action against recalcitrant governments
Books & arts
24 April 2025
A new biography of Beatrice Faust illuminates a distinct strand of Australian feminism
Books & arts
21 February 2025
A chilling account of occupied southeastern Ukraine reveals a systematic program of Russification combined with chaos, brutality and corruption
International
22 November 2024
Once again Britain stands by while China breaches the two countries’ agreement on Hong Kong
Essays & reportage
13 September 2024
What the International Court of Justice says about Israel’s treatment of the occupied territories and what it means for Australia
International
3 December 2022
Our Hamburg-based correspondent scrutinises a much-used term, draws attention to deadly policies and practices, and ends on an optimistic note
Essays & reportage
22 November 2021
How can we improve Australia’s uneasy engagement with the global human rights system?
Essays & reportage
17 September 2021
Andrew Chalk pays tribute to lawyer, writer and humanitarian Hal Wootten
Books & arts
10 February 2021
Books | Australia’s decision to join the United States in competition with China has backfired damagingly
National affairs
1 July 2020
Could the Dyson Heydon investigation have happened without women at senior levels in the High Court?
Books & arts
22 October 2019
Books | Most of us are cosmopolitan, but how does that mean we should behave?
International
4 August 2019
The city’s economic importance has declined significantly, but China itself isn’t immune to the pressures on display
Essays & reportage
20 December 2018
Prisoners exist in a healthcare limbo, and the effects on their wellbeing can be profound
International
7 August 2018
Xu Zhangrun’s bold critique of contemporary China points to potential flashpoints ahead
National affairs
26 October 2017
What does the High Court’s decision in the Lapoinya Forest case tell us about its evolving attitude to free speech?
Essays & reportage
16 August 2017
Liu Xiaobo’s message from prison to the West
Books & arts
19 July 2017
Books | Martha Nussbaum wants to take the anger out of public life. It’s a highly ambitious goal, and would it necessarily be desirable?
International
25 May 2016
Sri Lanka’s reconciliation process is showing early signs of movement, writes Alan Keenan. But the government needs to redouble its commitment to good…
Essays & reportage
11 May 2016
Reopening the PNG detention centre attracted bipartisan support, writes Madeline Gleeson. So how did it go so wrong?
International
21 March 2016
The agreement hammered out in Brussels on Friday creates fresh uncertainty and renewed danger for refugees, writes Klaus Neumann
International
1 March 2016
Just a month after celebrating ten years in power, Evo Morales’s quest for a fourth term in office ended in defeat. It was bad news for a record-breaking leader but good news…
14 December 2015
The allure of the secret service in the British imagination is also the entry code to citizens’ data, writes David Hayes in London
International
5 November 2015
Xi Jinping has made clear the Party’s views about the role of artists, writes Linda Jaivin. But it’s unclear what they will mean in practice
International
17 June 2014
The outside world should be worried by the possibility that Prabowo Subianto could become Indonesian president, writes Edward Aspinall, but the biggest losers will be…
Essays & reportage
4 December 2013
Armed with an ambitious political and legal agenda, the new attorney-general faces a testing time, write Shipra Chordia and Andrew Lynch
International
30 September 2013
The Malaysian activist was due in Australia this week to speak in three cities and meet members of the large Malaysian community here, writes Gerhard Hoffstaedter. The…
Essays & reportage
29 July 2013
How much has changed over the past four decades, asks Dennis Altman in this extract from his new book, The End of the Homosexual?
National affairs
23 May 2013
Two new reports spell out pragmatic and overdue reforms to Australia’s anti-terrorism laws. But does the political will exist to act, ask Jessie Blackbourn and…
Essays & reportage
11 December 2012
In this edited version of a recent Dunstan Foundation lecture, Dennis Altman looks at forty years of gay liberation and the work still to be done