Issue 9 — Summer 2015

US imperialism and the war for the Middle East

Corey Oakley analyses the counter-revolutions which have swept across the Arab world since the mass revolts of 2011.

'The Southern Tree of Liberty' explained

Terry Irving’s book The Southern Tree of Liberty celebrates working people, their grievances, their organisations and the struggle for democracy before 1856 as revealed by working class newspapers, many never consulted by historians before.

Understanding imperialism: a reply to Sam King

Patrick Weiniger replies to Sam King’s article on imperialism in Marxist Left Review 8.

The hidden history of Islamophobia

Vashti Kenway argues that Australia has a long history of discrimination against Muslims, culminating in the rabid Islamophobia promoted by both Liberal and Labor governments to justify Australia’s involvement in a series of wars in the Middle East.

How World War One led to class war

Mick Armstrong explores how World War I led to enormous class struggles in Australia, and led to a split in the Labor party, a general strike and a political radicalisation that shaped the next decades of working class politics.

Year one of the Abbott government

Louise O’Shea explains why the Abbott government is the most unpopular first term government in Australian history.

Why you should read 'This Earth of Mankind'

Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s historical novel Bumi Manusia (This Earth of Mankind) was published by Penguin in 1983.  Max Lane, argues it should be read by anyone wanting to understand the history of Indonesia in the late twentieth century.