Good International Citizenship by Gareth Evans


ISBN
9781922464972
Published
Binding
Paperback
Pages
96
Dimensions
111 x 175mm

Why should we in Australia, or any country, care about poverty, human rights atrocities, health epidemics, environmental catastrophes, weapons proliferation or any other problems afflicting faraway countries, when they don’t, as is often the case, have any direct or immediate impact on our own safety or prosperity? Gareth Evans’ answer is the approach he adopted when Australia’s foreign minister. He argues that to be, and be seen to be, a good international citizen — a state that cares about other people’s suffering, and does everything reasonably possible to alleviate it — is both a moral imperative and a matter of hard-headed national interest. The case for decency in conducting our international relations is based both on the reality of our common humanity, and a national interest just as compelling as the traditional duo of security and prosperity.

Four key benchmarks matter most in assessing any country’s record as a good international citizen: its foreign aid generosity; its response to human rights violations; its reaction to conflict, mass atrocities, and the refugee flows that are so often their aftermath; and its contribution to addressing the global existential threats posed by climate change, pandemics and nuclear war. Measured against them, Australia’s overall record has been patchy at best, lamentable at worst, and is presently embarrassingly poor. The better news is that, on all available evidence, the problem lies not with the negative attitudes of our people, but our governments. Those in office might prefer Berthold Brecht’s solution: ‘dissolve the people and elect another.’ But the right course for the rest of us is to persuade our political leaders, on both moral and national interest grounds, to change their ways, and to vote them out if they don’t.
March Book Frenzy (Online Only)
15.96
RRP: $19.95
20% off RRP



Instore Price: $19.95
Enter your Postcode or Suburb to view availability and delivery times.

Other Titles by Gareth Evans


You might also like

Trumps Australia
34.99
27.99
20% Off
My Story
24.99
19.99
20% Off
Bulldozed
35.00
28.00
20% Off
Keating
45.00
36.00
20% Off
Lazarus Rising Revised Edition
29.99
23.99
20% Off
The Echidna Strategy
34.99
27.99
20% Off
Bob Hawke
49.99
39.99
20% Off
Women And Whitlam
34.99
27.99
20% Off
Penny Wong
36.99
29.59
20% Off
Dreamers And Schemers
39.99
31.99
20% Off
The Big Switch
29.99
23.99
20% Off
Robert Menzies
39.99
31.99
20% Off
The Palace Letters
35.00
28.00
20% Off
SubImperial Power
24.99
19.99
20% Off
Rigged
34.99
27.99
20% Off
Toxic
24.99
19.99
20% Off

RRP refers to the Recommended Retail Price as set out by the original publisher at time of release.
The RRP set by overseas publishers may vary to those set by local publishers due to exchange rates and shipping costs.
Due to our competitive pricing, we may have not sold all products at their original RRP.