Think Global: The Catalan push for independence from Spain: tragedy and/or farce?

Our blog features regular posts by people passionate about politics, participation and democracy in all its forms.

Think Global: The Catalan push for independence from Spain: tragedy and/or farce?

The political crisis in Spain over the push for the independence of Catalonia has become as a high stakes game of ‘chicken’ –one where whoever takes a back or side step becomes the loser. On the one hand, this has increased political and social tensions dramatically, with profound and deepening...

Poet in Residence David Chapple

The Centre of Democracy was opened in May 2017 through a partnership led by the History Trust of South Australia with the State Library of South Australia. Its remit is to share the story of democracy in South Australian. We do this through a permanent exhibition in the Institute Building...

Think Global: The Jokowi Presidency in Indonesia: Critical Reflections

Who is President Joko Widodo (Jokowi)? How has he survived and managed his presidency through the political, economic, and social upheavals that have occurred in Indonesia over past 3 years? Has he himself changed with his presidency or, has Indonesia changed under his presidency? As an outsider, President Jokowi...

Think Global: The Coup & Struggle for Democratization in Zimbabwe – Challenges, Prospects and Lessons

Robert Mugabe dramatically left office in what was essentially a military coup albeit couched in popular protests. The unique political ‘transition’ that happened in Zimbabwe offers a great opportunity to re-look into the democratisation debate in Africa. This talk discusses the challenges, prospects and lessons for Zimbabwe’s democratisation in...

Parading Proud: The Builders’ Laborers’ Union of South Australia banner

Workers organised themselves from the early days of the colony. It is alleged that the first industrial dispute occurred as early as October 1836 on one of the first ships to dock. South Australia company manager Charles Hare was strong armed into paying additional wages to seamen threatening to Strike....

Susie Creamcheese and the Happy Birthday Party

Elections can be interesting times in this country, and State. With the South Australian State Election in full swing right now I wanted to take the time to look back to a previous State Election. The early 1970s was a time of social and cultural change, and in South Australia,...

A man sitting on a stool holding a stone

Poet in Residence

Hello – my name is David Chapple and I am the Centre of Democracy’s Poet in Residence. I have begun workshops to support the Poet in Residence program at the Centre of Democracy. The idea is to work outside (beyond the walls) the Centre initially and explore the broader ideas...

Kilkenny Slam Poets

For the last school term, year 6 and 7 students from Kilkenny Primary school have had fun taking part in a trial program using the Centre of Democracy as a HASS and Civics and Citizenship resource. We have designed bingo games, democracy walks, quiz’s, and more. Here is a selection...

‘I shall die a Labor man’

In 1975, the rock star Alice Cooper was scheduled to tour Australia. John Bannon, later Premier of South Australia, was at the time senior adviser to Clyde Cameron, the Minister for Labour and Immigration in the Whitlam government. Their long association is documented in correspondence held in the Bannon Collection...

What does ‘Australian Citizenship’ really mean?

There is a lot of discussion about citizenship throughout our country at the moment. From debates about migration and ‘Australian values’ to the so called ‘citizenship crisis’, a name coined by the media describing the several members of the Australian Federal Parliament who have stepped down, or aside, while confirmation...

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