What explains Victoria’s stubborn tendency to vote Labor in state and federal elections? The prolific psephologist Peter Brent recently asked why, in electoral terms, Victoria is different from the other states. He cited Labor’s dominance of the state’s two-party-preferred vote in every federal election since 1990 – even in the comprehensive defeat of 2013 –...

Thailand has been changing in unexpected ways, according to this analysis of a country in continuing political crisis To understand the crisis in Thai politics, it’s important to examine the momentous changes Thai society has undergone in recent decades. If certain key institutions, such as the monarchy, have not yet been transformed, then they are...

There’s a worrying thread running through decisionmaking in Canberra Political attention over the past few weeks has been fixed on the drama of the Abbott government’s first budget – the winners and losers, the problem of broken promises, the prospects in the Senate. Beyond that, though, the budget reinforces another trend of potentially great significance...

Paralysed leader or bad advice? A new account of the Rudd–Gillard government looks at what it says about the party’s future Troy Bramston’s readable quickie sets out to advise the leadership of the Labor Party on how to avoid the disasters that befell the Rudd and Gillard governments. He summarises the policies of these governments...

Thomas Piketty’s phenomenally successful Capital confirms that Western countries are becoming less equal. He fits into a long-running debate about inequality, and there are some encouraging signs Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century has been easily the top-selling new economics book in years, rocketing to the top of the New York Times bestseller list...