Australian researcher Sam de Silva notes the recent arrests of two Melbourne men accused of being members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, Tamil Tigers). "The arrests, and the Australian government's strong statement condemning both the government and the LTTE bring the Sri Lankan conflict closer to Australia, and present the Sri Lankan...

The end of the Cold War period represented a critical juncture in the global expansion of capitalism, freeing up resources for the US to lead and support an accelerated neo-liberal push. Economic regimes that stood in the way of neo-liberalism came under increased scrutiny, and support for authoritarian political regimes became more difficult to rationalise...