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Reflections on War, Diplomacy, Human Rights and Liberalism: Blind Spots

For most people, the idea that extremist ideologies glorify themselves through warfare, and commit crimes against humanity and genocide, is the natural extension of their moral and philosophical failings. As this volume outlines, liberal democracies such as Australia, and others, also glorify in war and they may also, at various times, engage in, support, or turn a blind eye to crimes against humanity or genocide. However, liberal democracies such as Australia, the US, and the UK, among others, routinely present themselves as arbiters of liberal values, defenders of human rights, and guardians of virtue. This book explores the obvious contradiction between the ideals of liberalism and how liberal democracies ignore, and at times even justify, their failure to uphold the principles they espouse.


Adam Hughes Henry is an Honorary Lecturer at the School of Culture, History, and Language of the Australian National University. He has published two books, Independent Nation (2010) and The Gatekeepers of Australian Foreign Policy 1950–1966 (2015). He was a Visiting Fellow in Human Rights in 2016-2017 at the Human Rights Consortium of the School of Advanced Studies at the University of London. He is currently an Associate Editor for The International Journal of Human Rights.

“Adam Hughes Henry draws on years of research and reflection to provide a frankly dissident account of modern Australian diplomacy. Australia and its closest allies have professed the highest principles in their foreign policy and support for human rights, but Henry argues powerfully that they have been opportunistic and selective in living up to them. The consequences have been tragic for people, such as those of East Timor, whose aspirations to self-determination deserved firm support.”
Frank Bongiorno
Professor of History, Australian National University

“A shining rarity among Australian scholarly books, Reflections on War, Diplomacy, Human Rights and Liberalism points a candid searchlight into the blind spots where many would rather not look—genocide, hypocrisy and betrayal. Adam Hughes Henry reveals our shared guilt for abuses of human rights in Indonesia, East Timor, and in Australia too.”
Dr Alison Broinowski, AM
Acting President, Australians for War Powers Reform

“In this powerful study, Adam Hughes Henry confronts big themes: from the role of diplomacy in abetting human rights abuses to the failures in Australia’s human rights record. Although Australian-focused and historically driven, this book has global implications and contemporary resonances: the Russian invasion of Ukraine is the latest instance of catastrophic violations of human rights and calls by liberal democracies to prosecute those responsible for war crimes. Yet, as this book argues, liberalism is itself implicated: such calls are the products of moral inconsistency and political expediency more than high-minded universal principles. For those wishing to understand why diplomacy has failed to sufficiently protect victims of conflict and genocide, this important book is essential reading.”
Phillip Deery
Emeritus Professor of History, Victoria University, Australia

“The unique contribution of Reflections… lies in its exposure of the seismic fault line between the jargon of diplomacy—some might call it psychobabble—and actual practice. And this, within the liberal democracies currently challenged by authoritarian regimes. Food for thought indeed.”
Warren Reed
Ex-Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS)

“This incisive, well-documented and illustrated volume provides a reflection on the perennial human problem of violence, and encourages people to engage wholeheartedly in the equally perennial human search for truth and justice.”
Dr Susan Connelly
Timor Sea Justice Campaigner

Buy This Book

ISBN: 1-5275-5360-4

ISBN13: 978-1-5275-5360-6

Release Date: 7th December 2020

Pages: 276

Price: £64.99

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