Good International Citizenship: The Case for Decency

Autor*innen

• Gareth Evans

Parameter

• 96 Seiten
• 4 Lesestunden

• Politikwissenschaft
• Sachliteratur
• Sozialwissenschaften

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Why should Australia, or any country, care about issues like poverty, human rights abuses, health crises, and environmental disasters in distant lands, especially when they seem to have no direct impact on our own safety or prosperity? The author, drawing from his experience as Australia’s foreign minister, argues that being a good international citizen—caring about others' suffering and taking reasonable actions to alleviate it—is both a moral duty and a matter of national interest. This perspective is rooted in our shared humanity and a national interest as significant as security and prosperity. Four key benchmarks are crucial in evaluating a country’s performance as a good international citizen: foreign aid generosity, responses to human rights violations, reactions to conflicts and the resulting refugee crises, and contributions to tackling global threats like climate change, pandemics, and nuclear proliferation. Australia’s record on these fronts has been inconsistent, often falling short and currently appearing embarrassingly inadequate. Encouragingly, the issue seems to stem more from governmental actions than from public sentiment. Instead of opting for drastic measures, the public should aim to influence political leaders to adopt a more compassionate approach, holding them accountable through voting if necessary.

• Sprache: Englisch
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2022
• Einband: Paperback