Understanding the news in 2021

9 February 2021

As the Myanmar coup continues to rattle world politics, two books shed a light on Myanmar’s turbulent democratic history. Trevor Wilson’s Eyewitness to Early Reform in Myanmar and Andrew Selth’s 2020 publication Interpreting Myanmar are available for free download.

With the UNHCR reporting that over 79 million people were displaced in 2019 alone, editors Jordana Silverstein and Rachel Steven discuss the place of refugees and asylum seekers in Australian and abroad in their new book Refugee Journeys.

In the wake of Trumpism, the rise and influence of social media on Australian politics is being scrutinised. For insights into how social media played a role in the 2019 election read Lucien Leon’s exceptional chapter ‘Cartoons, Memes and Videos’ in the 2020 title Morrison’s Miracle.

ANU Press boasts an outstanding collection of titles addressing the critical issue of Indigenous reconciliation and recognition. For historical analysis of Australia’s First Nations Peoples we recommend Aboriginal History Journal and Laura Rademaker’s Indigenous Self-Determination in Australia. For a global analysis of Indigenous rights and the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian response to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, read Dominic O’Sullivan’s 2020 title ‘We Are All Here to Stay’.