Perspective: A Peaceful State? Australian politics in the twentieth century

Abstract

World War II is often seen as a turning point in Australian history, not least because of the emergence of the present party system during the conflict which pitched the Australian Labor Party (ALP) against the Liberals as the largest grouping on the right. However, a longer historical perspective provides a more nuanced understanding of postwar political formations, illuminating relevant antecedents. In particular, bitter division leading to a split within the ALP, followed by the rampant success of the parties of the right in exploiting Labor’s disunity, occurred in both halves of the twentieth century. Here, political and cultural historian, Frank Bongiorno, provides an overview of Australian politics in the last century, tracing patterns of continuity and identifying moments of rupture.