The 9^th International Conference of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland Systems of Protection of Human Rights in Europe and in Australia & Oceania. Warsaw, (April 24-25, 2017), Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce and the Polish Parliamentary Association. 

ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS – LOST IN CIVILIZATION

Aboriginal Australians last in the age of perdition. There has been 224 years since the day that Captain Arthur Phillip came to Australia with British convicts. Since then almost every day Aboriginal ‘collide with civilization’ and fight for surviving. All rules of tribal life had to be replaced by new ones. They had to wear clothes, live in houses of bricks, and work. All of this was completely different from the previous life. ‘White civilization’ that has brought the development into the Antipodes has also brought reasons of perdition. Among those: illnesses, which decimate Aboriginal clans, and alcohol, which destroys all residues of ancient Stone Age culture and causes many social problems. For several dozen years, Australian government has been trying to make up for Aboriginal wrong, but programs for improvement of their situation do not work. ‘Civilization’, in social evolutionists’ opinion, should be the highest level of people’s culture, for Aboriginal though it is some kind of abyss in which they cannot or they do not want to find a proper place for themselves.

The paper reports the conference on Australia, organized by the Polish research association based in Cracow (Australia, New Zealand and Oceania Research Association, ANZORA). The 2020 edition was already the 12th conference entitled Australia in the Time of Crisis: Climactic, Cultural, Economic, and Political Solutions. This year, the co-organizing unit was the University of Łódź, as every year, ANZORA promotes Pacific Studies at different Polish universities. The hosting faculty was the Faculty of International and Political Studies, with its Chair of British Studies and the Commonwealth Countries, as well as the “Australian Studies” Scientific Association. The panelists came from numerous disciplines and eight academic institutions from Poland and three from abroad. In total, there were 21 presenters: young scholars, experienced academics, independent researchers as well as enthusiasts of the Australian continent. Besides the University of Bergen in Norway, foreign speakers represented the Université de Bourgogne in France and the Australian Embassy in Poland. Three diplomatic missions have taken the honorary patronage over the event. Those were the Australian Embassy, the Embassy of New Zealand, and the Polish Embassy in Australia. The supporting institutions were the University of Bergen, the Polish Geopolitical Society, and the Academy of European Careers Foundation.

This research investigated international undergraduate students’ needs when adjusting to their new campus, academic and social life. The results from a significant survey of international students provided us with an evidence base to understand the improved student experience this cohort may seek in what will likely be a competitive environment for attracting international students post-COVID-19. While this case study has focused on one faculty, our findings are relevant to higher education institutions across disciplines, domestically and internationally.

Extremist movements and radicalism in Australia against the background of tensions between the policy of multiculturalism and the domination of Anglo-Saxon culture

In multicultural Australia everyone, regardless of language, nationality or culture, has the right to express themselves openly. However, despite its official commitment to diversity, contemporary Australian society continues to experience tensions between multicultural politics and the domination of Anglo-Saxon cultural heritage. Right-wing politicians have described multiculturalism as a harbinger of a social conflict that would lead to an ethnically divided Australia. Following the events of September 11, 2001, some regulations were introduced to expand the catalog of tools used by the police and law enforcement agencies to effectively prevent acts of violent extremism. These restrictions on civil liberties are being used by Australian extreme-right movements as an argument to undermine confidence in the government’s “oppressive” policies. The Covid-19 pandemic and its effects has also revealed negative shifts in the landscape of brutal Australian extremism. This raises the question of how serious danger to the national security could an Australian nationalism be left unchecked, capable of transforming into racially and religiously excluding ideas of belonging to society. The paper shows that failure to react decisively to the continued undermining of trust in democratic institutions and exploiting the cracks in social cohesion may lead to Australia no longer being perceived as a defender of the principles of liberal democracy. Instead, it will come to be regarded as a „colonial bastion of white settlers,” and such a poor racial reputation of the country will undoubtedly make it difficult for Australia to navigate in an increasingly tense regional geopolitical environment in the future.

The importance of relations with Australia and New Zealand as part of the UK’s post-Brexit engagement in the Indo-Pacific region

In the geopolitical situation in which Great Britain found itself after its withdrawal from the European Union in 2020, it was necessary to develop a new foreign and security policy strategy. The flagship concept of ‘Global Britain’ assumes the reorientation of the United Kingdom outside Europe and greater involvement in the security architecture of the Indo-Pacific region. The article examines to what extent the intention to strengthen relations with as likeminded partners in the Indo-Pacific region coincides with the assumptions of Australian and New Zealand policies. It has been shown that the former British dominions, which are part of the so-called Anglosphere, have been given a vital role in securing the UK’s position as a world leader. From the perspectives of the national interest of both countries, rebuilding ties with the former empire is considered an important strategic element, although giving it a priority in the current geopolitical realities is not possible. Australia and New Zealand put special emphasis on developing cooperation with the Indo-Pacific countries.

The signing of the security agreement between the Solomon Islands and the People’s Republic of China has raised concerns among some countries in the Indo-Pacific region, including Australia, India, Japan, and the United States, which form the Quad group. This article aims to examine the reaction of the format countries to the Honiara-Beijing agreement. The paper contains an analysis of the reasons for the rapprochement between the Solomon Islands and China, presents the reasons for the expansion of the PRC in the security dimension to the Pacific Island countries, and examines the Quad’s reaction to Beijing’s actions in the region.