Australian Media and the Politics of Belonging explores mediated debates about belonging in contemporary Australia by combining research that proposes conceptual and historical frameworks for understanding its meaning in the Australian context. A range of themes and case studies make the book a significant theoretical resource as well as a much-needed update on work in this area. Australian Media and the Politics of Belonging also provides an intervention that engages with key contemporary issues, questions and problems around the politics of belonging that are relevant not only to academic debate, but also to contemporary policy development and media and popular discussion.

'Politics, Media and Campaign Language' is an original, groundbreaking analysis of the story of Australian identity told through Australian election campaign language. Introducing the concept of identity security, the book argues that the story of Australian identity is characterised by recurring cycles of anxiety and reassurance, which betray a deep underlying feeling of insecurity.

"Belonging Together describes current Indigenous affairs policy in Australia, concentrating on the period since the end of ATSIC in 2004. It provides a unique overview of the trajectory of current policy, with Sullivan advancing a new consolidated approach to Indigenous policy which moves beyond the debate over self-determination and assimilation. Instead, he suggests that the interests of Indigenous peoples, settlers and immigrants are fundamentally shared, and proposes adaptation on both sides, but particularly for the descendants of settlers and immigrants, to allow them to embrace the framing of their identity by Indigenous presence. Sullivan is also critical of the remote control of Indigenous lives from metropolitan centres, with long lines of bureaucratic oversight that are inherently maladaptive and inefficient, and he proposes regional measures for policy implementation and accountability. Belonging Together's empirical studies of current policy implementation advance the body of knowledge in the underdeveloped field of the anthropology of policy and public administration."--AIATSIS website.

First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Placing ethnic media within the context of democratic theory, this book suggests novel ways of thinking about media from the margins. After discussing ethnic media research and defining the concept, John Budarick provides a succinct and in depth discussion of liberal democracy, deliberative democracy and agonistic pluralism, critiquing the explanatory and normative power of each in relation to media, journalism and ethnic diversity. Ultimately, Ethnic Media and Democracy demonstrates the power of agnostic pluralism, an underused theory in media studies that provides a framework for analysing ethnic media. By using this unique approach, the book engages with some of the most pressing issues in the fields of media, politics and democracy, and prompts innovation in the application of traditional models.

Issues of identity are central to many historical and current debates in Australia. This superb collection of essays represents a significant rethinking of received ideas on identity, and reveals how issues of identity lie at the heart of Australian political thought, and form the foundation of Australian society and culture. It provides a comprehensive introduction to the political discourse surrounding Australian identity through key themes including identity theory, the manipulation of identity for political ends, gender and sexuality, immigration and national identity, citizenship and Aboriginality, and literature and film. The book rejects many of the assumptions underlying contemporary political debates, including the promulgation of a singular national identity in historical fact or as a political goal. This is a thought-provoking study of identity, its links with nationalism, and its potentially divisive effects.

Place, Race and Politics presents an integrated analysis of the social and political processes that combined to construct a media-driven ‘crisis’ concerning African youth crime in the city of Melbourne, Australia.