Housekeeping
A round up of some goings-on with the newsletter and myself.
Newsletter Name Change
Those with a keen eye will have noticed that this newsletter has a new name. Since I launched I have been struggling to find a name I’m comfortable with. Initially called International Blue, I wrote an essay explaining the ideas behind this name. And while I still stand by those ideas, the name never felt right.
Then, A Bridge Adjusting to the Water was a line taken from the Broadcast song I Found The F.
This was meant to represent something of a Daoist idea. With water being a central metaphor in Daoist philosophy. Symbolising flexibility and the ability to adapt to circumstances. But also ideas like strength through softness and being effective without force. These are all good things. Yet the title evoked something more distinct. Instead the concept was my observations above the flowing of humanity.
Clearly this placed me outside – or even above – the flowing of humanity. Although the job of a writer is often to observe from a distance, there’s an arrogance here as well. Of not seeing oneself as a participant.
So instead, I should be jumbled in the common box. The initial idea here is an acknowledgement that there is no set theme to this newsletter. I write what I’m interested in, and I’m interested in everything. While different articles may seem unrelated, they are all jumbled in the common box. This box is the concentric circles that radiate out from ones personal behaviour and character, to the household, community and culture, urban environment, local and domestic politics and their institutions, to foreign policy all the way up to grand international strategy. Each is of critical importance, and each exists within a relationship to the others.
The title is taken from the opening line of the W.H Auden poem Domesday Song. The poem written in 1939 was designed to depict a reckoning moment. An understanding that there was a transition between world orders taking place. This seems apt for today, with our own return of the brutes and the threat to the post-1945 world order – abandoning the common box.
Round the rampant rugged rocks, rude and ragged rascals run.
However, I can’t claim great knowledge of mid-20th Century poets, as my introduction to the poem came through The Underground Lovers song From ‘Jumbled in the Common Box’ which adapts Auden’s poem for its lyrics. The song is also notable for the band’s experimenting with drum ‘n’ bass, which dated the song for a long period, but, as these things tend to do, has become cool again. And popular, with NewJeans utilising the style for their song Super Shy (complete with a dance routine that does not match the lyrics at all).
Some Recent Writing
After this week’s horrific mass shooting in Sydney, I wrote a piece for The Diplomat on the need for Australia to have a holistic understanding of all the forces that undermine social cohesion. This tragedy was driven by the transnational force of Islamic State and the entrenched conspiracies of antisemitism. But there is a broader political landscape that is encouraging people to see themselves primarily as subgroups, rather than Australians. With the postmodernism advanced by progressive politics – and then enthusiastically embraced by MAGA (with its global influence) –having a particularly corrosive social effect.
In October I took a trip to Finland. This was my fifth visit to the country, but the first time I moved outside Helsinki. Although while in Helsinki I managed to secure a meeting with the Director of the Arms Control division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and subsequently wrote a piece for The Interpreter on Finland’s withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention – the agreement that bans the use, stockpiling, and production anti-personnel landmines.
From Helsinki I jumped on the train to Turku, spent a couple of days working in the library there, and then hopped on the ferry to Åland. This group of islands is an autonomous, demilitarised, neutral, and Swedish-speaking region of Finland. All fascinating stuff. So I thought there was an article in this as well. I reached out to the government in Åland to see if there was anyone I could ask a few questions to – expecting to just have a chat with someone from the bureaucracy – and they responded that the premier would be happy to meet with me. So that was a bit of a coup. Interviewing her enabled me to write a longer piece for The Interpreter on Åland’s unique status, the history of how it gained this status, and the problems the region it currently faces.
Job Ending
Unfortunately, the organisation I have worked for the past four years – Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy & Defence Dialogue (AP4D) – is coming to conclusion. Our funders haven’t been able to provide us with the means to continue.
This is deeply disappointing, as it has been the most amazing job. Our mission has been to promote a more integrated approach to Australian foreign policy. For each arm of Australia’s international engagement to understand how it relates to others and how these can be better coordinated for maximum impact. The two overarching concepts we’ve advanced have been using “all tools of statecraft” and a “whole-of-nation” approach to foreign policy.
For a small team we’ve had a significant impact. Both these concepts have been internalised by the government, and our reach within other institutions and the public has also been significant.
So we are very proud of what we have achieved. Personally, I have learned a lot and developed a range of new skills. Including public speaking and presenting skills. My primary objective in life has been just to sit quietly alone with my own thoughts, so being pushed to break this impulse has been positive. I’m a more well-rounded man now.
Next Steps
I haven’t had a chance to think considerably about what I will do next, as I’ve been wrapping up the final bits of work at AP4D and switching hemispheres back to Melbourne from Sweden. I always have lots to write about, and my Google Drive is bursting with half-finished essays. I’m hoping to have some time over the summer here in Australia to clear this backlog. Although, I tend to start two or three essays for every one I complete, so I’m always playing catch-up.
I also have a book to write. I planned out my idea a little while back, but yet to begin writing it. The book will be the intersection of all my loves: Taking music and explaining it through the lens of politics, sociology, philosophy, history and cultural criticism. A bit like my like my essay on Luke Haines’s Baader Meinhof album – which I think is my best piece of writing.
Yet I am also exploring other employment options. Within the realm of foreign policy and other fields. I’m sure something interesting will come along.
Editing Work
In the meantime, I thought I’d also offer my services as an freelance editor. Should the right full-time job not materialise immediately, this would buy me some time and flexibility to work on my book idea and other personal writing. It would also allow me to focus on one of my great loves – being infuriatingly pedantic about language use and its implications.
So, any organisation that needs assistance, please see below!
Love the new name - will allow you to stay happily random! Good luck with the job-hunt.