Mark Fraser Briskey

Pakistan is the world's fifth most populous country, with predictions that up to 40 percent of its population will be living in poverty due to pre-existing socio-economic disparities, combined with the impact of the 2020 COVID-19 crisis. Poverty, the prevalence of organized crime, a weak criminal justice system, systemic corruption, and poor governance amplify the problems of the poor and indigent in Pakistan. This chapter explores the overlapping impact of these issues upon the poor in Pakistan, drawing from a host of institutional sources, such as the United Nations, the US State Department's 'Trafficking in Persons Report', and other academic sources. The chapter notes that despite some advances in ameliorating the parasitical relationship between organized crime and poverty, in some areas of Pakistan, there is a requirement for much more activism beyond the enactment of legislation. Significant improvements are required in governance and the administration of justice to advance the life quality of poor Pakistanis and their freedom from general crime, organized crime, and the penury that blights their lives.

This chapter compares contemporary far-right movements in Australia with far-right movements from the 1930s. By examining the provenance and manifestations of the far right in these periods, the chapter notes the importance of Australia’s early history, especially with regard to the “White Australia Policy” that contributed to a rejection of Australia’s Indigenous population as well as non-white immigration. Movements from both eras, apart from their resurgence during times of apparent or feared economic decline, are shown to exhibit similar characteristics in adherence to a nativist populism, hybrid racism, ambivalence to democracy, and congruence with transnational far-right movements. The chapter concludes that as late as 2019 the ruling coalition government in Australia gained from a politically expedient electoral relationship with a xenophobic far right with roots in earlier far-right movements.