Resistance, power, and the new global ethical order

The ethics panel held for the ANU IR Department’s 75th birthday asked panellists to respond to the theme of resistance, power, and the new global ethical order. Vasuki Nesiah, Lana Tatour, James Blackwell, George Carter and Bina D’Costa painted a rich picture of the very political nature of ethics and the contests for ethical leadership currently energising global politics, as well as our responsibilities as academics. Inspired by their comments, this article draws out the themes common across their presentations. First, we focus on the political, practical, and material nature of ethics, and the current ethical contestations and power shifts taking place in global politics. Second, we turn to the need to generate new ways of imagining just political futures and contesting existing hierarchies. Finally, we focus on the ways to tackle these challenges through going local, engaging with communities, and building solidarity.