I, Diarist: Examining Australian Politics from the "Inside"

Abstract

Political diaries can claim literary, political and intellectual significance, yet they have rarely been subject to serious or extended enquiry. In this article we offer the first comprehensive survey of the Australian political diary. We also analyse these writings in some depth, suggesting that, taken as a whole, the diaries reveal three Weberian "ideal types" of the politician: the "patrician", the "professional", and the "radical". These ideal types are used to shed a new light on the functioning and limitations of parliamentary democracy in Australia. © 2009 The Authors. Journal Compilation © 2009 School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics, School of Political Science and Inte..