Alasdair McCallum

School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts

Biography

Alasdair McCallum has a PhD in politics from the School of Social Sciences at Monash University. His PhD thesis focused on legal opposition parties in the modern Russian Federation. He has published in peer-reviewed academic journals in the fields of Ukrainian and Russian history and Australian politics.

articles

Rows of ignited ballistic missiles on the national flag of Russia and the world map.

Calling the witness for the propaganda

Russia’s first movie blockbuster of its “special military operation”, “The Witness”, is an ugly, cynical mess that forms just one small link in a chain of constant disinformation that Russia peddles about “Azov Nazis”, and its invasion of Ukraine more broadly.

Politics and society

A hand and pencil eraser in Russian colours, erasing a blue and yellow-coloured map of Ukraine

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is about imperialism, not NATO

Despite Russia’s repeated claims of a perceived threat posed by NATO enlargement, there’s no plausible security “red line” that could have driven it to invade Ukraine.

Politics and society

Azov soldiers taking positions near a tank from the National Guard of Ukraine in 2014

Much Azov about nothing: How the ‘Ukrainian neo-Nazis’ canard fooled the world

Multiple expert assessments made in 2022 conclude the modern Azov Regiment is a fairly typical fighting unit, with little, if any, political bent.

Politics and society

A woman with her hands over her face, against a backdrop of the Ukraine flag

Why we need to talk about ‘Westsplaining’

Western commentary on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine trivialises the horrendous suffering of Ukrainians, and does nothing to amplify their voices.

Politics and society

A word, please: It’s Ukraine, not “The Ukraine”

Why terminology matters when discussing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Politics and society

Putting Putin’s false history of Ukraine into perspective

Vladimir Putin has used his belief in the “historical unity” of Russians and Ukrainians to justify his bloody invasion of Ukraine, but it’s a long way from the truth.

Politics and society