The Twilight of Exceptionalism

Name: The Twilight of Exceptionalism
Price: 100 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9780522869125

The Liberal and Conservative Era

Paul Kelly

$100

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Melbourne University Press
14 July 2026

Conservatism & right-of-centre democratic ideologies; Political leaders & leadership; Political parties; Australian Society

The Twilight of Exceptionalism is the third in Paul Kelly's masterful trilogy on modern Australian politics, following The March of Patriots (2009) and Triumph and Demise (2014).

It charts the most turbulent era of Liberal and conservative politics since Sir Robert Menzies formed the Liberal Party, tracing the crisis besetting the Coalition and how Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison struggled to govern.

From 2013 to 2022 Australia fought to remain a leading democracy against the challenges of the 21st century - economic performance, climate change, cultural polarisation, technological transformation and geo-strategic threats.

Paul Kelly examines how the Liberal Party lost its long-standing grip on the Australian psyche as it cycled through three temperamentally and ideologically divergent prime ministers. Despite its many achievements, the Coalition in office was marked by a period of under-performance and doubts over the political system's capacity to serve the national interest.

Australian exceptionalism, as initiated by Bob Hawke and Paul Keating in 1983 and carried on by John Howard and Peter Costello, has been eclipsed and slipped into a disappointing twilight. Kelly contends that Australia must rally and recover - or face a troubling phase of decline and betrayal of its finest aspirations.

By: Paul Kelly
Imprint: Melbourne University Press
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 5,944mm, Width: 3,886mm,
ISBN: 9780522869125
ISBN 10: 0522869122
Pages: 764
Publication Date: 14 July 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Paul Kelly is editor-at-large and a former editor-in-chief of The Australian. He writes on Australian politics, policy, history and international relations, and has covered every prime minister from Gough Whitlam to Anthony Albanese. He has written or co-authored twelve books on our politics and history. Kelly is a regular television commentator. He has been a fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, a visiting fellow at Kings' College London and a fellow at the Lowy Institute in Sydney. He has a doctorate from the University of Melbourne and is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.