The Twilight of Exceptionalism

The Liberal and Conservative Era

By: Paul Kelly

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Paperback | 14 July 2026

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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.

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