Articles by: "Robert Ayson"
ANZUS at 70: ANZUS and New Zealand

A literal reading of the treaty suggests that ANZUS is a triangle. According to the all-important fourth article, each one of the three parties ‘recognizes that an armed attack in the Pacific Area on any …

A New Zealand wolf in sheep’s clothing

It’s funny how the same document can be perceived so differently. In his demolition job on New Zealand’s latest Defence White Paper, Peter Jennings sees Wellington plumbing ‘new depths of vacuity’ in its ‘desperation to …

New Zealand’s weeks of risk aversion on ISIS

Tomorrow, New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key, now entering a third term after September’s general election, is going to do something very rare in his leadership: he’ll be delivering a major speech on security. The …

Why strategy isn’t navel gazing

The strategy debate on this blog has come to resemble a major crisis in the South China Sea where the interactions between multiple claimants almost take on a life of their own. What started with …

Is DFAT doing more strategy than we think?

In asking why Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade doesn’t do strategy, Peter Jennings has posed an important question. But the question begs at least two assumptions. The first is that the government agency …