Articles by: "Andrew Carr"
America the democratic (part 2)

If American strategic policy is re-entering a period of democratic change and uncertainty, then how should steadfast allies such as Australia respond? This post represents some initial thoughts, to which I hope others will contribute …

America the democratic (part 1)

When I write or speak publicly against bipartisanship in Australian defence policy, the most common response is, ‘Why would we want our politics to be more like America’s?’ Which would be a fair point, except …

Beyond (Hugh) White papers

If Australian politicians are certain about one thing regarding the future, it’s that ‘we do not have to choose’ between the US and China. This panglossian optimism is easily mocked, though a small industry of …

Forgetting the lessons of the West

Perhaps the West’s greatest contribution to politics is the concept of contested and limited governance—from Greek and Roman republicanism, which balanced the elites and the masses, through to the parliaments of the British Westminster systems …

Bipartisanship’s silent curse

This week, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute turned 16. Happy birthday! Yet once more this seems a birthday in relative isolation. The institute itself remains keen to communicate, but increasingly I worry that few are …

DWP: Defence With Partisanship

In his usual fashion, Peter Edwards’ recent report ‘Defence White Papers at 40’ offers an elegant, illuminating and historically grounded review. Edwards is right to cast his attention to this habit of government, noting that …

A post-TPP world: play time is over

The contest for the future of the Asia–Pacific is often treated by analysts and participants as a two-player game. The US and China are trying to ‘lead’ and the ‘winner’ will be the country that …

Resisting pessimism in the strategy trade

At the recent ‘New Directions in Strategic Thinking’ conference, a common character trait could be found amongst the world-class collection of participants: pessimism. Not only pessimism about the state of the world today, but also …

Alliance management: spending as strategy

‘If you aren’t talking dollars, you aren’t talking strategy.’ While that well-known Arthur Tange saying is often used in the context of defence budgets, it can also be applied to alliance management. One of the …