Malaysia’s attack on journalists employs old methods with nods to current fashion. Clinging to power with a razor-thin majority, the government that snatched office in March brandishes a dictatorial bludgeon to batter the media. The …
Articles by: "Graeme Dobell"
Geostrategic competition, climate change and Covid-19 push at the South Pacific, heightening the internal challenges of state security and human security. The South Pacific has weak states and strong societies. As a journalistic recycler, I’ve …
Hopes and fears about the South Pacific drive Australia’s policy ‘step-up’—along with the great needs of Papua New Guinea and the islands. The hopes and needs get talked up while the fears quietly shape policy. …
The 2020 defence strategic update is analysis framed by numbers (and dollars), a melding of meanings and means and mental maps. To follow the strategic accounting, see what the update counts. Find the strategy in …
‘It is extremely dubious whether uncritical, loyal support for a bad, failed American policy will have enhanced our standing as an ally in the long run. A reputation for being dumb but loyal and eager …
As a foreign affairs intellectual, Owen Harries was an idea-slinger with a measured draw and a true aim. A well-argued stoush suited this man from South Wales who embraced Washington and adopted Australia. Harries knew …
We have reached the mid-point of the year of Covid-19. Pandemics surge with the seasons while we seek order using the chronology of the calendar. Halfway through 2020, much has exploded, some old stuff has …
‘Covid-19 is a shared crisis—a reminder that many problems are best solved or, indeed, can only be solved through cooperation. At the heart of successful international cooperation is the concept that each country shares, rather …
The public history of Australia’s intelligence community involves isolated moments of creation by political leaders and long periods of silence behind the secrecy curtain. The public way stations in the history—in which the agencies were …
Since US President Richard Nixon journeyed to Beijing in 1972, America’s grand strategy for China has been to engage and hedge. Now the hedge is burnt and the engagement is off—no marriage of minds possible. …
The thought bubble of a travel bubble for Australia and New Zealand is transforming from bubble into action. The official title is ‘a trans-Tasman Covid-safe travel zone’ but it’s gotta be the ‘travel bubble’. Bubbles …
Australia has a split policy ticket on Donald Trump—quietly horrified at his multilateral impact, yet quite satisfied with the bilateral relationship. Multilateral smash-up contrasts with relative bilateral smoothness. Canberra clings to the Trump administration while …