The father of soft power and smart power has died, just as the United States has been giving those concepts a deathly stress test. Whereas US President Donald Trump thinks hard power is all he …
Articles by: "Graeme Dobell"
Australia’s cost-of-living election has a khaki tinge and an uneasy international tone. You know defence is having an impact when a political party promises to raise taxes to buy more military kit, and makes defence …
Sunday marks three months since Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president. What a ride: the style rude, language raucous, and the results rogue. Beyond manners, rudeness matters because tone signals intent as well as personality. …
Beyond trade and tariff turmoil, Donald Trump pushes at the three core elements of Australia’s international policy: the US alliance, the region and multilateralism. What Kevin Rudd called the ‘three fundamental pillars’ are the heart …
The international economics of Australia’s budget are pervaded by a Voldemort-like figure. The He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is Donald Trump, firing up trade wars, churning global finance and smashing the rules-based order. The closest the budget papers come …
Foreign Minister Penny Wong in 2024 said that ‘we’re in a state of permanent contest in the Pacific—that’s the reality.’ China’s arrogance hurts it in the South Pacific. Mark that as a strong Australian card …
The start and the end of two decades of Australia’s Abrams M1A1 tanks came together in a moment of policy symmetry. As Australia shipped 49 retired Abrams to Ukraine at the end of 2024, the …
Australia has codified government responsibilities to parliament when going to war. The code is set out in a memorandum issued by the Prime Minister’s Department at the end of November. The conventions cover decisions to …
Amid tumultuous times, it’s the annual moment to lift the curtain, up the lights and open the envelopes for the 16th Madeleine Award for symbol, stunt, prop, gesture or jest. The Madeleine is a silly-season …
Australia’s new relationship with India has push-pull poles—the pull of the Indian diaspora in Australia and the push that China applies to the Indo-Pacific. The diaspora is the personal dimension that pulls India and Australia together. …
See Donald Trump as a symptom, not a cause. Trump has a massive ego, the appetites of a supreme narcissist and the language of a fascist. But he has a finely tuned popular antenna that …
See the sad, stressed state of the world when Australia’s prime minister goes to a Quad summit in the US but doesn’t bother going to the United Nations. Anthony Albanese went to the Quad last …