Australia’s escalating geostrategic threats demand more than military might. They require a resilient, united and proactive civil defence framework. The Defence Strategic Review says, ‘Defence must be the force of last resort for domestic aid …
Articles by: "Marc Ablong"
David Baverez is right: the world has left the comfortable ‘peace economy’ of 1989–2022 and has entered a ‘war economy’ defined by the supremacy of geopolitics over globalisation. In this economy, strategic resilience, not just …
In a fundamentally shifted strategic environment marked by heightened geopolitical competition and the real prospect of high-intensity conflict, Defence is no longer solely the responsibility of the Australian Defence Force. Australia must embrace a whole-of-nation …
The 2025 Helsinki Geoeconomics Week, held from 11 to 15 August, confirmed a sobering reality: economic power is now inextricably linked to national security and strategic competition. The shifting tectonic plates of geopolitics are grinding …
The current debate on Defence funding, sparked by our 29 May report The Cost of Defence: ASPI Defence budget brief 2025–2026, and a subsequent US request for Australia to spend more, has swung between a …
The ASPI Defence Conference in June highlighted the critical importance of national preparedness and resilience to Australia’s national security. Chief of the Defence Force, Admiral David Johnston, set the stage by emphasising a pivotal shift …
Australia in 2025 stands at a perilous crossroads. Once-clear boundaries between economic prosperity and national security have blurred. The collision of severe geoeconomic headwinds with escalating military tensions and rapid and diffused technological advancement demands immediate, unwavering, …
Australia’s strategic environment is more threatening than it has been since World War II. Despite public recognition of heightened threats and a declaration of ambitious strategic goals, the government’s defence funding and preparedness efforts fall …
‘Australia was ill-prepared for war in 1941. In 2025, we’re making the same grave mistake’. That’s the headline of an article by Geoffrey Blainey in The Australian on Anzac Day. ‘Australia is not prepared for a …
Elisabeth Braw’s insightful 2024 book, Goodbye Globalization: The Return of a Divided World, has proven remarkably prescient in understanding the turbulent global landscape of 2025. While the era of globalisation promised unprecedented interconnectedness and prosperity, …
In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to …
Exactly 10 years ago, the then minister for defence, Kevin Andrews, released the First Principles Review: Creating One Defence (FPR). With increasing talk about the rising possibility of major power-conflict, calls for Defence funding to …