The US national defence strategy exudes more than a wistful sense of loss and more than regret at the inability of US economic and military power to sustain its hegemony. It’s a lashing out at …
Articles by: "Mike Scrafton"
Strategic relations exhibit a sort of dialectic. Australia scans for regional developments that might affect its security, and regional nations assess Australia’s responses to its strategic environment and respond in accord with their own interests. …
A renewed sense of urgency over European defence has come only after a cumulative series of strategic shocks. The European powers have long resisted supranational defence institutions, instead depending heavily on NATO and the US. …
The US has been pregnant with recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital at least since 1995, when Congress endorsed the position that ‘since 1950, the city of Jerusalem has been the capital of the State …
The 2017 foreign policy white paper declares that a ‘strong European Union (EU) remains vital to Australia’s interests and will be an increasingly important partner in protecting and promoting a rules-based international order’. But Europe …
In their recent ASPI paper, Paul Dibb and Richard Brabin-Smith suggested that government advisers need to ‘revisit the question of capability and warning time’ based on the levels of military force Australia could face at …
The deaths of US servicemen in Niger and the UN Security Council’s consideration of the regional G5 force have given prominence to the Sahel states—Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad. Solutions to their deep …
The Home Affairs Department’s secretary-designate, Mike Pezzullo, provided an explanation of the ‘philosophical context’ behind the new institution in a recent presentation. Even allowing for the public nature of the event and the need to …
For Russia, the great prize is a Europe where it’s accepted on equal terms with other European nations and can share in Europe’s economic and technological progress. A ‘common European home’ was a core element …
The divisions in the EU are likely to be exacerbated by the outcome of the Austrian election in October. The probable result will add to current tensions over illegal immigrants and provide more encouragement to …
There are few strategic policy issues as intractable as those appending to North Korea. A war would result in millions of Korean casualties and in the destruction of essential infrastructure, industrial capacity and urban habitation …
Geopolitics must look easy to Putin. Undermining US global leadership is an important Russian strategic objective. The new US president has already eroded US global leadership through his own efforts. The prospect of a Trump …