Articles by: "Rod Lyon"
Australia, the TPNW and nuclear weapons

The Labor party avoided an open stoush over nuclear weapons at last week’s national conference. But it would be wrong to imagine the issue’s gone away. Nuclear weapons are becoming more prominent in a more …

On deterrence

The recent defence strategic review has much to recommend it. Even the publicly released unclassified version is the boldest statement of Australian strategic policy in many decades. But it is not without flaws. The chapter …

Submarines and nuclear umbrellas

Late in 2022—a year of war, pandemic, climatic disaster and attempted nuclear coercion—a number of news outlets published a photograph of a rare event. True, the photograph was of particular interest to only a small …

Negotiating the nuclear minefield at AUSMIN

Nuclear weapons are once more a serious political issue. They seem likely to be a topic of close discussion at next week’s AUSMIN talks, especially after Washington’s recent concerns that the Albanese government might seriously …

Biden’s nuclear posture review is too timid for 2022

Nuclear weapons are serious capabilities, and declaratory policies are serious commitments. So readers who have followed the US government’s nuclear posture product line since President Bill Clinton’s first review in 1994 have learned to expect …

Will Putin use nuclear weapons?

It’s still early days in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but so far nuclear issues have enjoyed a much higher profile than might have been expected. A strategic missile exercise formed part of the lead-up …

ANZUS at 70: Extended nuclear deterrence

The extent to which the ANZUS Treaty turns upon the US provision of a nuclear umbrella to its smaller ally is a topic both complex and controversial. J.G. Starke opined that, while the treaty certainly …