Modern society proceeds on the basis that complex systems—human-made and natural—work reliably, both individually and in interaction with one another. However, the experience of the Covid-19 pandemic and the increasing intensity and frequency of extreme …
In the first part of this series, I discussed the high rates of ammunition expenditure in the war in Ukraine and emphasised that this is a question not just of expensive missiles but also of …
The past decade of work proving up Australia’s deposits of rare-earth minerals is beginning to pay off, with a number of firms getting close to production. But the supply chains for rare earths still run …
The Albanese government’s first budget since its election win in May was not designed to focus on Australia’s security situation or defence spending. Tasked with sharing Australia’s difficult economic situation with the Australian public, the …
The election of a Labor government in May brought an expectation that Australia would do more in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. But what will that look like and what new approaches should the government …
Next week’s meeting of the G20, hosted by Indonesia, will feature discussions on climate change and the need to accelerate the global energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables. Jakarta is also expected formally to …
When Giorgia Meloni delivered her maiden speech in Italy’s Chamber of Deputies on 25 October, it was hard to know what to believe—the language or the body language, the message or the choice of words. …
In my previous post, I suggested that Australia has insufficient submarine personnel to start a transition to nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) while maintaining its existing operational capability to deploy at least two Collins-class submarines in …
The Covid-19 pandemic marks the end of the great era of globalisation. Now the troubled times of decoupling arrive. We are at a Matthew Arnold moment: Wandering between two worlds, one dead, The other powerless …
Graphic online depictions of sexual assault, homophobia and racist imagery (sometimes involving Australian lawmakers) and life-threatening intimidation (including calling for targets to kill themselves) are a growing part of the Chinese Communist Party’s toolkit of …
Plenty of security experts feel that the defence industry could learn a bit from Silicon Valley when it comes to moving more quickly, embracing disruption and making quicker decisions. One of them is Bill Greenwalt …
‘Follow the money’ to disrupt criminal and terrorist networks is a central tenet of law enforcement and counterterrorism policymaking. For decades, this thinking has driven the global development and implementation of ever more sophisticated anti-money-laundering …
