Australia is about to be taken out of its international comfort zone. Over the next 20 years we will face the biggest changes to our strategic environment since the arrival of the First Fleet. The …
Debate: "General"
The Beat Threats to reporters of organised crime While links between organised criminals have been investigated extensively here in Australia, it’s troubling to hear that increased intimidation and violence has been used against journalists investigating …
This year marks the 15th anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on women, peace and security (WPS), which provides an opportunity to reflect on its progress. The realisation of the WPS agenda …
Washington is abuzz with the Iran deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was agreed upon last month between the P5, Germany and the EU on the one side, and …
Policy reform in Australia has slowed so much that institutional causes should be considered. The effectiveness of the political adviser needs some thought because they touch most of the messages, reactions, decisions, budgets, policies and …
Indonesia’s Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto has foreshadowed the introduction of new cyber security legislation, stating that new cyber laws will be released by President Joko Widodo in October. He also confirmed earlier reports that Indonesia …
It’s time for Australians to come to grips with their more troubling security outlook and debate how best to strengthen their deterrence and defensive capabilities. That’s the core message in my essay Game Plan: The …
In Australia, we typically don’t consider trade relationships and trade agreements as contributing to national security. Yet, there’s an important strategic economic dimension. If two or more economies are prospering because all are able to …
With the minimum of fanfare, the US Army has made an announcement that challenges a long-standing prohibition in international humanitarian law: the banning of ‘expanding’ or hollow point ammunition from the battlefield. The announcement came …
Sea State Last week Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced a new $89 billion domestic shipbuilding program, which includes the continuous build of surface warships in Adelaide. Here on The Strategist, Andrew Davies and Mark Thomson …
Indonesia’s religious affairs minister, Lukman Hamid Saifuddin, is a breath of fresh air. He’s a break from a long line of ineffectual predecessors who did nothing to defend minorities and showed extreme cowardice in facing …
Japan has appeared to surrender, and we are waiting this weekend to hear whether this will become effective. If so, this horrible war will be at an end, but many of its ill-effects will be …