China’s growing power and assertiveness have been significant drivers behind developments in Australian defence policy in the past few years. The previous government’s strategic update determined that the defence force needs the capability to ‘shape’ …
This week, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles will travel to Europe for separate ‘2+2’ meetings with their French and British counterparts. Wong will also head to Brussels to meet the EU’s …
Cambodia stood between past and future in 2022—balancing completion, new beginnings and legacy creation. As Cambodia’s first electoral term with a one-party National Assembly under the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) drew to a close, the …
The Chinese government seems to have fallen back in love with economic growth. As the chaotic exit from its zero-Covid-19 policy has unfolded—leading to tens of thousands of deaths (at least)—the country’s leaders have been …
In a chapter of a book marking the 75th anniversary of Australian representation in the US, I noted that a key challenge for any ambassador is keeping up with direct communications between ministers and principals. …
The European Commission has decided to suspend funding to 21 Hungarian universities from its Horizon Europe initiative, which supports cross-border collaboration on research and development, and its Erasmus+ study-abroad program. The aim is to defend …
Fewer than one in 10 Western multinationals with subsidiaries in Russia has quit any of them in the year since the Ukraine invasion began. This finding by two highly regarded academics, Simon Evenett from University of St …
There are good reasons why the best science and speculative fiction ranks high on the reading lists of many military scholars and leaders. Done well, speculative military fiction projects thoughtfully beyond the here and now, …
While wars invariably end, the underlying disagreements often remain. The peace is tenuous and interrupted by spasms of violence. The way a war ends—whether through outright victory, exhaustion or mutual deterrence—might make a difference, with …
The debate on how best to defend Australia in a worsening strategic environment is likely to be substantially settled with the defence strategic review, due for completion in March. Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister …
Semiconductors are at the centre of the new cold war. US President Joe Biden’s signing of the CHIPS and Science Act in August 2022, followed by the Department of Commerce’s announcement in October of complementary export controls, made clear …
Now that Russia has been so greatly damaged and diminished by President Vladimir Putin’s reckless war of choice in Ukraine, what might the country’s future hold? Plausible scenarios range from a power grab by a …
The prevailing consensus for the past few years has been that an ascendant China is threatening to overtake a slumping America. ‘If we don’t get moving, they [China] are going to eat our lunch,’ US …
The recent ASPI report by Marcus Hellyer and Andrew Nicolls is a welcome addition to the B-21 debate in Australia. In the report, Hellyer and Nicolls cite Michael Mazarr, a senior political scientist at the …
In 2007, on the 50th anniversary of Malaysia’s independence, Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz celebrated the ‘miracle’ of the country’s economic rise and creation of a vibrant multiethnic society. In the 15 years that followed, …
This may be the year when artificial intelligence transforms daily life. So said Brad Smith, president and vice chairman of Microsoft, at a Vatican-organised event on AI last week. But Smith’s statement was less a …
The public unrest that has gripped Iran since September, spearheaded by women, is essentially about the very objectives that the instigators of the 1978–79 Iranian revolution sought but failed to achieve—a pro-democracy transformation of the …
Major General Jim Molan—outstanding soldier, leader, statesman, strategist, pilot, linguist, politician, patriot and author—passed away peacefully on 16 January. At 72 years young, Jim lost his last campaign with his loving wife Anne and their …
In 2022, Sri Lanka faced its deepest ever economic and political crisis. The country’s descent into chaos accelerated from March, sweeping away high-level bureaucrats and political leaders held culpable for implementing the misguided economic policies …
Fresh threats of a major military offensive and the use of mercenaries, many recruited in Russia’s jails, are unlikely to bring victory to Vladimir Putin a year after his invasion of Ukraine, says retired Australian …
