At the mid-point of Labor’s three-year term, the international strategy and statecraft of the new government is more fully formed than its domestic identity. Global turmoil—the polycrisis—has quickly tested and tempered the government’s world view. Whatever …
The Australia–Tuvalu Falepili Union treaty is a promising starting point for Australia’s regional response to climate change. The creation of a pathway for Tuvaluans to relocate to Australia makes it the world’s first agreement specifically …
As expected, Russian President Vladimir Putin has unofficially begun his campaign for re-election ahead of the presidential election scheduled for 17 March 2024. Exhibitions celebrating the Putin era are already on display, and cultural performances …
Australia’s Department of Defence is redesigning its processes for identifying, developing and procuring innovative new technologies. Even the name of its new organisation—Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator—emphasises the core mission of bringing on capability at speed. …
The cybersecurity strategy released last week by the Albanese government is about collaboration and communication, not about conjuring our worst national-security nightmares. It’s focused on industry and consumers. The government, industry and citizens must work together with …
The 2023 defence strategic review has been broadly welcomed across the Australian strategic policy commentariat. The reasons for that, and the analysis of what it means, however, are oddly diverse. Deputy Prime Minister and Defence …
Faced with many differences between its member states, the European Union has sought to refine its concept of strategic autonomy over the past few years. Now, Spain intends to use its EU Council presidency to …
In 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the globe, China faced international scrutiny over its draconian control measures and the nature and origin of the pandemic. The Chinese Communist Party saw an urgent need …
The prospect of an exchange of hostages taken by Hamas and prisoners held by Israel, to be accompanied by a pause in fighting, is of course welcome news. It’s a constructive moment in the tragic …
Sea state Australia has accused China of ‘unsafe and unprofessional’ conduct after Royal Australian Navy divers were allegedly injured last week by a People’s Liberation Army Navy destroyer inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. The incident …
The surprise signing of the Australia–Tuvalu Falepili Union agreement at the recent Pacific Islands Forum has been touted as a pathbreaking development in Australia’s Pacific relations. It is hugely significant, but, on closer inspection, this …
The Falepili Union has shifted up the paradigm of Australia’s strategic policy in the Pacific by several gears. It represents a grand bargain, albeit in microcosm, that aims to address security needs from both Pacific …
In a report on the UK government’s Indo-Pacific policy, the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee calls for the United Kingdom to propose to Australia and the United States that Japan, along with South Korea, …
On 17 November, SpaceX made a second attempt to launch its fully reusable launch vehicle, Starship Superheavy, from the company’s Boca Chica launch site in Texas. The first launch (video here, with launch at 44:48), …
The Australian government’s proposed amendments to the Defence Trade Controls Act 2012 have provoked strong reactions. Debate on this issue has been simmering for some time, mostly remaining under the mainstream radar. The short window …
In recent weeks, US President Joe Biden has boldly referred to the United States as the world’s ‘indispensable nation’. But when the term was first coined—by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in the 1990s—the world was a …
The results of the recent elections in Poland and Slovakia underscore the two countries’ diverging political trajectories. In Poland, the democratic opposition won enough parliamentary seats to oust the increasingly authoritarian Law and Justice (PiS) …
In recent years, publishers have released a deluge of new books on relations between China and the United States, some predicting conflict and others offering formulas for maintaining peace. Surprisingly, however, there have been few …
Is there any possibility of peace between Israel and the Palestinians, or must we simply get used to periodic wars that deny both sides the tranquillity and stability they seek? It’s easy to be pessimistic. …
At the US Institute of Peace’s Interorganizational Global Forum on security cooperation in the Pacific islands in September, the US emphasised a ‘whole-of-government effort’ in engaging with the region that involves cabinet-secretary-level meetings, an intelligence …
