The period from the Tet offensive of early 1968 to the Moratorium demonstration of May 1970 was the turning point in the most important battlefield of the Vietnam War—the battle for American public opinion. To …
The world Some interesting analysis on the coronavirus has emerged this week looking at its impact on technology, economies and society. Foreign Policy has an interesting piece on the impact religious cults and conservatives have …
While Australians are often hawkish about community safety and border security, they’re far less accepting of their security agencies being given new domestic surveillance powers without government making a strong case for their use. You …
‘America loves India’, declared US President Donald Trump on this week’s visit to the Indian state of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s power base. Before a crowd of more than 100,000 in the world’s largest …
Globalisation was ill. Coronavirus is killing both it and Xi Jinping’s ‘China Dream’. That’s big news for Australia’s economy and security. Globalisation led people to believe that companies could build supply chains wherever there was …
The title of the latest issue of Australian Foreign Affairs asks, ‘Can we trust America?’ The case of the MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial system would suggest the answer is no. The 2016 defence white paper …
The beat Murder rate rises in Brazil as police go on strike Military police in Brazil’s Ceará state have gone on strike seeking a pay rise, leading to a surge in homicides. In the first …
The important institutions of constitutional democracy and international law have recently suffered serious damage. The long-term prospects for peace and stability have been undercut as a result. The US Senate’s failure to fulfil its constitutional …
As a participant in and observer of Australia’s China debate, I’m sometimes taken aback at the strategic fatalism on display. For a country so optimistic in other respects, Australia’s strategic community harbours a strangely defeatist …
The Washington-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Analysis recently released a thought-provoking assessment of the US Navy’s plan for its surface forces. Taking back the seas: transforming the US surface fleet for decision-centric warfare is …
The contradictions afflicting India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been in full display over the past few days. US President Donald Trump’s 36-hour visit became an occasion for the display of bonhomie between him …
Between the diplomatic dance and the infernal destruction of war is to be found the opaque art of espionage. Two recent novels dissect the art of espionage with a knowing eye and a clinical precision. …
It’s time for the Royal Australian Air Force to consider how it can build the capability to defend Australia against the long-range, very high-speed threats being developed in our region. The RAAF’s F-35A fighters should …
The judicial inquiry into claims that members of the Australian Defence Force committed war crimes in Afghanistan is now examining 55 separate incidents, most of which involve the alleged killing of unarmed civilians and prisoners. …
Sea state The US Navy has announced $1 billion in contracts to supply systems for its new fleet of unmanned ships. Ten unmanned surface vessels are expected to be completed by 2025, and six extra-large …
The main purpose of my talk tonight is to deliver my first annual threat assessment. Some of you may think of this as ASIO stepping out of the shadows. The glib response to that might …
In part 1 of this series, I argued that though on the surface ANZUS seems in good health, there are at least four diverging strategic interests: American primacy in Asia, the institutional status quo, Taiwan, …
A scandal is brewing at the World Bank. The Economist recently suggested that the premature departure of its chief economist, Pinelopi Goldberg, is related to the bank’s suppression of a study showing that a material …
At the November 2019 supplementary Senate estimates hearing for the Department of Defence, much was made of the number of jobs created among Australia-based companies through their participation in the joint strike fighter (JSF) global …
By any reasonable standard, Australia is a long way away from most other countries. Sydney is closer to the South Pole than it is to Singapore. Direct flights from Washington or Brussels to Canberra remain …