Joe Biden’s election as president of the United States has seriously weakened authoritarian and populist governments around the world. For independent global powers like Russia, Brazil and Turkey, Donald Trump’s departure need not amount to …
The Strategist’s national security editor, Anastasia Kapetas, speaks to Peter Hartcher, political editor and international editor at the Sydney Morning Herald, about the US election and the developments since, including President Donald Trump’s refusal to …
The royal commission into Australia’s natural disaster arrangements released its findings on 30 October. The commission’s report was the result of many long hours of consultation, investigation and analysis, including consideration of 1,772 submissions, with …
When intelligence folk smell roses, they look for the funeral. That bit of spy lore is about finding the opportunity in the threats (or vice versa). The lore hints at the mystique of the trade: …
Justice Paul Brereton’s investigation of war crimes allegedly committed by Australian special forces soldiers in Afghanistan will confirm within days that atrocities were committed which will deeply shock the nation. That investigation, and others carried …
The inauguration of Joe Biden as president on 20 January 2021 will usher in another chapter in the United States’ fraught relations with North Korea. The Trump administration tried summit diplomacy from 2018 through to 2019, after a year …
Unprecedented events such as pandemics and natural disasters frequently provoke national introspection, leading to innovative plans and policies that adapt to new circumstances and update capacities. In Fiji, the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the unpreparedness, …
Joe Biden’s victory in the US presidential election has been met with a wave of relief across Europe, where many feared that a second term for Donald Trump would have threatened the very survival of …
Early results indicate another massive victory for Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party in Myanmar’s 8 November general election. Ninety-one political parties fielded candidates, but the elections were again essentially a …
A billboard firm cleverly lures clients with a simple slogan on an otherwise blank canvas—unsee this. Its genius rests on a human trait: we can’t unsee, unhear or unsmell anything. Our senses are primordial devices …
On 1 September the director-general of the Australian Signals Directorate, Rachel Noble, gave a well-publicised speech titled ‘Long histories—short memories: the transparently secret ASD in 2020’. The themes were that the agency would be as …
The 2016 Australia–China joint economic report, Partnership for change—a study undertaken by the China Center for International Economic Exchanges and the Australian National University—argues that ‘Capturing the economic potential of the relationship will depend on …
This week is the second meeting of the World Health Assembly (WHA) for 2020 and the second time this year that Taiwan has been excluded. High-level public diplomatic support for Taiwan to attend was provided …
Last week Defence announced that the Royal Australian Navy’s contract for a new submarine rescue system is on the department’s ‘project of interest’ list. US company Phoenix International may receive millions of dollars in compensation after a …
Planet A The election of Joe Biden to the White House is widely expected to boost global efforts to combat climate change. Biden’s team has pledged to immediately reverse President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the …
Unit histories are usually written mainly for members of the unit and their descendants: only a few have lasting historical value. It is, as sporting commentators would put it, a big call to say that …
A criminal who wanted to smuggle a shipping container of illegal cigarettes into Australia could expect to make almost $10 million in profit. Of course, these criminals first need to get their products into the …
Australia has no realistic alternative market to China for a third of its exports and no viable source but China for almost a fifth of its imports. By contrast, it is only as a supplier …
Scoring the US on WPS The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security has published an index evaluating the status of women’s rights, opportunities and wellbeing across the US. The results show great differences among …
Donald Trump may have despised international institutions, but his presidency has reminded the world of the importance of effective and resilient ones. In the 2016 election, Trump campaigned on the argument that the post-1945 multilateral …