Every society rests on a web of norms, institutions, policies, laws and commitments to those in need of support. In traditional societies, such obligations are borne mostly by families and kin groups. In advanced economies, …
Australia needs to seriously consider moving to a nuclear-powered submarine force because, in the rapidly changing circumstances of the region, it is the best solution to meet the Royal Australian Navy’s demanding strategic and operational …
There’s a powerful moment in the recent Four Corners episode ‘Black summer’ in which a police car, driving through a Sunshine Coast town that is engulfed in flames, receives a call to rescue a 93-year-old …
Everyone has seen a meme, whether they know it or not. They’re everywhere on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The most popular ones make it off the internet and show up in newspapers, television shows or …
Nobody should be surprised that US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace proposal is heavily tilted towards the Israelis. What is surprising is that, rather than rejecting Trump’s proposal, the world has left the Palestinians …
In October 2000, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1325, which formally established the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda. The agenda has become the central framework through which to advocate for women’s participation across …
All alliances are political compacts. The health of these agreements relies on each party being clear about its responsibilities and committed to the terms. The political compact of the ANZUS treaty is simple: Australia provides …
Sea state The Defence Department and Naval Group have released a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to the Royal Australian Navy’s future submarine program. The statement lists ‘sovereign control’ and ‘maximising Australian industry involvement’ as …
Among the big changes in the global strategic landscape since the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty came into force in 1970 is the expansion of the nuclear club from five to nine. All five nuclear powers at …
It was an image that launched a thousand angry tweets. On 7 February, Singapore’s government raised its coronavirus threat level to ‘orange’ (the second highest) after four people with no links to previous cases were …
In the first part of this series, I noted that Australia’s Department of Defence spends a relatively small percentage of its budget on national support tasks (less than 0.2%), but around 40% of its capabilities …
Since regaining its independence in 1948, Myanmar has endured essentially constant internal armed conflict. These stresses, compounded by the missteps of successive administrations, have led the country to fall into a deep chasm of political …
Kiwis are renowned for being flightless, but they may soon be equally well known for their agility in the water, based on the plethora of documents released by the New Zealand government on both the …
‘Indonesia and Australia are destined to be close neighbours. We cannot choose our neighbours. We have to choose to be friends. Australia is Indonesia’s closest friend.’ — Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Address to the Australian …
The world If your trust in the United States has been shaken in recent years, you’re not alone. Michael Fullilove argues in The Atlantic that while the US is not in decline as many argue, …
Australian democracy, Peter Hartcher observed in his post in The Strategist on ‘The real China choice’, ‘is a precious asset’. He’s right. Indeed, our constitution guarantees that the House of Representatives and the Senate must be ‘directly chosen’ …
As Felipe Fernández-Armesto points out in his 2019 Out of our minds: what we think and how we came to think it, ideas about how humans tell truth from falsity are among the oldest and …
‘You’re in denial.’ It’s a phrase no one wants to hear used about themselves as it suggests an unwillingness to confront or even recognise some unpleasant reality or other. The consequences for individuals are generally …
The Australian Defence Force has performed valuable services in the 2019–20 bushfire emergency. More than 5,000 personnel have been involved in a wide range of tasks, both on the front line and in logistics and …
The beat Chinese police try to stop spread of coronavirus information As Chinese police try to contain the spread of information about the coronavirus now known as COVID-19, they’ve arrested a whistleblower, Fang Bin, who …