Covid-19 has disrupted labour markets around the world, causing a global manpower shortage. Lockdowns in the early months of the pandemic triggered an exodus of millions of rural migrant workers from booming megacities like New …
Now that COP26 has concluded, ASPI’s Robert Glasser and Anastasia Kapetas break down the commitments made at the summit, where they fell short, and what needs to be done to limit warming to 1.5°C. As …
In The Australian newspaper on Monday, Hugh White gave us a picture of democratic defeat in the face of overwhelming Chinese dominance should war break out over Taiwan. ‘Going to war with China,’ he says, …
Recent events in Afghanistan and their fallout in Pakistan clearly demonstrate that the problems plaguing the two countries can’t be separated. That the trajectories of the two polities are closely intertwined has become very clear …
The US government’s recent ban of Israeli technology firm NGO Group’s Pegasus spyware has significant implications for Australian efforts to regulate digital technologies in the face of new online national security threats. Putting human rights …
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s trip to Japan in November 2020 for a historic summit deepened a relationship with Japan that is Australia’s strategic anchor in Asia; it was his sole official trip overseas in close …
‘Whatever is done well enough is done quickly enough.’ — Augustus (63 BC – 14 AD) Iran’s leadership is made up of extreme religious fundamentalists. It is the most sanctioned government in the world—following decades …
If there’s a definition of the ‘loyal wingman’ concept, it’s this: a cheap, pilotless aircraft with enough flight performance to accompany fighters and the intelligence needed to semi-autonomously support them. Functions include building a better …
International relations sometimes seems like a game that’s all about controlling and asserting simplistic national-power narratives without acknowledging the complexity of each nation’s stories. But the key to effective public diplomacy is moving from monologue …
When a post-colonial country with little or no democratic tradition escapes a brutal dictatorship, it rarely becomes a democracy. Instead, it is likely to be confronted by political chaos and foreign actors jostling for strategic …
ASPI celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. This series looks at ASPI’s work since its creation in August 2001. The strategic jolts and jumps in Australia’s South Pacific policy during ASPI’s first two decades alliterate …
As fast as Australia is moving to strengthen alliances and regional partnerships, the pace of strategic change is moving faster. China is building up its military forces at breakneck speed and preparing to strike at …
DNA evidence has finally confirmed that a Royal Australian Navy sailor whose body was found in a life raft near Christmas Island in February 1942 came from the light cruiser HMAS Sydney (II), which vanished …
As international concern about Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai’s whereabouts grows and more of the world’s top tennis stars weigh in, Beijing’s propagandists are floundering. Hu Xijin, the impish editor of the rabidly nationalistic Global …
Budget deficits used to be seen as proof of profligacy, but a new permissiveness has swept the world, partly in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, but also reflecting new economic thinking about the sustainability of …
Sea state Australia has commissioned the second of its two Supply-class auxiliary oil replenishment ships, HMAS Stalwart. The two Spanish-built ships will be stationed on opposite sides of Australia, with HMAS Supply, commissioned in April, …
Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party knew well what to expect from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko before he started funnelling refugees from the Middle East to the Polish border. Belarusian authorities had already done …
The announcement of the AUKUS partnership has prompted the old accusation that Australia is ‘trying to find its security from Asia rather than in Asia’ to resurface in public debate, most recently in former prime …
If Boeing’s Airpower Teaming System proves to be viable, the Royal Australian Air Force of the future is likely to have scores, maybe hundreds, of fast drones. The concept of the ATS is to provide …
Negotiations between Iran and the United States on Iran’s nuclear activities are set to resume on 29 November. But while many will welcome this development, they should bear in mind that the talks are unlikely …