Elizabeth II may have had her annus horribilis in the early 1990s, but she would—in the minds of many South Africans, at least—be thought to have escaped lightly. The ‘rainbow nation’ went to the polls …
China’s progress towards an open society ended when the People’s Liberation Army slaughtered at least hundreds, if not thousands, of peaceful demonstrators in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on 3-4 June 1989. The crackdown left …
The defence supremos of the US and China had a face-off in Singapore at the weekend. Both sides came for a compare-and-contrast contest conducted as a rhetorical rumble. The two biggest players in the game …
Bob Hawke’s recent death prompted an outpouring of tributes to the Australian Labor Party’s longest-serving prime minister. Few recalled how close his government came to a terminal blow in its first year, largely at the …
The world On Tuesday, The Strategist revealed that Australian helicopter pilots had been targeted by lasers while participating in this year’s Indo-Pacific Endeavour in the South China Sea. Euan Graham, who broke the story, contextualised …
Each of Australia’s border security domains presents unique threats and operating challenges. Whether searching for illicit drugs in Sydney’s mail centre, processing passenger arrivals at Melbourne’s international airport or inspecting shipping containers in Fremantle, the …
I was fortunate enough to work closely with Bob Hawke, initially as his principal private secretary (chief of staff) and later as secretary of two federal government departments responsible for key microeconomic reforms, including telecommunications …
Australia’s new chief defence scientist says she has taken on the role at a time when the Australian Defence Force is becoming increasingly receptive to game-changing capabilities. ‘That, to me, is really critical’, Professor Tanya …
Kim Jong-un’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok in late April demonstrated conclusively that the North Korean leader has no intention of retreating from the international stage after February’s ill-fated summit with US …
The beat Free Wi-Fi providers to be compelled to hand over user data Australian police now have the power to compel communications companies to hand over user data. The Guardian has revealed the extent to …
During a recent visit to Tajikistan, Russian Federal Security Service Director Alexander Bortnikov claimed that around 5,000 militants based in Afghanistan from a group known as Islamic State Khorasan, or IS-K, had been redeployed to …
Canberra, we have a problem. It’s the public diplomacy around Australia’s relationship with the Chinese state—in particular, the People’s Liberation Army and the civilian and militia elements that operate with it in the South China …
It’s notable that Prime Minister Scott Morrison allocated an additional job to himself in announcing his second ministry last Sunday. This was to make himself minister for the public service. Greg Hunt is named in …
It wasn’t quite up to the standard of the gilets jaunes of Paris. To suggest that it was the ‘worst’ rioting since May 1998, as some have, risks gross exaggeration. It only serves as a …
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is following through on his commitments to Pacific leaders announced around last year’s APEC meeting, and packaged as Australia’s ‘Pacific step-up’. It’s great that his first visit overseas is to Solomon …
I recently sailed onboard the landing helicopter dock and Royal Australian Navy flagship HMAS Canberra from Vietnam to Singapore, as one of several academic sea-riders invited to observe Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2019 (IPE 19), which has now …
Sea state The Defence Department has confirmed that the Royal Australian Navy was tailed by the People’s Liberation Army Navy as the Australians transited through the South China Sea for Exercise Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2019. Defence …
The failure of the Indian state to provide basic public services and implement job-creating infrastructure projects was a prominent theme in the country’s recent general election. In this regard, critics often compare India unfavorably to …
US tariffs on Chinese goods are approaching the levels that applied during the trade war of the 1930s but they’re being imposed on a much more complex set of trade and business relationships. As much …
The overwhelming victory of Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, in India’s elections was even more resounding than expected. The medium-term political and social actions are predictable; the long-term consequences are not. …