The beat German police use AI to combat child pornography Authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia—Germany’s most populous state—are working with Microsoft to identify and combat online child pornography using artificial intelligence. The partnership aims to combine …
Between December 2015 and February 2019, 12 Australian dual citizens were stripped of their citizenship under the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 because of their involvement with terror groups. As the provisions of the act are …
Charles Edel and John Lee’s comprehensive report, The future of the US–Australia alliance in an era of great power competition, exposes evident gaps in the way both Australia and the US think about European engagement …
The protests in Hong Kong started over CEO Carrie Lam’s extradition bill and have turned into a defining issue for the trajectory of China as a state and a society, and for the Chinese state’s …
We are in a uniquely dangerous period in the atomic age. Geopolitical tensions have spiked in Europe, in the Middle East, on the subcontinent and in East Asia. The nuclear arms control architecture is fraying …
US President Donald Trump’s nomination of John Ratcliffe, a highly partisan Congressman with little international experience, to replace Dan Coats as director of national intelligence raised the red flag of the politicisation of intelligence. Opposition …
Last week here on The Strategist, Andrew Davies argued that the idea of ‘balance’ in the ADF’s force structure is lazy thinking. He’s not the only one concerned by outmoded constructs like this, as we’ve …
Balancing the protection of sensitive information against openness is a perennial challenge for governments and their national security agencies. Too little disclosure can destroy public trust in institutions. Too much can undercut important capabilities that …
Sea state Last Wednesday, a Chinese naval warship collided with a Taiwanese freighter in the Taiwan Strait at around 8 pm local time. Both vessels suffered hull damage. The cargo ship made it safely to …
Major dam construction projects have become a favorite pastime of some autocratic governments, with China leading the way. But, far from protecting against water shortages, as supporters promise, large dams are contributing to river depletion …
Economic warfare is being fought with an intensity not seen since the period leading up to World War II as countries deploy tariffs, embargoes and economic sanctions to force policy changes or punish their adversaries. …
On 3 August at around 11 am, a 21-year-old man named Patrick Crosius posted a PDF to an online forum. Ninety minutes later, he walked into a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and opened fire. …
As geostrategic circumstances darken, there’s new interest in military mobilisation. For Australia, that involves moving the Australian Defence Force beyond its normal peacetime rate of effort. It can be an all-of-nation mobilisation for the ‘big’ …
It has long been feared that Cambodia’s growing dependence on China—its largest aid donor, investor and creditor—would lead to a Chinese military presence in the country. According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, those …
Australia’s pivot to the South Pacific talks up both personal connections and foreign policy interests. The pivot pitch tries to meld strategy and Pacific family, bringing together policy and the needs of Pacific people. Such …
The world North Korea has tested two more missiles as diplomatic relations with the US remain stalled. And yet, Vox argues President Donald Trump is unlikely to care that his ‘friend’, Kim Jong-un, is quite …
Hugh White’s latest book has stimulated an important debate on the defence capabilities needed to preserve Australia as a sovereign state. In the recent posts on this subject on The Strategist, there’s been recognition of …
Much is made of values in the rhetoric of Australia’s foreign and defence policies and in particular the consonance between Australian and American values as underpinning the ANZUS alliance. Presumably these values include racial equality; …
The backlash abroad against Xi Jinping’s China, at least in developed nations, has spread rapidly in the last year. Some smaller countries, like Australia and Canada, feel patronised and bullied. Neighbours worry they are being …
In the 18 months the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission was busily working away on its 623-page opus on digital platforms, Chinese-owned app upstart TikTok grew a global audience of over 700 million. With no …
