Before the coronavirus exploded into the news, a report by the World Health Organization warned that the world was not prepared for ‘a fast-moving, virulent respiratory pathogen pandemic’ that could kill 50–80 million people, cause …
With conflicts in so many parts of the Muslim world, the Islamic law of war is indispensable for the protection of civilians. But is it compatible with international humanitarian law? Armed conflict brings untold human …
A common refrain in the space policy community is that ‘space is contested, congested and competitive’. The ‘contested’ aspect was demonstrated recently when two Russian intelligence –collection satellites closed in on, and trailed, a top-secret …
Progress and setbacks in WPS national action plans While India initially extended its support for UN Security Council resolution 1325 in 2000, its failure to adopt a national action plan is undermining the country’s stated …
Enough time has passed to read and digest all 180-plus pages of what the US government calls ‘Peace to prosperity: A vision to improve the lives of the Palestinian and Israeli people’. It’s also referred …
When New Zealanders vote this September, they should consider closing a self-inflicted wound—decades of disarmament and dangerous strategic apathy. In 1949, a distinguished New Zealand soldier, Major General Sir Howard Kippenberger, warned: It may be …
Imagine if the US Congress, in addition to the 535 elected members that fill its halls, also included a few dozen unelected representatives each year who were citizens of foreign countries. These foreign representatives, milling …
Sea state The US has announced the addition of a low-yield nuclear weapon to its long-range submarine arsenal, a significant shift from the Obama-era policy of nuclear drawdown. The Trump administration has argued that the …
One of the most interesting things in international affairs is when a country’s role starts shifting. Over the past decade, I’ve watched the evolution of India’s self-awareness from its traditional anti-great-power stance to the realisation …
A long time ago—back in September 2019—Defence Minister Linda Reynolds announced that the government was reviewing Australia’s defence strategy and capabilities. This was because the 2016 defence white paper underestimated the speed at which major …
There’s much to be excited about Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s visit to Australia this week, where he was the first Indonesian president in 10 years to address parliament. Despite ups and downs in the Australia–Indonesia …
At about the midway mark of Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s first term, a group of international relations experts who were gathered at the presidential palace asked him what his foreign policy priorities were. Without pausing, …
Kim Beazley and Paul Dibb are two tenors of Oz strategy. Each has a distinctive voice. Combine those voices and the power magnifies. Over four decades, the two tenors have shifted the terms and the …
In this episode, Executive Director Peter Jennings discusses the recent ASPI report How the geopolitical partnership between China and Russia threatens the West with former opposition leader and Governor of Western Australia Kim Beazley and …
The world After the US Senate’s acquittal of President Donald Trump on impeachment charges, The Atlantic’s washup includes a look at what might happen next—including the possibility that Trump will interpret the result as a …
ASPI’s ‘The north and Australia’s security’ program has just turned one. Over the past year, more than 30 pieces have been published under the banner of the program’s ‘North of 26° south’ Strategist series. Authors …
From the Tigris to the Indus and the Yangtze to the Nile, rivers were essential to the emergence of human civilisation. Millennia later, hundreds of millions of people still depend on rivers to quench their …
Two events in recent weeks have refocused attention on the South China Sea. First, Malaysia approached the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf claiming waters beyond the 200-kilometre limit of its exclusive …
While current concerns about Australian strategic policy are many, the underlying theme behind much of the disquiet is that we aren’t sufficiently prepared for the demands of major war in our own region, even before …
The beat Artificial intelligence used to fight financial crime British company Quantexta has been using artificial intelligence to predict financial crime before it occurs. It uses data and AI to provide clients with their customers’ …