Counterterrorism Yearbook 2018: North Africa

Throughout 2017, peace and security across North Africa were threatened by Salafi-jihadi terrorism, armed conflict, poor governance and porous borders. Nations across the Maghreb continued to pursue independent counterterrorism (CT) efforts, without much development of …

Naming and shaming the unshameable

Imagine the scene: you run a large multinational company and you’ve just had US$300 million stolen from your bank account. A few months down the track the government steps in and, to much fanfare, names the …

Myths and facts about Gaza’s ‘march of return’

The demonstrations along the Israel–Gaza border dubbed the ‘Great March of Return’ are a calculated and desperate propaganda move, largely organised and funded by Hamas alongside other terrorist organisations. Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since …

Making water-smart energy choices

Climate change undoubtedly poses a potent—even existential—threat to the planet. But the current approach to mitigating it, which reflects a single-minded focus on cutting carbon dioxide emissions, may end up doing serious harm, as it …

Mittel power Australia and Germany

Malcolm Turnbull’s travel to the UK, Germany, France and Belgium next week reinforces the higher priority that his government has put on relations with key European countries. A major focus of Turnbull’s visit will be …

Syria a symptom of a broken international order

Last Saturday US, British and French forces bombed three chemical weapons facilities in Damascus in retaliation for the alleged use of chemical weapons by Syrian forces in Douma on 6–8 April that killed around 70 people. Others …

Awkward alarum: China, Vanuatu and Oz

Australia’s reaction to the idea of a China getting ‘a full military base’ in Vanuatu ranged from aghast to agog. Coming amid what’s already a big chill in Canberra–Beijing relations, the base brouhaha is a …

ASPI suggests

The world This week found the war in Syria right back on the front page: this short Atlantic Council blog post discusses Donald Trump’s own red line on chemical weapons. With the president initially exclaiming …

What’s been stopping the left?

Why were democratic political systems not responsive early enough to the grievances that autocratic populists have successfully exploited—inequality and economic anxiety, decline of perceived social status, the chasm between elites and ordinary citizens? Had political …