The recent breakdown of the cessation of hostilities (CoH) in Syria has potentially ushered in a new and even darker phase of the Syrian civil war. While it may prove foolhardy to make predictions about …
The defence discussion in the Australia election is calm and agreeable in tone—except for China. The Turnbull government doesn’t want to push too hard on the South China Sea, while the Labor opposition is more …
The latest report from UNSW’s Australian Centre for Cyber Security (ACCS), ‘Australia’s Response to Advanced Technology Threats,’ claims that Australia doesn’t take cyber threats seriously enough. The report argues that the differences between Australian cyber …
The Beat Law enforcement and guns scrutinised after the Orlando massacre In the early hours of Sunday morning, a gunman went on a shooting rampage in an Orlando nightclub leaving 49 people dead and resulting …
This piece is drawn from ASPI’s Agenda for Change 2016: strategic choices for the next government. During the next term of government, a number of possible contingencies may arise that would require the deployment of …
Over the past fortnight, the dawning realisation that Brexit could actually happen has sent the British establishment groping for the campaign panic button. Until now, the Remain side has sat comfortably on the sorts of …
It’s funny how the same document can be perceived so differently. In his demolition job on New Zealand’s latest Defence White Paper, Peter Jennings sees Wellington plumbing ‘new depths of vacuity’ in its ‘desperation to …
The terrorist attack at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida on June 12 represents the recent shift in terrorist modus operandi within Western jurisdictions. Preliminary details indicate that the attack was undertaken by an individual without …
Nearly 15 years after its launch, the United States’ war in Afghanistan is still raging, making it the longest war in American history. Nowadays, the war is barely on the world’s radar, with only dramatic …
Cybersecurity made an appearance in the eighth round of the US–China Strategic and Economic Dialogue which took place in Beijing last week, chaired by State Councillor Yang Jiechi and Secretary of State John Kerry. Both …
Indonesia’s latest Defence White Paper was issued in November last year and was publically released on 31 May. It supersedes the 2008 White Paper. Although a replacement paper was produced in the dying days of …
After all of the fanfare and chest beating on 26 April about how 12 submarines will be built in Adelaide: silence. By all appearances—or rather the lack of them—it seems that the Department of Defence …
It may be the immigration question that brings about a British departure from the European Union. Much publicity has been given to the recent ‘discovery’ of illegal arrivals by small boat across the English Channel. …
Sea State In a sign of Russia’s growing strategic interest in the Arctic region, the country floated its new icebreaker last Friday—the first new icebreaker in almost 45 years. The Ilya Muromets—which will join the …
On Wednesday last week on a rainy day in Sydney, Australia’s fight against terrorism took a significant step forward. We’re now looking outward towards wide-ranging and real collaboration with a significant and capable partner and …
The threats to Asia’s future peace of mind: China versus the US, the South China Sea, North Korea—and then there’s Trump. The Donald is a powerful reminder of the fundamental duality in Asia’s responses to …
Along with most of Australia, The Strategist team is today enjoying the Queen’s Birthday public holiday. We’ll be back on the airwaves tomorrow, but until then you can catch up with Dione Hodgson’s analysis of the rebalance …
With Donald Trump holding a few too many cards for comfort, The Washington Post is playing its ‘Obama nostalgia’ hand with a ‘virtual museum’ of the 44th Presidency. The masthead has released two ‘rooms’ so …
After months of campaigning, business mogul turned celebrity politician Donald Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have clinched the number of delegates needed to win their respective parties’ nomination for the US presidency. …
A tuberculosis epidemic is on Australia’s doorstep. As of January 2016, Papua New Guinea’s island of Daru—located in the Torres Strait—has the highest rate of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) in the world, with more than 160 …