Imagine that Australia released a Defence White Paper that refused even in the most veiled terms to discuss China’s destabilising policies in the South China Sea, which didn’t mention Indonesia or Papua New Guinea, and …
Is the Obama administration trying to achieve a modus vivendi with China over the South China Sea? If so, this year’s Strategic and Economic Dialogue (SED) held 6–7 June in Beijing was a good opportunity …
This piece is drawn from Agenda for change 2016: strategic choices for the next government. The 2016 defence white paper didn’t end the contemporary defence debate; it began it. Our strategic environment is full of …
The Beat New report: crimes against humanity in Mexico A new report (PDF) from Open Society Foundations suggests that there’s a ‘reasonable basis’ to believe that both Mexican government forces and the Zetas drug cartel …
The US has been involved in Southeast Asia for a long time. During the Cold War, the region assumed considerable importance as a theatre for countering the strategic threat emanating from the USSR. However, American …
Are we seeing a new dawn of fascism? Many people are beginning to think so. Donald Trump has been compared to a fascist, as has Vladimir Putin and a variety of demagogues and right-wing loudmouths …
Tired of the humiliating dictates of Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P) leader Megawati Sukarnoputri, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo now has a new option—running for the former ruling Golkar Party in the 2019 elections. Describing …
While community engagement is a commonly recognised by Australian law enforcement, security agencies and community groups as a mechanism for social cohesion and countering radicalisation, successfully engaging with target audiences is challenging. Given the downward …
The ghosts of social media accounts past have come back to haunt millions of people this week, with the release of user credentials for 360 million MySpace users being released for sale online. Selling stolen …
France’s initiative to hold an international conference to re-launch direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians, aimed at the ever elusive “two-state solution,” is the child of a resilient fantasy. But after decades of failed negotiations, …
An early scene in the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia shows German planes swooping back and forth to bomb the rebel camp and Prince Feisal, who’s heroically mounted on a white charger, chasing the planes …
A trend toward greater authoritarianism seems to be spreading worldwide. Vladimir Putin has successfully used nationalism to tighten his control over Russia and seems to enjoy great popularity. Xi Jinping is regarded as China’s most …
Sea State The Commander of the US 6th Fleet has warned that Russia is a growing maritime power capable of putting ‘nearly all NATO maritime forces at risk’. In an article for the US Naval …
China came to the Shangri-La Dialogue to both romance and rumble. The language of regional romance jars mightily with the grouchy belligerence over the South China Sea. The rich suitor came wooing with honey words, …
This piece is drawn from Agenda for Change 2016: strategic choices for the next government. In the August 2013 version of Agenda for Change, I suggested four big reforms for the incoming government: Develop a …
This piece is drawn from Agenda for Change 2016: strategic choices for the next government. Australia confronts a stream of global and regional ordering challenges, almost none within its ability to solve single-handedly. At the …
In an earlier article, I considered Australia’s potential options to replace the RAAF’s 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets in the late 2020s as mandated in the 2016 Defence White Paper (4.42). Options could include manned aircraft, …
The unprecedented focus on Australia’s defence industry during the current federal election campaign has highlighted the role the industry can play in developing sovereign capability and industrial self-reliance in key areas of defence procurement. In …
When Australia discusses China without mentioning China directly, it talks of the need for a ‘rules-based’ order. In the Defence White Paper which Canberra issued in February, ‘rules’ is used 64 times—48 of these in …
Hillary Clinton delivered her major foreign policy and national security address on Thursday, and the shade she threw at presumptive Republican nominee Trump’s foreign policy plans received more attention than her own. Vox dives into …