The paradox of increased counter-terrorism spending

Australia’s leading academic researcher on public opinion has produced a fascinating study that draws together public surveys of defence and national security attitudes. The report by ANU’s Ian McAllister is part of a public consultation …

Is the environment dangerous? Or is that the enemy?

At ASPI’s Army Future Force Structure Conference the week before last, one theme was particularly recurrent: the ‘operating environment’ that the army is now working in is increasingly dangerous. In particular, we frequently heard that lethal …

Why we need to talk about Option J

Like the operations of submarines themselves, current Australian policy on submarine acquisition seems opaque, with the surface troubled by hints of turmoil down deep. There’s little clue as to why the Government is so wedded …

Australia, India and strategic convergence

For India and Australia, a striking new reality is in view. One of the great negatives in India’s traditional view of Australia is turning into a positive. Suddenly Australia’s alliance with the US makes us …

ASPI suggests

This week’s round-up of articles, videos, podcasts and events starts now. How can we promote a closer US–India relationship without triggering either Chinese concerns about containment or Indian concerns about entrapment? For more on what could …

SEA 1000: the design challenge

There are other important dimensions to consider in a large complex project such as the Future Submarine Program (FSP) SEA 1000 besides the economic arguments that we so often read about. As the Rand Corporation …

Building civic institutions in liberated Syria

Where the al-Assad regime no longer exercises control in Syria, communities are grappling with the challenges of self-governance in an unstable political and military environment. Despite the unimpeded power of armed groups, ongoing regime bombardment …

The return of the deterrence problem

With nuclear modernisation programs under way across a range of countries, Russia asserting its right to deploy nuclear weapons in the Crimea, NATO reviewing the role of nuclear weapons in the alliance, and a recent …

Cyber wrap

Last week saw the conclusion of a series of high-level meetings in Washington between US and Chinese government officials as a part of the annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED). There were a couple of …

Australia and Indonesia: time for a rethink?

The secret of success is constancy to purpose—at least that was Disraeli’s view. It is a pity that recent prime ministers and foreign ministers, Liberal and Labor alike, have failed to see ‘constancy to purpose’ …

Australia’s Caliphettes

Below is an extract from ASPI’s publication Gen Y jihadists: preventing radicalisation in Australia, launched yesterday. In 2014, the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium estimated that as many as 15% of ISIL’s foreign recruits could …

The grinding geopolitics of a Grexit

Greece’s economic woes feature daily on the British broadsheets. The high drama negotiations between Greece and Europe have evoked a narrative akin to that of David and Goliath. Yet as Europe’s politicians attempt to balance …