NATO just concluded its most important summit in more than a decade in Wales. Originally, the Alliance had planned to talk mostly about the way ahead in Afghanistan. But Russia’s intervention in Ukraine fundamentally changed …
This week in cyber, New Zealand telco Spark suffered a massive internet meltdown over the weekend as its Domain Name System (DNS) infrastructure became overwhelmed in what the company said was a ‘dynamic cyber attack’. …
Having written about the difficulties in understanding exactly why people become radicalised and involved in terrorist activities, it’s equally important to examine what can be done to reduce the likelihood of people becoming radicalised, and …
There has been a flurry of public commentary following yesterday’s News Limited claims that Australia is about to enter into a commitment to buy our next generation of submarines from Japan. The local submarine community …
In recent weeks, three of my colleagues have written about the appropriate balance that we should attempt to strike between national security and civil liberties. Toby Feakin began the series with a post which argued that positioning security …
This post is part of a joint series hosted by The Strategist and The Bridge. Strategy is meaningless without an opposing force. Since Australia currently has only hypothetical opponents, a strategic endstate for Australia can only …
In the Australian system going to war is extremely simple. The Prime Minister and Cabinet agree, the order is given and the shooting starts. Then there’s the hard stuff—not just the fighting, but handling the …
We’re kicking off today in the Asia Pacific region with this East Asia Forum post by TJ Pempel on why Japan’s collective self-defence is so politicised. The piece explains Japan’s recent developments as more than …
This year’s Independence Day on 14 August in Pakistan marked the start of political protests against the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Now into their third week, protests have become violent in recent days …
There’s been much discussion in recent months regarding the threat posed to Australia by Australian nationals fighting overseas in Syria and Iraq alongside extremist groups such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). …
Recently, there’s been a lot of attention in Australia on our growing defence relationship with Japan. While a formal alliance between the two nations isn’t on the cards any time soon, progress has been remarkable. …
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is heading a strong Australian delegation to the 2014 NATO Summit, which opens in the Welsh city of Newport later today. It will represent the largest gathering of international leaders ever …
I was asked in a recent radio interview what drives young men, like Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, the man suspected of beheading James Foley, to become radicalised and go overseas to places like Syria and Iraq …
Pinged all devices on the Internet, here's a map of where they're located :) pic.twitter.com/G3fiNcKCul — John Matherly (@achillean) August 28, 2014 This week, the Internet governance debate descends on Istanbul, with the start of …
The data-retention debate has been dominated by discussions over the extent to which metadata information retention is an essential tool for investigating terrorism and crime, what agencies should be able to access it, and the …
Much has been said in recent days about the need for parliament to debate and decide whether to deploy Australian military forces in support of international humanitarian relief operations in Iraq and Syria. The flag …
It’s always good to see debate about civil liberties and security legislation here on The Strategist. With a number of changes to security legislation in the wind, it was appropriate that my colleagues Toby Feakin …
As dawn broke on 1 January 1901, the splendidly-attired band of the Royal New South Wales Lancers was busy polishing its kit (including the new kettle-drums to be carried on a beautiful white Clydesdale draft-horse). …
Previous posts in this series explored the Canberra officer project; Arthur Tange; the promised land of Jointery; taming the service chiefs; the Vice CDF; and CDF atop the diarchy. The military venturing into politics is …
Heath Pickering argues that ‘in the interests of democratic scrutiny and ensuring that any intervention occurs with broad political support, RAAF air strikes in Iraq (and potentially Syria) must be supported by a parliamentary vote …