Istanbul, in western Turkey, is one of Europe’s great cities. As Constantinople, it was the capital of the Roman and Byzantine Empires, and after its capture and renaming by Mehmed II in 1453, it served …
‘There are only two people I trust, God and the Commonwealth Statistician.’ So said Billy Hughes—statesman and patriot, renegade and mountebank—Australia’s seventh prime minister and federal MP for a record 51 years. Whatever the trust …
The New York Times this week put out some compelling investigative work on the US think tank scene. The first piece explores the degree to which research agendas at outfits like Brookings, CSIS and the …
It seems that practically no Western democracy nowadays is immune to right-wing populism. While populist rhetoric seems to be reaching fever pitch, with far-reaching consequences—most notably the United Kingdom’s vote to ‘Brexit’ the European Union—the …
Malcolm Turnbull has requested that Australia’s counterterrorism agencies develop a strategy to prevent rapidly radicalised terrorists from carrying out Nice-style attacks in public areas. Senior sources have told The Australian that the Prime Minister is …
In the 20th century, Australia’s strategic relationship with India was so frigid it was in negative territory for decades. In the 21st century, Australia and India have begun to attempt strategic convergence. That rapid shift …
Who owns the Internet? The answer is no one and everyone. The Internet is a network of networks. Each of the separate networks belongs to different companies and organisations, and they rely on physical servers …
The Beat Darknet rising A new RAND report has found that the dark web’s illicit drug trade is booming despite attentive law enforcement and persistent fraud in online marketplaces. Following Silk Road’s closure in 2013 …
The so-called Islamic State (ISIS) continues to pose a serious challenge not just to the Middle East, but to the entire world. While the efforts of a US-led coalition have weakened ISIS, destroying the group …
In a seminal article in 1978 Robert Jervis outlined the concept of the security dilemma. Jervis observed that ‘many of the means by which a state tries to increase its security decreases the security of …
There’s renewed interest of late in the US Navy’s electromagnetic railgun. Plans to perform at-sea weapon testing appear to have been delayed in favour of further research. So, while development will probably continue, there are …
Las Vegas was the place to be last week, with the world’s largest annual hacker conferences, Black Hat and Defcon, taking over the town. The events unearthed lots of cyber gossip, but it was the …
Terrorists have again struck in Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populated province. The attack confirmed that this resource-rich province remains Pakistan’s weakest security link against militants and separatists. And what’s more, it could threaten China’s …
In 2003, Coalition forces decisively destroyed the Iraqi Army and toppled Saddam Hussein. The military mission had been accomplished, but what was left? While the decisive phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) was relatively well …
US defence secretary Ashton Carter told the world at this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue that ‘the US–Australia alliance is more and more a global one. As our two nations work together to uphold the freedom of navigation and …
Sea State Defence contractor Raytheon has won a US$523 million (AU$687 million) contract to provide the US Navy with 47 Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block 1B interceptors. The missiles form the backbone of the US Navy’s …
Myanmar’s transition to fully-fledged democracy is going to be a slow one. While Aung San Suu Kyi’s popular with the international community, her NLD government has a lot on its plate. Regional and international investors …
Are modern-day frigates really cruisers, or is it just that the present-day needs of a frigate require the 6,000-plus tonnage of an old-fashioned cruiser? Alastair Cooper exchanged a polite broadside with ASPI’s Andrew Davies on …
A common refrain when discussing the future of airpower is that ‘the F-35 is the last manned fighter’ and the future belongs to unmanned systems. The expanding use of unmanned air systems (UAS) such as …
Over the next decade, the Australian Government is planning to acquire seven MQ-4C Triton unmanned maritime surveillance aircraft, which will operate alongside between eight and 12 manned P-8A Poseidons. Together, they’ll replace the RAAF’s 18 …