Let’s not speak of them when accountability or lack of it is everywhere else, but where the Westminster system suggests it should be! The First Principles Review (FPR) is another review which heralds ‘transformational change’ …
It’s good to see that the ‘Option J’ paper Ben Schreer and I wrote is generating responses. Hugh White and Sam Bateman raise concerns about a closer relationship with Japan: both of them argue that …
This week’s Sea State looks at some of the key ideas that emerged from ASPI’s Future Surface Fleet conference, held last week in Canberra. The two-day event brought together a high-powered line-up of local and …
Flight Path Two US Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornets made an emergency landing at Tainan Air Force Base, Taiwan, on 1 April after the pilots reported a mechanical issue. The landing was dismissed as precautionary, but …
Lee Kuan Yew thought he had every right to lecture Australia. After all, he said, Australians were always lecturing Asia. And when LKY gave voice, quite a few amongst the great and good of Oz …
Andrew Davies and Benjamin Schreer argue in their recent ASPI report on Australia’s submarine choice that there is a stronger strategic case for acquiring Japanese submarines than European ones (Option J). But the opposite could …
Kicking off April, President Obama continued his efforts to secure cyberspace by Executive Order. Following up on the slew of proposals set out in the lead up to January’s State of the Union Address, the …
It’s a very interesting time to be rethinking national defence policy and strategy in the Indo-Asia-Pacific, particularly as we see tensions in the South China Sea so close to the sea lanes upon which our …
Last week I described the ‘new’ contestability mechanisms designed into the First Principles Review revamp of the Defence capability process. I observed that the new contestability mechanism closely resembles the old Force Development and Analysis …
One of the advantages of modern technology is that it offers good access to distant conferences. Internet users already have access, for example, to a mixture of transcripts, audio files and videos from the Carnegie …
In their paper supporting Option J, Andrew Davies and Benjamin Schreer don’t just rebut some of the strategic arguments raised against it, but also provide their own argument on strategic grounds in its favour. Their …
Pinning down great quotes can be an experience as ephemeral and exasperating as hunting the snark. Lee Kuan Yew’s warning that Australia could become ‘the white trash of Asia’ has snark-like qualities. Yet having tracked …
The Strategist team is taking a break over the Easter long weekend until next Tuesday. Until then, put your feet up and enjoy this week’s blog posts including commentary and analysis from our international conference Future …
If you’re looking to get your defence and national security fix over the Easter long weekend, look no further! Long-read, world leader profiles are becoming a tradition for Suggests: the latest is a The New Yorker piece …
For Defence Minister Kevin Andrews, David Peever’s is the review to end all reviews. According to the Minister, The First Principles Review delivers a corporate structure that will enable the defence organisation to deliver on …
This week in Counterterrorism Scan, we’ll cover Australian deradicalisation programs, lessons learnt from 9/11, Malaysia’s CT bills, magazines of Islamic States, Britain’s terrorism problem, radicalised children, media coverage and violence in Nigeria. At home, Sarah …
In early 2010, Sheikh ‘Abd Al-Majid Al-Zindani, then a US government-designated terrorist by virtue of his support for al-Qaeda, convened a meeting of Yemeni activists to urge national defence against foreign intervention. At the meeting …
This week on The Beat, indigenous communities, piracy, remittance services closing, sport, calls for a greater transnational focus on organised crime and a former PM gets a rude shock on social media. Organised crime targeting …
By my count, the title page for the first chapter of the new First Principles Review (FPR) of the Department of Defence lists 48 previous reviews dating back to the Tange Review of 1973. You …
The second day of ASPI’s Future Surface Fleet conference has so far produced some forthright observations about the state of Australia’s naval shipbuilding industry, including the troubled AWD project. The conference’s final day coincides with …