Neither Australia nor New Zealand wants to have to choose between the United States and China in the possible option that Hugh White has envisaged so starkly. But if push comes to shove, it can’t …
Ten Essentials are shaping Asia’s success and the chance of future conflict. The Essentials drive diplomacy and strategy and are at the core of what’s a new system. They fall under three main headings; great …
Recent commentary, including by Phil Radford here on The Strategist, has argued that Japan’s new Izumo (DDH22) ‘flat top destroyer’ is in fact the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s (MSDF) first, ‘mid-sized aircraft carrier’ since the Second …
Mixed defence news for India this week: the county’s first indigenously built nuclear-powered submarine was activated days before an incident in which the kilo-class submarine INS Sindhurakshak exploded. Eighteen Indian sailors are feared dead. The Economist …
Rod Lyon doesn’t like our proposal for a treaty to ban low-yield nuclear weapons. But his objections employ arguments at the strategic level (pardon the pun); not focusing on the provisions of the proposed treaty, …
The idea of strategic narratives is stirring again (and here). The idea was reinvigorated a few years back by Mr Y, a US Army Colonel and a USN Captain, who proposed a new American national …
But for the attention certain to be given to the issue of asylum seekers, it is unlikely that foreign policy will play much of a role in the forthcoming election campaign. That’s regrettable, as there …
As outlined by Tobias Feakin and Jessica Woodall’s post last week, ASPI recently launched its new international cyber policy centre in Sydney. An expert panel discussed many facets of Australian cyber policy. What wasn’t really …
A little while back, we identified a set of challenges that whichever incoming government and Defence Minister would have to grapple with. In the new ASPI paper Agenda for change: strategic choices for the next …
The Strategist has featured a number of items recently related to the Strategic Insights paper that Crispin Rovere and Kalman Robertson have written about the proposed next step in nuclear arms control. Broadly, the original …
Today, ASPI released James Manicom’s ‘Sources of Tension in the Asia–Pacific: Strategic Competition, Divided Regionalism and Non-Traditional Security Challenges’. It’s the first in a series of three papers commissioned for a project that ASPI has …
It’s hard to disagree with the threat assessment that Julian Cribb makes in his recent Strategist post ‘Food … or war?’. We’re witnessing an emerging food crisis that’ll become the dominant human narrative for the …
The Minister for Home Affairs released the Australian Crime Commission’s (ACC) latest update to its Organised Crime in Australia (PDF) series recently. This report is important and has implications for every Australian. The media needs to …
Malcolm Davis raises some important issues regarding our proposal for a treaty restricting low-yield nuclear weapons. We’re word limited on our response, so we strongly recommend the longer discussion paper for subject-matter experts as it …
Aircraft carriers have a habit of denying what they really are. In the 1970s, Britain’s new Invincible class carriers were officially christened ‘Through Deck Cruisers’, to reassure the nation’s bookkeepers that its Navy really had …
A provocative piece by American journalist Eddie Walsh is currently doing the rounds, making some bold claims about how Australians under 40 view the US–Australia alliance. Based on meetings with ‘dozens’ of Canberra diplomats, think …
Thirteen years on from the release of the 2000 defence white paper (D2000), we’re still waiting for some of the major ADF capabilities it announced to be realised. Given the time it takes to deliver …
Julia Gillard’s approach to foreign policy must be set beside that of Kevin Rudd. Indeed, Gillard’s place in history will be inextricably intertwined with Rudd on almost every level. The vote on September 7 will …
Soft power is back in vogue. The Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop, stressed in the debate with Bob Carr at the Lowy Institute on Tuesday night that Australia needs to focus more on …
T.X. Hammes has a new article in The National Interest, ‘Sorry, AirSea Battle Is No Strategy’ in which he argues that war with China won’t be won by deep strikes. Distant, defensive deterrence and blockades …