This week’s meeting of the European Council has rightly been called a ‘doomsday summit’. It is overshadowed not just by a ghastly winter wave of Covid-19 infections and the prospect of a chaotic no-deal Brexit, …
The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted almost all aspects of life, and elections have been no exception. Across the world, elections in 2020 were conducted under the shadow of the pandemic, providing a stress test not …
One of the more interesting numbers released by Defence this year was the size of its external workforce, which the department is now measuring through a biannual census. The total number is 28,632 full-time equivalent …
In Afghanistan, the milestones of Sheringul’s life have been marred by conflict. There are weddings and birthdays marking the passage of time—but also injuries, deaths and displacement against a backdrop of conflict spanning decades. Sheringul …
Planet A The International Union for Conservation of Nature, which advises the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, released a report last week finding that climate change is the biggest threat to natural world heritage sites. This …
The recently released Global Terrorism Index finds that deaths from terrorism around the world fell to 13,826 in 2019, a 15% decrease from the previous year and a five-year low. A total of 103 countries …
Regardless of the discipline, graduates entering the national security sphere are likely to have far more experience in evaluating policy on paper than in developing novel solutions under pressure. As failures or miscalculations in national …
On 30 November, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Zhao Lijian tweeted an artist’s interpretation of the war crime allegations made against Australian special forces soldiers. The image provoked a strong response from Australian Prime …
A military conflict in the South China Sea would force most shipping from Europe, the Middle East and Africa destined for Asia and the US west coast to be diverted around the south of Australia. …
Implementing gender-based responses to Covid-19 The United Nations Development Programme has released a guidance note for national parliaments outlining their responsibility to address the gendered impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. The document explains the problem …
Contributors to The Strategist’s ‘North of 26° south’ series have explored the continued importance of northern Australia to national security and defence strategy, propelling the argument for expanding air, naval and space bases in the …
With Australia’s relationship with China under great pressure, a project that challenges our strategic national interest has been quietly endorsed by the Papua New Guinea government, as reported by Aaron Smith in The Guardian last …
At the recent Australian e-commerce summit, Prime Minister Scott Morrison praised technology adoption as a means of driving economic returns. Australia doesn’t need to be a Silicon Valley, he said, it just needs to be …
Australia’s 2020 defence strategic update describes a regional environment that will be more challenging for Australia and warns that the nation must be better prepared for the prospect of high-intensity conflict. Central to this calculus …
Friends and allies have come to distrust the United States. Trust is closely related to truth, and President Donald Trump is notoriously loose with the truth. All presidents have lied, but never on such a …
Anaemia: Lacking enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to the body, making the patient tired and weak. Anaemia can be temporary or long term and can range from mild to severe. For …
Australia has a brilliant opportunity to shape US President-elect Joe Biden’s strategy for the Indo-Pacific in a way that will secure a major increase in American military power in the region. This will be a …
In this episode, ASPI’s Ariel Bogle speaks to Dr Kate Starbird, associate professor at the University of Washington and researcher at the Election Integrity Partnership. They discuss the growing challenges for social media companies in …
In this edition, we take a look at how the Chinese military is preparing for the future land combat environment. Unlike China’s relatively cogent thinking on future warfare in the air, maritime, cyber and space …
For decades, the economic development of ASEAN member states was hindered by persistent shortages in high-quality infrastructure. The issue wasn’t a lack of desire but a lack of access to equity and investment. Securing foreign …