Just as the world was heading towards a post-Covid-19 phase, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has provided another major disruption of international relations. While the West was quick to impose economic sanctions, their long-term implications and …
Several reports in the past few months have sounded the alarm about growing income and wealth inequality in India. The statistics cited are not wrong, but they are incomplete. And they have produced sensational, but …
Australia is involved in complex negotiations to ensure that its plan to acquire eight nuclear-powered submarines doesn’t weaken the international non-proliferation regime. The chief of the Royal Australian Navy’s nuclear-powered submarine taskforce, Vice Admiral Jonathan …
Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has embarked on what he calls ‘a new era in foreign policy’. He has lately made strenuous efforts to mend relations with a few Middle Eastern countries with which he …
The Australian government recently donated $40 million to assist with alleviating the food security and economic crises unfolding in Afghanistan, while reiterating its condemnation of the Taliban’s repression and exclusion of women and girls from …
The war in Ukraine has generated an economic tidal wave which is crashing over countries near and far. Among the more far-flung is Sri Lanka, half a world away from the battlefield, where surging food …
Australia’s polity grapples with the need to remake and rebuild our media voice in the South Pacific. One of the missing bits of our Pacific step-up is the lack of much vision—or understanding—of Australia’s role …
Australian-based financial institutions have almost doubled their use of Chinese funding over the past three years to $46.7 billion, with Chinese investors liking the returns on offer despite the deep-freeze in bilateral trade and diplomatic …
Planet A Climate security must become a higher priority for Australia in the region, says former Australian Defence Force chief and current executive member of the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group Chris Barrie. Barrie recommends …
The Ukraine crisis shows that the European Union has a problem with power. While its hard-power deficit has recently moved to the centre of attention, its philosophical and political shortcomings are an even bigger concern. …
The strategic importance of northern Australia within the broader defence and national security framework has been well articulated and widely acknowledged. Related to this is the significant role critical national infrastructure plays in supporting defence …
In this afternoon’s defence debate at the National Press Club, much of the Labor–Liberal consensus was as firm as ever: more money for the military, build nuclear submarines, worry about China. Both sides concur on …
The timing of China’s announcement that it had sealed its controversial security agreement with Solomon Islands is significant, but not for the reason claimed by Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews. Beijing was more concerned that …
A key challenge for the defence budget is inflation, which eats into not just the average Aussie family’s buying power, but also the government’s. The higher the rate of inflation, the more the defence budget …
Throughout the Cold War, ‘non-aligned in peace, neutral in wartime’ was not only Sweden’s security doctrine, but also helped shape the national identity and self-understanding of the Swedes. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may soon …
The Taliban’s recent ban on opium cultivation in Afghanistan, a repeat of previous attempts under Taliban rule up to 2001, shows how large-scale illicit drug economies are a fierce vector for organised crime and terrorism. …
It’s been more than 75 years since nuclear bombs were detonated over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, bringing World War II to an end with Japan’s unconditional surrender. Since then, …
The early days in any great undertaking can be chaotic. The AUKUS partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States was announced last September, and it may be a little premature to worry …
As Russian missiles pound Ukrainian cities, and as Ukrainians fight to defend their country, some avowed realists might say, ‘So much for soft power’. But such a response betrays a shallow analysis. Power is the …
Confusion reigns in discussions about the cost of the Department of Defence’s equipment projects. Whether we’re talking about media articles, parliamentary committee hearings, letters to the editor, duelling internet commentators or any other forms of …