Australia gropes and stutters towards a renewed embrace of international broadcasting—the vital need to ‘speak for ourselves’ in the Asia–Pacific. The latest lurch towards fresh understanding is the silent release of the review of Australia’s …
The Chinese folk saying ‘lift a rock only to drop it on one’s own feet’, or its English equivalent, ‘to shoot oneself in the foot’, perfectly describes the self-defeating inclinations of dictatorship. And nothing exemplifies …
I’ve just returned from the frontline of Australia’s soft power engagement in Asia. The New Colombo Plan that provided this opportunity is funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and is a key …
There is a growing debate, domestically and internationally, about the nature of future conflict. Recently Australian Defence Force chief Angus Campbell drew attention to political warfare as a key element of a changing threat paradigm. …
Power is the ability to impose one’s will without aid from or hindrance by others. It can be exercised by individuals (including individual states) or in combination with others (through alliances, for example). Power can …




