‘Between the idea And the reality Between the motion And the act Falls the Shadow’ — T.S. Eliot, ‘The Hollow Men’ T.S. Eliot offers a raging lament at what the 1919 Treaty of Versailles did …
Articles by: "Graeme Dobell"
‘Indo-Pacific’ has shifted from a geographic construct to an arena for mounting contest—and the label for a US strategy. The journey from construct to competition has been short and sharp. At the start of this …
The term ‘Indo-Pacific’ reflects and frames surging strategic rivalry in the place we call ‘the region’. The Indo-Pacific becomes a controversial label attached to a power contest. As with any construct—political, social, diplomatic, strategic—it’s about …
Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got Till it’s gone — Joni Mitchell, ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ The international system is having a Big Yellow Taxi moment, as so elegantly …
Yes to a rules-based system in the Indo-Pacific. But who rules, who writes the rules, and how fares the system? And yes to the reality of a rapidly evolving security order in the Asia–Pacific. But …
The South Pacific calls global warming its top security threat. And China’s arrival is warming discussion of island security. Both trends explain why, for the first time in its 18-year history, Singapore’s Shangri-La Dialogue had …
The Shangri-La Dialogue is speed dating for defence ministers. Singapore has just hosted the 18th annual version of this defence dance done with summit trappings. The 22 ministers were a sizeable grouping of stars. Then …
The defence supremos of the US and China had a face-off in Singapore at the weekend. Both sides came for a compare-and-contrast contest conducted as a rhetorical rumble. The two biggest players in the game …
Elections are debates in quest of power. But Australia is poorly served by the lack of a formal debate structure during federal elections. The campaign, just done and dusted, was sad proof—yet again—that Australia’s major …
In Australia’s presidential-style election, the sitting president has amazed the nation—and himself—by winning. Scott Morrison expressed his own surprise at the start of his victory speech: ‘I have always believed in miracles … and tonight …
Election campaigns involve loud argument and quiet consensus—and then there are the silences. Silences point to hard stuff just offstage: no-go, too dangerous. For political parties, breaking the silence introduces complexity that tends towards tangled …
Australia’s new South Pacific policy is set in place, no matter which side wins the election on 18 May. Labor and the Coalition entered the election with a unity ticket on Papua New Guinea, the …