Why has Russia’s President Vladimir Putin become so aggressive in his attitude to the US, NATO and Ukraine? In this article, I begin by examining the disintegration of the former Soviet Union and how it …
Articles by: "Paul Dibb"
This month marks 30 years since the USSR collapsed voluntarily. It’s rare in world history that such a militarily powerful empire disappears without going to war. The Soviet Union had 12,000 strategic nuclear warheads, 260 …
At his speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday and in an article in the Australian Financial Review in September, former prime minister Paul Keating gave the strong impression of being a sleepwalker who …
It’s taken many decades for Australia to come to terms with American expectations that we should be able to defend ourselves, short of nuclear war or a conventional attack by a major power. Those expectations …
In the face of an increasing torrent of abuse from Beijing, Canberra should seek a much clearer commitment from Washington that its United States ally will retaliate if China launches a missile attack against Australia. …
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a landmark speech on 23 July titled ‘Communist China and the free world’s future’ in which he made it plain that China was now America’s main national security …
Since the announcement last week by Prime Minister Scott Morrison of a radical shift in Australia’s defence policy, the question arises whether this marks a return to the defence of Australia doctrine that became official …
Russia has published an official executive order (ukaz) titled ‘Basic principles of state policy of the Russian Federation on nuclear deterrence’. It entered into force on 2 June when it was signed by President Vladimir …
The coronavirus pandemic will affect the power of countries in different ways. The biggest impact will be reductions in the economic, and therefore military, strength and relative power of competing major states. The American historian …
Two important military developments recently should give China pause for thought. The first one is the announcement by Prime Minister Scott Morrison of a $1.1 billion upgrade to the Royal Australian Air Force base at …
We are in an era when the risks of major-power conflict are growing. The most likely contenders are commonly seen to be China, the rising power, and the US, the formerly dominant power that’s now …
Australia’s international security outlook is starting to look very unpredictable and potentially threatening. Our defence planners must now deal with a world which is markedly different from any they’ve known before. The United States is …