Just two years after the last one was published, Malaysia has launched a new foreign policy framework, aptly titled ‘Focus in continuity: a framework for Malaysia’s foreign policy in a post-pandemic world’. With the challenges …
As reports pile up about Russia’s military mobilisation on Ukraine’s border and the Kremlin’s diplomatic demands, questions abound. What is going on? What will come next? Will Russia invade? In fact, Russian President Vladimir Putin …
By a range of measures, democracy is under pressure around the globe. Not only is democracy failing to make inroads in states long dominated by authoritarian regimes, but it is in retreat in some places …
In August last year, Olaf Scholz—then Germany’s finance minister and now its chancellor—attempted to persuade the Trump administration to drop its proposed sanctions on the companies building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia …
As great-power competition intensifies, the role of deterrence and the potential for escalation have taken on renewed importance in the security calculations of Australia and other US allies. How to manage deterrence and escalation is …
Australia has a new opportunity to contribute to countering Chinese long-range missile threats by establishing a sovereign space-based early warning and tracking capability. A first step would be to invest in new types of sensors …
On 18 December, Taiwanese voters went to the polls to vote on four referendum questions. Referendums have sometimes been a contentious aspect of Taiwan’s democratic system. Their provision is in the Republic of China constitution, …
As the year draws to a close, the Persian Gulf region as a critical component of the wider Middle East remains in the throes of certain shifts towards relative stability and potential conflict. Relations between …
A week before Red roulette was due to be published, in September 2021, its author Desmond Shum received two phone calls from his ex-wife Whitney Duan, who had been detained by Chinese authorities and hadn’t …
It’s great news that negotiations between Moderna and the federal and Victorian governments have resulted in Australia establishing a national facility to produce mRNA vaccines and medicines. Oddly, there are some parallels between this project …
ASPI celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. This series looks at ASPI’s work since its creation in August 2001. Dealing with China and the United States is a two-horse challenge. One of the great Oz …
Australia’s freshly drafted free-trade agreement with the United Kingdom is an example of what can be done when two countries decide to put some priority and effort into cooperation. Good results flow. What a shame …
Russia’s military build-up along the country’s border with Ukraine has seen tensions rise between the two countries, leading the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom to warn Moscow against invasion. The Strategist’s …
New Caledonia’s third independence referendum under the 1998 Noumea Accord was held on 12 December as planned by France, over the opposition of the indigenous-based independence parties. Those parties had called for non-participation if the vote proceeded …
In 1977, Israel’s deputy prime minister, Yigael Yadin, asked Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat, who was on his historic trip to Jerusalem, why the Egyptian army had not proceeded to the Sinai passes during the 1973 …
The end of 2021 may prove to be an important milestone in the evolution of strategic relations between Russia and India. On 6 December, Russian President Vladimir Putin flew into New Delhi on a one-day …
The Department of Defence has exceeded its targets for contracts awarded to Indigenous Australian businesses by 600% in the latest data release on the government’s Indigenous procurement policy. Although this represents a doubling of contract …
Boeing didn’t mention it, but Christopher Pyne did: the company’s Airpower Teaming System could be armed. Australia’s then defence minister, speaking at the unveiling of the ATS in February 2019, omitted details of kinetic missions …
President Joe Biden has nominated Caroline Kennedy as the new US ambassador to Australia. Her time as ambassador to Japan from 2013 to 2017 gives us insights into how she will approach the role here …
At last month’s COP26 climate summit, Vietnam made its own pledge to cut emissions and reach net zero by 2050. The COP events are not new for the country; it signed the Kyoto Protocol in …