The US is in its worst crisis since World War II. With more than 582,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19, it is the current global epicentre of the pandemic. More than 23,000 Americans have died from …
The world that emerges from the coronavirus pandemic may be a warring collection of countries that are more closed off and nationalistic than before. But without rapid and effective global cooperation, the world may not …
The Chinese Communist Party is notorious for obscuring how it runs the government of the People’s Republic of China. Its defence budget is particularly murky, earning a measly 1.5 (on a 12-point scale) from Transparency …
‘God and the people are the source of all power … I have taken it, and damn it, I will keep it forever’, declared Haiti’s François ‘Papa Doc’ Duvalier in 1963. And so he did, …
Southeast Asia is a wondrous experiment in comparative politics. Perhaps a galactic professor peers down, testing a spectrum of political systems, from the Malay Muslim monarchy of Brunei to the world’s largest Muslim democracy in …
The Strategist is taking a couple of days off from publishing duties over the Easter break. We wish you a safe and happy long weekend and hope you can make the most of it while …
In this episode, ASPI’s Genevieve Feely speaks to Susan Harris Rimmer of Griffith University about the Afghanistan peace process and why it’s so important that women are represented and their rights protected in the country. …
Lots of commentary—in fact, most—right now about America in the world is simplistic, binary and trapped in the moment. Not that the US isn’t in crisis right now. It is. Like the rest of us, …
There’s a war of narratives being fought between China and much of the rest of the world about how the Covid-19 pandemic began and who’s responsible. Beijing has embarked on a misinformation campaign to try …
The beat Cyber criminals target hospitals Interpol has issued a purple notice after seeing a significant increase in ransomware attacks against hospitals and other healthcare services during the Covid-19 pandemic. The ransomware has been spread …
As Covid-19 expands across the southern hemisphere, governments there have a lot to learn from Vietnam’s approach. Clear communication and government–citizen cooperation that leveraged technology are the main reasons why the country has had relatively …
In the viral outbreak of prognosticating about what the future beyond coronavirus should look like, there’s virtual unanimity about the need for countries to have supplies of essential items at the ready for crises. To …
Horror videos posted on social media last week of residents of the Ecuadorian coastal metropolis of Guayaquil abandoning corpses in the streets while vultures circled overhead underline the extreme vulnerability of emerging nations to the …
As the world contends with Covid-19, Indonesia and Australia have an opportunity to establish deeper ties and cooperation on matters of mutual concern. The secondary states of Asia—Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea—have become exemplars for …
Gender and the Covid-19 pandemic Amid the coronavirus outbreak, a number of commentators have stressed the need for gender analysis of the issue. Writing for The Atlantic, Helen Lewis discusses the ways in which a …
US President Donald Trump has labelled himself a wartime president, and many other leaders around the world are using similar language. It’s a description that raises an obvious question: what do the history and nature …
In Australia’s Covid-19 response, the importance of expertise in medicine, biology and epidemiology has been on display. The pandemic appears to be heralding a pivot back to evidence-based ‘fact’, away from opinion and ‘truthiness’. Universities …
Australians returning from overseas are being met with the uncommon sight of Australian Defence Force personnel at our airports. Even though Prime Minister Morrison has said that the ADF is there in support of the …
Sea state The commander of the coronavirus-hit aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, Brett Crozier, has been relieved of his post. Crozier wrote a letter to naval command asking for stronger measures to counter the outbreak …
Australia will inevitably be called on to play a leading role in the economic and fiscal rescue package Papua New Guinea desperately needs. The amount required to prevent PNG from becoming a failed state is …