Hugh White’s How to defend Australia is an elegant book but also something of a party trick: engagingly clever but not realistic. It will be essential reading for every national security master’s degree by coursework …
The world China this week released its new defence white paper titled China’s national defense in the new era—see here for the English version. Australia is mentioned a grand total of once in the 51-page …
In the past decade, the concept of urban resilience has become integral to the development and design strategies of city planners and decision-makers around the world. As cities have grown larger, there’s been a concerted …
Recently I considered the differences between American and European understandings of technology in a strategic context. There’s a further wrinkle to be teased out concerning a specific group of Western nations: those that belong to …
The Hong Kong government has scrapped the extradition bill that’s been at the heart of mass public protests. The backdown on plans to allow criminal suspects to be turned over to Chinese courts might dissipate …
It’s a strange and poignant juxtaposition of anniversaries. On 24 July 1969 President Richard Nixon, just seven months into his presidency, was 1,500 kilometres southwest of Hawaii aboard USS Hornet to welcome the Apollo 11 …
The beat Crackdown on Calabrian mafia across the world Canadian and Italian police have simultaneously cracked down on mafiosi from the infamous Calabrian group ’Ndrangheta. In Canada, police arrested nine suspected members for a money-laundering …
The last five years have not been kind to the European Union’s foreign-policy prospects. A new great-power competition is shunting aside the international rules-based order, and aspects of globalisation—from trade to the internet—are being used …
Image: Maxar via Google. In June 2019, a report by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Rakhine State, Myanmar, was leaked to the media. In it, ASEAN outlines a process for the return of …
Indonesia’s defence minister, Ryamizard Ryacudu, was one of my first phone calls after becoming minister for defence—a call that made me feel incredibly positive and encouraged. Minister Ryamizard’s commitment to Indonesia and Australia’s strong relationship—and …
Corporations already protect their assets and functions. However, considering business capabilities as part of our national security capabilities isn’t normally a factor in corporate planning. In a new report released today, From board room to …
Of all the changes in US foreign policy that President Donald Trump’s administration has made, the most consequential is the adoption of a confrontational stance towards China. Replacing a decades-old policy of engagement, Trump’s approach …
Scott Morrison is now generating a clear foreign and defence policy direction for his time as prime minister and working closely with key cabinet ministers to achieve it. The emerging agenda seems to be as …
Last week, a new Thai government, which had been in the making since the 24 March election, swore an oath of allegiance to King Vajiralongkorn. The new government looks a lot like the old one. …
Sea state As tensions between the West and Iran escalate in the Strait of Hormuz, the Royal Navy has sent a nuclear submarine to the Persian Gulf. The deployment of the Astute-class submarine follows the …
In today’s world, access to global networks is a critical source of power, but the resulting interdependence can also generate vulnerability. The power flows from centrality: being a hub that connects all (or most) other …
Hugh White sees the US–Australia military alliance weakening, possibly disappearing, as China’s rise undermines US hegemony in East Asia and as US relative power wanes. ‘We will really be on our own’, he observes in …
In recent weeks a lively debate has swirled around Hugh White’s canvassing of a possible indigenous nuclear-weapon program in Australia’s future—or, more accurately, in that version of Australia’s future where the US presence in Asia …
In February 1937, the Gloster Gladiator biplane entered service with the Royal Air Force. It was already obsolescent; Hawker Hurricanes began operational service late that year. Gladiators were effective early in World War II, but …
Last month, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, unveiled an ambitious plan to strengthen the Palestinian economy, in the hopes that billions of dollars in investment will open the way for …