In 1980 US President Jimmy Carter established the Carter Doctrine, asserting the right of the United States to protect strategic interests in the Middle East. The doctrine reflected the reality that oil sustained the US …
In 2017, a US Department of Defense study of the future operating environment described artificial intelligence (AI) as the most disruptive technology of our time. In this environment, says the report: big data techniques interrogate …
One of the key elements of the government’s strategy for national defence is an ambitious recapitalisation of the Australian Defence Force. The 2016 Defence White Paper and its supporting Defence Integrated Investment Program (IIP) announced …
The beat Modern slavery A UK anti-slavery helpline identified nearly 5,000 potential victims in its first year of operation. The helpline received 3,710 calls from both the public and victims, and referred 1,450 cases to the police and …
This is the fourth in our series ‘Australia in Space’ leading up to ASPI’s Building Australia’s Strategy for Space conference in June. Australia, and the world, is experiencing one of the most exciting revolutions of our time. …
Competition between Australian states is nothing new, but the claims about the Land 400 program by Victoria and Queensland in the past few months have taken it to a new level and highlight a disturbing …
We’ve all experienced the pain of data loss. Whether a work report, university assignment or family photos—everyone knows that nauseating realisation that hours, days or even years of work have disappeared in the blink of …
Throughout 2017, peace and security across North Africa were threatened by Salafi-jihadi terrorism, armed conflict, poor governance and porous borders. Nations across the Maghreb continued to pursue independent counterterrorism (CT) efforts, without much development of …
Given calls to promote General Sir John Monash posthumously to field marshal, and with the Sir John Monash Centre at Villers-Bretonneux to be opened on Anzac Day, we need to ensure that his substantial achievements …
Imagine the scene: you run a large multinational company and you’ve just had US$300 million stolen from your bank account. A few months down the track the government steps in and, to much fanfare, names the …
China has become the most formidable challenge to Asia’s regional order, and to Australia’s stake in that order, since the days of Japanese imperialism. It’s not just its growing economic and military power but increasingly …
Australia is in the midst of a much-needed cyber resuscitation. Over the past two years Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, a small group of overworked public servants, proactive industry supporters and key civil society actors have …
The demonstrations along the Israel–Gaza border dubbed the ‘Great March of Return’ are a calculated and desperate propaganda move, largely organised and funded by Hamas alongside other terrorist organisations. Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since …
Sea state Spain and Saudi Arabia have finalised a €2 billion deal to supply five Avante 2200 corvettes to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces. Constructed by Spanish shipbuilder Navantia, the Avante 2200 corvettes are based …
Climate change undoubtedly poses a potent—even existential—threat to the planet. But the current approach to mitigating it, which reflects a single-minded focus on cutting carbon dioxide emissions, may end up doing serious harm, as it …
Malcolm Turnbull’s travel to the UK, Germany, France and Belgium next week reinforces the higher priority that his government has put on relations with key European countries. A major focus of Turnbull’s visit will be …
The government has made two big decisions by appointing Angus Campbell as the next Chief of the Australian Defence Force (CDF) and David Johnston as vice chief. In the case of Angus Campbell, ministers have …
Last Saturday US, British and French forces bombed three chemical weapons facilities in Damascus in retaliation for the alleged use of chemical weapons by Syrian forces in Douma on 6–8 April that killed around 70 people. Others …
Having identified the key concepts behind estimating the economic impact of defence industry and the capital equipment projects that support it, I want to illustrate how those concepts play out in practice, with a focus …
Australia’s reaction to the idea of a China getting ‘a full military base’ in Vanuatu ranged from aghast to agog. Coming amid what’s already a big chill in Canberra–Beijing relations, the base brouhaha is a …