Al-Qaeda 3.0: turning to face the near enemy

After the deaths of Osama bin Laden and several other leaders in 2011 and 2012, followed by the rise of Islamic State, many considered al-Qaeda ‘a spent force’. But in an important brief, (with an …

Bannon in Lille

In 1965, Henry Kissinger wrote a book called The troubled partnership, in which he examined the tensions affecting the transatlantic alliance during the Cold War. A stable international order, he argued, demanded the leadership of …

The riddle of steel

In the 1982 movie Conan the Barbarian, Conan laments ‘Crom is strong! If I die, I have to go before him, and he will ask me, “What is the riddle of steel?” If I don’t …

Confident Kim

As international concern mounts about North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, recent events suggest a Pyongyang strongly interested in a new round of talks—or at least in talks with South Korea and the US, if …

Australia on the Human Rights Council

Australia will have to respond to a formal complaint at the United Nations that procedures followed by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) breached obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. …

A farewell to (writing about) arms

By my count this is my 285th contribution to The Strategist, and it’s my last in my time at ASPI. (But don’t breathe too big a sigh of relief—I intend to blight its virtual pages …

Trump, North Korea and Iran

President Donald Trump has stunned allies and adversaries alike by accepting North Korean President Kim Jong-un’s invitation to meet with him in May to discuss North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. The speed with which he …

Might Kim actually want to cut a deal?

For nearly 70 years, nothing has interrupted North Korea’s fierce and often savage belligerence towards the South and its superpower ally, the United States. Now President Donald Trump has spontaneously accepted an invitation to meet …

Digital in danger

The world’s digital heritage is in danger, with serious gaps in in its protection, particularly during times of war or conflict. The concept of destroying cultural assets isn’t new. Throughout history, warfare has damaged and …

ASEAN and Australia peer from the summit

Southeast Asia is where Australia’s geography collides with our future. And Southeast Asia acts as the threshold for what Australia faces in the Asian century. The ASEAN summit in Sydney was the first on Australian …

A new order for the Indo-Pacific

Security dynamics are changing rapidly in the Indo-Pacific. The region is home not only to the world’s fastest-growing economies, but also to the fastest-increasing military expenditures and naval capabilities, the fiercest competition over natural resources, …

The Strategist Six: Danilo Pamonag

Welcome to ‘The Strategist Six’, a feature providing a glimpse into the thinking of prominent academics, government officials, military officers, reporters and interesting individuals from around the world. 1. What are the lessons from the …