At a time when the world is struggling to cope with high inflation, the rising cost of living, and the impacts of the Ukraine war and now the Israel–Hamas conflict, a 30–40% jump in the …
The unclassified version of Australia’s defence strategic review only mentions peacekeeping directly twice. It refers to Australia’s ‘enviable international reputation as a capable country in military, peacekeeping, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations’ and …
Thinking and learning about artificial intelligence are the mental equivalent of a fission chain reaction. The questions get really big, really quickly. The most familiar concerns revolve around short-term impacts: the opportunities for economic productivity, …
As the world comes to grips with the death toll from the multi-pronged assault by Hamas on southern Israel and tries to understand how Israel’s security agencies were blindsided and its military not appropriately postured …
Sooner or later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s destructive political magic, which has kept him in power for 15 years, was bound to usher in a major tragedy. A year ago, he formed the most …
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will soon head to Washington DC for his first bilateral visit. He’ll arrive into a feverish political climate ahead of next year’s presidential election. As that approaches, Australia and other democracies …
It has been 56 years since the last person was executed in Australia and almost 40 years since the last death sentence was given by an Australian court. The death penalty has been abolished in …
Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on 7 October marks a decisive moment in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and will be a crucial test of Australian statecraft. As a respected regional power with significant interests in the …
The government has commissioned an audit of the Defence estate to look at whether it ‘reflects contemporary needs in light of the decision to prioritise investment in Australia’s northern network of bases, ports and barracks’. …
To compete strategically with the United States and undermine President Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific policy, China has quietly been advancing its stealthy divide-and-conquer foreign policy agenda on four different but connected frontiers. The core of Beijing’s …
Christopher Pyne remembers well his dismay at the closure of the car industry in South Australia and his fear that it would have a serious impact on the nation’s skills base. ‘I thought to myself, …
Rarely have two major democracies descended into as ugly a diplomatic spat as the one now unfolding between Canada and India. With the traditionally friendly relationship already at its lowest point ever, both sides are …
Planet A The first phase of the European Union’s carbon border tax, known as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism or CBAM, commenced on 1 October. EU trading partners are now required to report greenhouse-gas emissions …
Civil defence has been crucial to Ukraine’s survival since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russian aggressors in Ukraine have already killed, injured, raped and robbed hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, displaced …
The emergence of the Indo-Pacific concept shows the cardinal role oceans play in shaping international politics. While synergies are created by the notional confluence of the Indian and the Pacific Oceans, these waters contain some …
The world is again a dangerous place. A very real war is underway in Europe, while in the Indo-Pacific China is undertaking a rapid arms build-up, the political leadership in Beijing is making bellicose statements …
If a Chinese tech firm wants to venture into generative artificial intelligence it is bound to face significant hurdles arising from stringent government control, at least according to popular perceptions. China was, after all, among …
Geopolitics in the Pacific islands has become increasingly crowded and complex. With China’s growing economic and strategic influence, shifts in the regional order have seen a power struggle emerge between may of the region’s democracies …
The re-emergence of great-power competition and a deteriorating strategic environment are forcing the US Army to rethink not just its approach to land warfare but also its future role alongside the US Marine Corps in …
Western efforts to choke Russia’s oil profits are failing as production cuts agreed with Saudi Arabia push the market price towards US$100 a barrel and Russia’s biggest customers—China and India—start paying close to full market …