The humanitarian crisis afflicting Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya has damaged the country’s political stability and shattered its image as a country moving towards democracy. Moreover, it has tarnished the reputation of the government’s de facto leader, …
Americans do one great favour to sitting presidents—they re-elect ’em. Landing the top job is extraordinarily tough. Doing it is nigh impossible. Getting re-elected is the oft-recurring gift. Dating the modern superpower presidency from Franklin …
The world Sunday’s mass shooting in Las Vegas inevitably spawned an overflow of opinion pieces and analysis profiling the gunman. Was he a terrorist? And what was the rationale behind Islamic State’s unusual claim of …
In his much-acclaimed 1970 book, Why men rebel, Ted R. Gurr postulated that political violence could be explained by looking at social psychological factors. Gurr’s theory about political activism, and specifically political violence, centred on …
The three great attacks by the British Second Army in Flanders—on the Menin Road on 20 September 1917, at Polygon Wood six days later, and at Broodseinde on 4 October—revived the Third Ypres offensive after …
The recent meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Theresa May in the Estonian capital of Tallinn was a portrait in contrasts. Merkel has pursued openness and internationalism, and leads a country …
I’ve seen a number of crazy media pieces arguing that Apple’s Face ID technology has privacy implications and will enable government mass surveillance. I disagree, and I think there’s a more sensible way to think …
The beat Myanmar embassy attack was ‘a warning’ Harakat Sawa’id Masr (Hasm), an Egyptian militant group that was banned by Egyptian authorities earlier this year, has claimed responsibility for Saturday’s bombing of the Myanmar embassy …
I’ve been asked a lot in the past couple of days about the significance of the ‘missile defence’ aspect of Prime Minister Turnbull’s announcement about the combat system for the future frigates. That’s not surprising, …
Space fans had a couple of big days last week at the International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide. The government’s announcement of an Australian space agency on the first day of the five-day conference was important …
The role of cyberspace in contemporary grand strategy is undeniable. US–Russian relations are now plagued by debates of online influence operations, while China is formulating plans to become a ‘cyber superpower’. As the strategic significance …
The idea that ‘Spain is different’ drove generations of romantic travelers across the Pyrenees to see for themselves, their imaginations stirred by visions of vibrant women and charming bandits. But Spain is no longer just …
The recently released national risk assessment on money-laundering and terrorism financing in Australia’s non-profit organisation (NPO) sector found that the risk of terrorism financing has fallen from high to medium, compared to the regional terrorism …
During Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Australia in March, Australia and China signed a ‘Declaration of Intent’ to accelerate a review of the provisions governing services trade and investment in the bilateral China–Australia free trade …
I was interested to see a new approach to submarine procurement pitched by Hugh White and Michael Keating last week. They got quite a bit of media coverage, as tends to be the case for …
Returns show a high percentage of Iraq’s estimated eight million Kurds turned out to vote in a referendum on independence for the Kurdistan Region and other areas of the country with a substantial Kurdish population. …
Sea state HMAS Adelaide has docked in Malaysia, where it will remain until 5 October, as part of the Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2017 Joint Task Group. The Adelaide left Jakarta on 26 September and headed to …
Navy Chief Tim Barrett has warned that Australia’s new surface warship and submarine force must be powerful enough to strike blows to deter a distant enemy from attacking Australia. In his address to ASPI’s annual …
An Australian in the United States is branded on the tongue. The moment you speak, the accent reveals all. They know you’re not from around here. In previous decades, the question was usually whether you …
It’s Labour Day here in Canberra, so The Strategist team is taking a short break. We’ll be back tomorrow with the usual program of analysis and commentary.