During a speech at the National Press Club in August, the political leader of the Tibetan diaspora, Lobsang Sangay, speculated that China may use the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to seize territory in the …
Traditionally, the realm of intelligence-gathering and espionage has been associated with men. Perhaps we can thank Ian Fleming’s characterisation of James Bond for that. However, the recently released review of administration and expenditure (2015–16) by …
When Indonesia declared independence from Dutch rule in 1945, the country’s founder, Sukarno, called on his people to build a nation that would ‘stand in strength’, eternally united. That mantra—unity and strength—helped shape the country’s …
Strange things happen in that dynamic space where politics and policy meet in Canberra. Part of the discipline is for all players to keep a straight face. No matter the impact of the strangeness, no …
The concept of a balance of power has lost its appeal to many scholars and practitioners of international relations. But in my view it still matters. I take comfort that the late Lee Kwan Yew, …
Kicking off with the thematic side of things this week, different facets of identity politics are stirred up in two pieces about President Trump. First, The Economist warns that Trump’s divisive ‘us versus them’ rhetoric …
Those who indulge in the phoney debate about the need for an independent Australian foreign policy should pay more attention to the history of Australia’s Asia policy. There’s nothing derivative about Australia’s approach to Asia. …
It has been more than six years since the start of the Arab Spring, and life for most Arabs is worse than it was in 2011. Unemployment is rife in the Middle East and North …
The war against the Islamic State terror group, or Daesh, in Iraq and Syria has demonstrated the importance of Australia’s soldiers, sailors and airmen working as a closely integrated joint force, says RAAF chief Leo …
The 10-week-long standoff between Chinese and Indian forces in the Doklam region of the Himalayas was peacefully resolved on 28 August. This is a victory for diplomacy on both sides. The temptation to score points …
The beat Ending a dream President Trump has declared that he’ll end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which was established under an executive order signed by President Obama in 2012. It allows …
Diplomatic missions routinely use social media, especially Facebook, as a platform for public diplomacy and consular support. Their main target audiences are local people. Among the 22 Facebook pages managed by Australian diplomatic missions (embassies, …
The United States has never had a president like Donald Trump. With a narcissistic personality and a short attention span, and lacking experience in world affairs, he tends to project slogans rather than strategy in …
After Brexit, the EU member states made a commitment to unity in their Rome Declaration of March 2017. They also indicated the possibility of creating a ‘two-speed’ or ‘multi-speed’ Europe, with members cooperating in areas …
This year has seen many 75th anniversaries of battles and campaigns from the darkest hours of 1942, with the Battle of the Coral Sea (4 to 8 May) prominent. But in all these commemorative activities …
Articles discussing pre-emptive strikes on North Korea are now everywhere. Based on a small number of in-depth analytical studies, they detail military challenges, human costs and likely outcomes. While those articles prepare us for the …
Sea state The Pentagon will soon begin executing scheduled freedom-of-navigation operations in the South China Sea. It’s a shift in policy from that of the previous administration, under which FONOPs were conducted on an ad …
Last month, Kate Grayson provided us with a good descriptive analysis of the problems faced by public sector agencies that rely on the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency (AGSVA) to process applications for Top Secret …
In 2016, the Indonesian government released a white paper outlining the parameters for a future ‘global maritime fulcrum’ (GMF) strategy. The document reflects the significance of the littoral environment to the country’s national psyche and …
North Korea’s sixth nuclear test is easily its most impressive. The fifth—in September last year—involved the detonation of a device similar in yield to the bomb the Americans dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. The latest …