The Beat Drug usage in the sewage Curious about drugs in Australia? Test the sewage—at least that’s what the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission did, as it searched for drug byproducts. Initial results from the National …
The odds are high that the phrase ‘quantum supremacy’ will soon cross your desk. In mid-2016 Google engineers announced plans to achieve quantum supremacy in the near-term; the likely timescale is five years, possibly much …
Sixty years after the signing of the Treaty of Rome, France is poised to hold an election that could make or break the European Union. A victory for the pro-EU independent centrist Emmanuel Macron could …
South Asia in 2016 presented a mixed picture for counterterrorism. Excluding those in Afghanistan, fatalities from terrorist violence among all categories of victim—members of the public, security forces and, indeed, terrorists—are at their lowest levels …
Australia has long pursued nuanced foreign policy approaches to both nuclear non-proliferation and its bilateral relationship with Iran, and has clearly benefitted from full diplomatic relations and a favourable trade relationship with Tehran. We rightfully …
A second instalment of Wikileaks’ CIA series ‘Vault 7’ came out this week, following the first leak earlier this month. This new tranche, comprising 12 documents and codenamed ‘Dark Matter’, purports to outline how the …
On 22 March 2017 a disturbing terror attack occurred around the UK Parliament in London. It was a day the country had been anticipating for some time. More than 13 separate plots against the UK …
This article is part of a series on ‘Women, Peace and Security’ that The Strategist is publishing in recognition of International Women’s Day 2017. Julie Bishop’s new aid policy framework which seeks to include countering violent extremism …
The time has come for Australia and Japan to make an ambitious step-change in our cooperation. We have the potential to act as a centre of strategic and democratic stability in the Asia-Pacific. The region …
Finding a solution to North Korea’s accelerating nuclear and missile programs grows more urgent by the day. Our previous strategies—delay and denial—will no longer avail us. But the three standard options—diplomacy, sanctions or use of …
Sea State The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force’s second Izumo-class helicopter carrier, the Kaga, entered service last week. The warship is expected to embark Mitsubishi-Sikorsky SH-60K Seahawk anti-submarine warfare helicopters and AgustaWestland/Kawasaki MCH-101 aircraft for mine-countermeasures. …
The Islamic State-inspired attacks in Jakarta on 14 January 2016, the 9 April 2016 attack on Philippine security forces in the southern island of Basilan conducted by groups claiming allegiance to IS, and a spate …
The Australia–China–US triangular relationship is becoming ever more important as Chinese power and influence continue to rise, as America’s Asia policy enters a highly uncertain and even capricious phase under President Donald Trump, and as …
Indonesia’s 2016 was bookended by two significant terrorist events. The first was the 14 January bombing and shooting attack by four people near the Sarinah department store in the centre of Jakarta , which killed …
Donald Trump’s foreign policy focus on ISIS was one of his recipes for winning the US presidential election. Even political affairs pundits whose expertise doesn’t extend to counterterrorism found a soft spot for his tough …
This article is part of a series on ‘Women, Peace and Security’ that The Strategist is publishing in recognition of International Women’s Day 2017. In the Security Council debate around Resolution 2242 in 2015—which marked 15 years …
Nuclear nonproliferation news is usually bad news. But sometimes there’s good news, and even clear wins. If you’re looking for such a case in the recent past, you need to look no further than Myanmar, …
The descriptor ‘Asia’ attempts to identify so much that it delivers sparse meaning. So making a series of big bets on Asia will help define the many tasks and pressures confronting the Foreign Policy White …
There’s been a heft of useful reads in the last week about new US Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, born of curiosity about the man, the outcomes his recent jaunt to Asia, and judgements …
The Turnbull government has ramped up its push to train the specialised workforce needed to build $95 billion worth of warships in Australia over the next three decades and hinted that Australia will have a …