In this episode, ASPI’s Bec Shrimpton speaks to Chris Maier from the US Department of Defense about the origin of special operations forces, the role they play in integrated deterrence and their ability to work …
Former defence minister David Johnston attended the funerals of 26 of the 41 Australians killed on operations in Afghanistan, and he saw at close hand their families’ grief. ‘Then you understand that the application of …
Some military coups purport to represent the vanguard of modernisation and change. Others, such as Chile’s in 1973 and Spain’s failed attempt in 1981, are fuelled by nostalgia for past dictatorships. The majority of coups …
As the energy transition gathers momentum across the globe, sources of electricity are decarbonising, fossil fuels are slowly being superseded by renewable supplies, and more policies are being introduced to increase energy diversification and efficiency. …
Planet A Nearly 40 heads of state and government along with ministers and high-level representatives gathered in Paris last week to discuss climate finance reform. While there was ‘complete consensus’ on making the financial system …
The Arab world ‘has too much history and not enough geography’. Savour that vivid phrase as the essence of Bob Bowker’s fine memoir of life as an Australian entranced by a Middle East that is …
In a brutal blow to Australia’s space sector, future economy, industrial base and international reputation, the Australian government has axed the National Space Mission for Earth Observation (NSMEO), doubling down on the recent cancelling of …
Australia is planning to acquire a remarkable variety of strike missiles—weapons designed to hit distant surface targets. They will differ in capabilities and will variously be carried by aircraft, ships and trucks. Despite the differences, …
Facing the threat of state-sponsored cyberattack groups, the financial motivations of organised cybercrime gangs and the reckless ambitions of loosely knit hacktivist collectives, Australian organisations are fighting a cybersecurity battle on multiple fronts. While an …
Independent reviews of Australia’s intelligence community are undertaken every five to seven years—a schedule set by 2004’s post–Iraq war Flood report, which replaced reactive post-mortems with proactive check-ups. July will mark six years since the …
Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s weekend rebellion has shone a harsh spotlight on the apparently fragile state of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime. While Prigozhin soon agreed to stand down and ordered his mercenary army …
The progressive, youth-focused Move Forward party won the most seats of any party in the recent national elections in Thailand and formed a pro-democratic coalition that is seeking to achieve a majority in the parliament …
Southeast Asia’s energy transition is coming to life as the development of green technologies accelerates across the region. Securing critical minerals will be crucial to this process, and Australia should work with Southeast Asia to …
The world leaders who gathered in Paris last week for the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact have vowed to mobilise resources to support developing countries grappling with debt crises and to empower them …
As the world was distracted by an episode of Russian drama complete with the betrayal of a once-loyal servant, armed mutiny and panic at the court of a tsar, Ukraine was being shelled. On the …
America’s record as an ambivalent and erratic liberal hegemon has deep roots, as analysed by Robert Kagan in The ghost at the feast: America and the collapse of world order, 1900–1941. The book, published in …
One of the highlights in Japan’s three national security documents released on 16 December 2022—the national security strategy, the national defence strategy and the defence build-up plan—is the commitment to increase defence spending. The defence …
Danish physicist Nils Bohr once said, ‘Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.’ The insurrection launched by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin on Saturday lasted a little over 24 hours. But the serious …
Almost 82 years to the day since Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union began what Russia calls the ‘Great Patriotic War’, a more modest invasion, orchestrated by one of Vladimir Putin’s close associates, claimed ‘patriotism’ …
Last week, Indian Prime Minister Modi and US President Joe Biden declared that the partnership between their countries ‘spans the seas to the stars’. Indeed, Modi’s state visit to Washington yielded initiatives in an extraordinarily …