At first glance, the ASPI and CIGI push for Australia to help Canada engage our region to advance its economic interests doesn’t make much sense. Canada is doing nicely already—like in China for example (PDF)—and …
It’s Family & Community Day here in Canberra so we’re off enjoying Floriade! We’ll be back tomorrow with our usual considered analysis, stats and graphs for your reading pleasure. The Strategist team Image courtesy of Flickr user Brenden …
US Secretary of State John Kerry finds it hard to focus on Asia, writes Robert Kaplan. John Kerry has made his choice. Chaos in the Middle East is more important to him than historic power …
The African continent is a key battleground in the global Islamist jihad. The horrific terrorist attacks in Kenya this week perpetrated by al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab tragically highlight this fact. In the interests of Australia’s long-term …
Back in August, ASPI’s Tanya Olgivie-White commented on James Manicom’s analysis on Canada’s engagement in the Asia-Pacific. This was the first in a three-part collaborative effort on Australia–Canada security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific undertaken between …
Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s visit to Indonesia, starting on 30 September, will set the tone for the bilateral relationship, at least for the first term of the Coalition Government. The stakes are high: Mr Abbott …
After last week’s post on Lanchester equations and the applications of mathematics to warfare, I was asked several questions by interested readers. Is there a version of this analysis for counter-insurgency (COIN)? How useful are …
Myanmar looks like it’s set to continue following the international ‘rules of the road’, as it has just signed the Additional Protocol to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements, the implications of …
In the first week of October, the 2013 Pacific Maritime Congress and Exposition will be held in Sydney’s Darling Harbour. It’ll be a massive event. More than 400 companies from 17 countries will take part …
Hamish Hansford’s response to my recent post adds to the explanation of the relationship between organised crime and security—his list of effects is a reminder that crime affects security in a number of ways. I’d …
This week ASPI held its inaugural Northeast Asia Defence and Security Forum in Sydney, bringing together a range of distinguished experts from the region and Australia. My task was to discuss some of the key …
New governments always rethink the machinery of state. The main aim is to make better decisions than the last lot—if only principally to retain government at the next election! So, in the field of national …
Of late, there’s been a positive narrative from the international community surrounding the growing security in Somalia, which had for over 20 years been considered largely a failed state. The European Union, with the UK …
The origins and purposes of the violence in the city of Zamboanga, on the Philippines southern province of Mindanao, are somewhat obscure—but the immediate effects are brutal and apparent. The violence started on September 9 …
This post coincides with Friday’s release of an ASPI Insight paper by Lydia Khalil entitled Trends in a tumultuous region: Middle East after the Arab Awakening. The Middle East has seen its share of troubles, but this …
We were taken by the remarks of Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett at the recent Africa DownUnder (ADU) Conference in Perth. This was a rich and informed dinner talk at the ADU event, far from …
In one of his first comments as the Defence Minister in Tony Abbott’s new government, David Johnston said that the ADF needs to be equipped to help safeguard regional sealanes. It’s easy to see this …
The capabilities and numbers of Australian submarines are bound to be a major issue for the new Defence Minister. One of the major considerations will be the future of American submarine capabilities. And as far …
In my previous post, I reviewed the progressive book, Africa’s Third Liberation. Today I’ll discuss how Australia can help to bring about that liberation in partnership with African professionals. The time for relations based purely …
In 1916, English mathematician (and poet, singer, pioneer aerodynamicist and designer of combustion engines) Frederick Lanchester turned his mind to the subject of aerial warfare. In particular, he realised that the nature of war in …