Last week the naval war in Ukraine came back to international attention. In a theatre that first defined by the Russian assault against Snake Island in the early stages of the invasion and then by …
The AUKUS agreement demonstrates how the deteriorating strategic environment is changing the nature of alliances among like-minded countries. Options that only a few years ago seemed like distant fantasy—such as the sharing of nuclear submarine …
The Chinese government’s online censorship regime isn’t new. It succeeded in ‘nail[ing] jello to the wall’, to use the words of former US president Bill Clinton, when the world thought the Chinese Communist Party wouldn’t …
Nuclear weapons are serious capabilities, and declaratory policies are serious commitments. So readers who have followed the US government’s nuclear posture product line since President Bill Clinton’s first review in 1994 have learned to expect …
The new leadership team selected by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the 20th national congress of the Chinese Communist Party failed to impress financial markets at home and abroad. In the week following the announcement …
Modern society proceeds on the basis that complex systems—human-made and natural—work reliably, both individually and in interaction with one another. However, the experience of the Covid-19 pandemic and the increasing intensity and frequency of extreme …
In the first part of this series, I discussed the high rates of ammunition expenditure in the war in Ukraine and emphasised that this is a question not just of expensive missiles but also of …
The past decade of work proving up Australia’s deposits of rare-earth minerals is beginning to pay off, with a number of firms getting close to production. But the supply chains for rare earths still run …
The Albanese government’s first budget since its election win in May was not designed to focus on Australia’s security situation or defence spending. Tasked with sharing Australia’s difficult economic situation with the Australian public, the …
The election of a Labor government in May brought an expectation that Australia would do more in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. But what will that look like and what new approaches should the government …
Next week’s meeting of the G20, hosted by Indonesia, will feature discussions on climate change and the need to accelerate the global energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables. Jakarta is also expected formally to …
When Giorgia Meloni delivered her maiden speech in Italy’s Chamber of Deputies on 25 October, it was hard to know what to believe—the language or the body language, the message or the choice of words. …
In my previous post, I suggested that Australia has insufficient submarine personnel to start a transition to nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) while maintaining its existing operational capability to deploy at least two Collins-class submarines in …
The Covid-19 pandemic marks the end of the great era of globalisation. Now the troubled times of decoupling arrive. We are at a Matthew Arnold moment: Wandering between two worlds, one dead, The other powerless …
Graphic online depictions of sexual assault, homophobia and racist imagery (sometimes involving Australian lawmakers) and life-threatening intimidation (including calling for targets to kill themselves) are a growing part of the Chinese Communist Party’s toolkit of …
Plenty of security experts feel that the defence industry could learn a bit from Silicon Valley when it comes to moving more quickly, embracing disruption and making quicker decisions. One of them is Bill Greenwalt …
‘Follow the money’ to disrupt criminal and terrorist networks is a central tenet of law enforcement and counterterrorism policymaking. For decades, this thinking has driven the global development and implementation of ever more sophisticated anti-money-laundering …
Sea state The Russian navy says it repelled a drone attack in the bay of Sevastopol in the Crimean peninsula, where Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet is based. Russia claimed that all aerial and maritime drones …
The Chinese Communist Party adopted a resolution on an amendment to its constitution at the closing session of the 20th national congress. The constitution describes the role of the party and its organisational structure, principles …
On 8 November, Americans will vote in midterm congressional elections to determine all 435 voting seats in the House of Representatives and one-third of the 100 seats in the Senate. Despite the political theatre, Australians should take heart. …