23 Apr 2024
As warfare changes, so does Australian strategy
The National Defence Strategy is not as new as the government claims, but comes with welcome capability investments.
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15 Mar 2024
A “climate defence force” for the Pacific
By harnessing human, environmental and resource security, Canberra can counter Beijing’s coercive tactics in the region. -
23 Feb 2024
Economic diplomacy: Strategic funding comes in from the cold
A new review may cast a revealing light on how the government uses third-party institutions to shape the country’s strategic thinking. -
29 Jan 2024
Why big projects fail: Climate change and AUKUS submarines
Construction lessons – from the Empire State to the Sydney Opera House – can inform Australia’s most pressing problems. -
28 Sep 2023
AUKUS: A debate after the fact is still worth having
Can Australia’s statecraft and alliances offer alternative security options in the Indo-Pacific? -
14 Sep 2023
ASEAN maritime security and what next week’s navy exercises mean
Australia’s experience and reputation can support Southeast Asia’s aim of multipolarity. And it doesn’t need to be flashy. -
5 Sep 2023
Danger Will Robinson: Warfighting robots fast approaching
A swarm of angry Australian-made cardboard attack drones sets the scene for all future conflicts. -
1 Sep 2023
The Philippines and Australia: A new golden era of strategic relations?
Canberra’s defence ties with Manila have gone from strength to strength. Now it’s time to step up economic linkages. -
25 Aug 2023
The social licence for AUKUS has not yet been earned
Convincing Australians that nuclear-powered subs are needed, and worth the $368 billion price tag, is a hard sell. -
4 May 2023
The case for opening the ADF to citizens of Pacific Islands nations
The potential benefits in a contested region extend far beyond a military need. -
20 Mar 2023
Australia, China, AUKUS and the squandered advantage
Canberra appears to have overlooked the tyranny of distance as its chief asset in regional military deterrence. -
2 Mar 2023
AUKUS and intellectual property
In an era of economic entanglement, IP theft has the potential to threaten democracy. Governments need to be vigilant. -
24 Feb 2023
The Australia-New Zealand alliance in a war with China
The potential for conflict in the region should have Canberra and Wellington thinking about shared strategic risks. -
31 Jan 2023
Australia’s return to must-win wars
The future is not the past. Australia needs to reset its strategic thinking and plan to win the wars it fights. -
30 Nov 2022
Australia–India: “Hands Across the Water”
Naval port visits send important signals and contribute to the thriving bilateral relationship. -
28 Sep 2022
Buying the wrong submarine
Being able to sink ships doesn’t end a war. Australia should consider ballistic nuclear missile subs as an alternative. -
17 Mar 2022
Defence’s bullet for disaster isn’t silver, it’s brass
Rushing in with troops in emergency response could make matters worse at home and muddle efforts to engage the region. -
28 Sep 2021
AUKUS and the nuclear non-proliferation regime
Australia’s new trilateral agreement and its hard-won nuclear grand bargain. -
20 Sep 2021
The law when putting autonomous military platforms on a shopping list
The fear of rogue killer robots looms large but legal questions go well beyond the pointy end. -
20 Sep 2021
Australia’s wartime seaborne trade: insights from before
The cargo, not the ships, should guide Australia’s responses to potential threats against seaborne trade and supply. -
30 Aug 2021
Sharpening deterrence
The language around the who, what and how of Australia’s defence strategy needs an overhaul. -
27 Aug 2021
Australia’s seaborne trade: Essential but undefendable
Recognising the limits to Australia’s military potential. -
25 Aug 2021
The new citizen soldier
Recent events have seen a modern Australian military member emerging – vocal, humanitarian and politically active. -
4 Aug 2021
Preparing Australia to respond to disasters – at home and abroad
The military should be restructured with a dedicated element to better tackle relief operations full-time. -
1 Mar 2021
How far would Australia go in defence of the rules-based order?
The way the defence force is structured and the weapons deployed sends a message beyond the words. -
7 Dec 2020
The Afghan inquiry and the question of responsibility
Agitating for a big scalp only distracts from reflecting on what the Brereton report actually uncovered. -
20 Nov 2020
Australia’s mission in Afghanistan – what was it again?
Nothing can reduce the responsibility of individuals. But the political context for a “forever war” is relevant, too. -
20 Jul 2020
Hidden gems in the 2020 Force Structure Plan
Defence’s $270 billion shopping list has some surprising inclusions. -
14 Jul 2020
A high-risk, low-reward defence posture
What exactly does Australia showing “willingness” to use force look like? And where does it lead? -
20 Feb 2020
Being one of the boys in the military
Advancement in women’s participation in the armed forces is oversimplifying the way we see diversity. -
13 Jan 2020
Australia’s new strategic geography
The “sea-air gap” has collapsed amid the proliferation of technologies that are agnostic about distance and domain. -
25 Nov 2019
Australian civil-military relations: Who guards the guardians?
Debate about responsibility to support serving and former soldiers shows some feel abandoned as cultural norms shift. -
11 Nov 2019
Australia’s F-35s: Lessons from a problematic purchase
The rush nearly 20 years ago to buy the fighter of the future exposed fundamental shortcomings in defence acquisitions. -
20 Sep 2019
INTERFET and the defence of Australia
The 1999 mission shaped not only Timor-Leste’s recent history, but also Australia’s post–Cold War trajectory. -
4 Sep 2019
You can’t always get what you want, but you can get what you need
If Australia must spend more on the military, there is no point buying a Ferrari when a Toyota will do. -
27 Mar 2019
Mobilising Defence in the “fourth industrial revolution”
Information technology advances could revolutionise supply chains and logistics – if the ADF can seize the chance. -
9 Nov 2017
A reborn quadrilateral to deter China
Organising a loose strategic coalition might upset Beijing, but that's no reason not to forge ahead. -
30 Oct 2017
Time to fast-forward the Future Submarine
Australia can't afford to wait until 2032 for the first of its new submarines to enter the water. -
4 Oct 2017
Ballistic missile defence: New options for Australia
It is said ballistic missile defence cannot cover the vast Australian landmass. But technology has advanced rapidly. -
30 Aug 2017
Observing Crocodile Strike
The USMC and ADF operate well together, though they have their own distinct traditions and cultures that require some working through. -
24 Aug 2017
Should war require parliamentary approval?
So long as bipartisanship on foreign and defence policy overrules argument and debate, any effort to give parliament a say on war will be pointless. -
3 Aug 2017
Australia, US and NZ military co-operation augurs well
For the first time, the combined amphibious force was comprised of ships from the US, Australia and New Zealand. -
25 Jul 2017
Talisman Sabre 17: The realisation of defence strategy
For the first time in more than 30 years, Australia has a military strategy that is beginning to truly align ends, ways and means. -
11 Jul 2017
Missile defence for Australia? Expensive and probably not wise
The North Korean ballistic missile threat is both more intractable, but also less dramatic, than calls for an Australian national missile defence suggest. -
5 Jun 2017
AUSMIN: Regional issues deserve top billing
The key question is whether Australian overtures to Tillerson and Mattis will inform President Trump’s decision making. -
29 May 2017
Why Australia should send more military advisers to Afghanistan
Our contribution should meet the need expressed by the commander, stay for as long as is necessary, and contribute to military and political success. -
24 Apr 2017
Anzac Day: Remembering the soldiers on unexpected battlefields
On Anzac Day it is worth spending just a little time thinking about the tasks we may call on our present and future service members to perform. -
10 Mar 2017
Australia in Iraq 2002-2010: Inconsequential, confused and timid
The British called us 'the new French' and the US saw us just another ally that needed to be carried. -
29 Nov 2016
Don’t panic: The Trump presidency and Australia's defence needs
Even Trump cannot change the fact that Australia is one of the most geographically fortunate countries on the planet.