Australia in the World
A practical way for Australia to help in the western Indian Ocean
Australia’s view of the Indo-Pacific generally stops at Sri Lanka and the southern tip of India. But this regional conceptualisation leaves out the western region of the Indian…
What a new Indonesian president may mean for Australia
A special Interpreter series ahead of the 2024 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne, 4-6 March. Read more articles in this thread.
Indonesia will elect its…
Is AUKUS Pillar I unworkable?
The AUKUS security pact is an ambitious undertaking. The sale of three to five Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) to Australia in the early 2030s would be…
ASEAN and the arc of uncertainties
A special Interpreter series ahead of the 2024 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne, 4-6 March. Read more articles in this thread.
Southeast Asia is in the…
Policy Briefs
Geopolitics in the Pacific Islands: Playing for advantage
Competition among development partners in the region needs to be harnessed to lift standards and development outcomes.
Why big projects fail: Climate change and AUKUS submarines
Book review: How Big Things Get Done by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner (Penguin Random House, 2023)
We don’t need to look at detailed statistics to know that large-scale…
We need to talk about “strategic competition”
“Strategic competition” has become the leitmotif of contemporary Australian national security policy and discourse. It has been regularly invoked by politicians, bureaucrats and…
Australia and Brazil must seize the chance for closer green cooperation
Brazil has long held a special place in the Australian imagination. Its world-famous beaches, wilderness and wildlife – and equally famous nightlife – have long attracted…
An Australian strategy for improved aid to Ukraine
The recent debate about the future of the Australian Army’s decommissioned Taipan helicopters has highlighted a lack of coordination and transparency in Australia’s approach to…
Diplomacy: How to pick those who represent us
Every three years, we elect a prime minister to represent us at home and abroad. In the meantime, every now and again the government takes it upon itself to decide who should…