Programs & Projects

Australia's Security and the Rules-Based Order

Australia's Security and the Rules-Based Order

The 2016 Defence White Paper describes a rules-based global order as a “fundamental strategic interest”. 

This project, supported by the Department of Defence’s Strategic Policy Grants Program, aims to lead a national debate on the rules-based order and its implications for Australian security and defence. It will connect the legal, political, and historical debates about the nature of the global order with the practical realities of Australia’s strategic environment. It will address how the order can evolve to meet new technological challenges and modes of warfare, including grey zone operations.

Cover image: Official U.S. Navy / Flickr

Experts
Latest publications
News and media
China’s rise not as certain as they’d have us believe
Commentary
China’s rise not as certain as they’d have us believe
Originally published in The Australian.
Push India towards the Quad to deter China
Commentary
Push India towards the Quad to deter China
A four-country bulwark against Beijing's regional dominance is an idea whose time has come. To make it work, New Delhi must be convinced to join in. Originally published in the…
Weight on the scales
Weight on the scales
A few months back – only in January, yet seemingly a very different time ­– Mike Mazarr and I offered some initial reflections on America’s and China’s contrasting “theories of…
The missing piece in the debate about the future regional order
The missing piece in the debate about the future regional order
With cruise ships banned from ports around the world, it would not be a stretch to wonder about the impact the coronavirus pandemic will have on future military movement as well…
The black, white and grey in defining the “rules-based order”
The black, white and grey in defining the “rules-based order”
I joined the Lowy Institute this month to direct the new project on “Australia’s National Security and the Rules-Based International Order”. In talking to friends about the move…
Democrats on trade, and North Korea: “No hot dish for the dictator”
Democrats on trade, and North Korea: “No hot dish for the dictator”
This is the third of a three-part series of articles examining the Democrats’ and America’s place in the world in the lead-up to the US presidential election. The first…
The Democrats and China: “Our values are not a bargaining chip”
The Democrats and China: “Our values are not a bargaining chip”
This is the second in a three-part series of articles examining the Democrats’ and America’s place in the world in the lead-up to the US presidential election. The first article…
The Democrats and America’s place in the world: “A rescue mission”
The Democrats and America’s place in the world: “A rescue mission”
This is the first in a three-part series of articles examining the Democrats’ and America’s place in the world in the lead-up to the US presidential election. The second article…
Who will be the 21st century’s rule maker?
Who will be the 21st century’s rule maker?
Mike Mazarr and I are debating the way Asia will be “governed” in future. That term needs to be placed in quote marks because international affairs aren’t analogous to domestic…
Power and legitimacy go hand in hand
Power and legitimacy go hand in hand
I was delighted to read Sam Roggeveen’s thoughtful reply to The Interpreter article by Ali Wyne and myself about the relative qualities of US and Chinese power. Roggeveen makes…