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When war-planning and politics collide
When war-planning and politics collide
Book review: War on the Ballot: How the Election Cycle Shapes Presidential Decision-Making in War, by Andrew Payne (Colombia, 2023) Political scientist Andrew Payne…
Out of the shadows: Women as partners resisting oppression
Out of the shadows: Women as partners resisting oppression
In the days that have immediately followed the death of Alexei Navalny, a number of observers have used a quote attributed to Stalin to describe Vladimir Putin’s assumed take…
Words as weapons in the war of ideas
Words as weapons in the war of ideas
Book review: The Book at War by Andrew Pettegree (Profile Books, 2024) Millennia before Gutenberg invented the printing press, the Book of Ecclesiastes warned that “of…
Is there really a nuclear weapon in space?
Is there really a nuclear weapon in space?
Alarm was raised in the media this week about a “national security threat” to the United States from Russia, ostensibly a nuclear space-based weapon. The news came after the…
How to fix Japan
How to fix Japan
Book review: The Contest for Japan's Economic Future: Entrepreneurs vs Corporate Giants by Richard Katz (OUP, 2023) There is no advanced economy more in need of fixing than…
Russia’s shadow tanker fleet runs into trouble
Russia’s shadow tanker fleet runs into trouble
Barring new evasive techniques by Kremlin technocrats, the rapid rise in Russia’s shadow tanker fleet since the Ukraine war may be reversing as pressure is brought to bear on…
Whose security is really at stake? Gender must be prioritised in Australia‑PNG security agreement
Whose security is really at stake? Gender must be prioritised in Australia‑PNG security agreement
Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape will address the Australian parliament this Thursday, just weeks after Australia and PNG signed a legally-binding Bilateral Security…
Why big projects fail: Climate change and AUKUS submarines
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…
Public holiday: Australia Day
Public holiday: Australia Day
Space surveillance and AUKUS: The power of awareness
Space surveillance and AUKUS: The power of awareness
Following the December meeting of AUKUS Defence Ministers, advanced space radar capabilities have emerged as a key feature of AUKUS Pillar II (pillar I relates to nuclear…