Prof. Hugh White

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Professor Hugh White AO FASSA is Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at the Australian National University in Canberra.  He spent much of his career in the Australian Government, including as International Relations Advisor to Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Deputy Secretary for Strategy in the Department of Defence. He was the founding Director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and from 2004 to 2011 he was Head of ANU’s Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. His major publications include Power Shift: Australia’s future between Washington and Beijing, [2010], The China Choice: Why America should share power, [2012], Without America: Australia’s future in the New Asia [2017], How to defend Australia [2019] and Sleepwalk to War: Australia’s Unthinking Alliance with America [2022]. In the 1970s he studied philosophy at the universities of Melbourne and Oxford.

Henry Kissinger: A man for the times
Henry Kissinger: A man for the times
Driven by a European-style statecraft, one of America’s most controversial figures shaped modern US foreign policy.
The two big flaws in Penny Wong’s talk of deterrence over Taiwan
The two big flaws in Penny Wong’s talk of deterrence over Taiwan
It’s wishful thinking to dismiss debate on the most difficult and important foreign policy question as a “parlour game”.
Hugh White on the choice facing Penny Wong
Hugh White on the choice facing Penny Wong
How long can the Foreign Minister talk of a multipolar order in Asia in a government working to bolster US strategic primacy?
AUKUS commits Australia to fight China if America does, simple
AUKUS commits Australia to fight China if America does, simple
Whatever the flag, Washington would not sell nuclear-powered boats unless it could count on them in war over Taiwan.
Australia and B‑21 bombers: less bang for the buck
Australia and B‑21 bombers: less bang for the buck
It’s an expensive habit to think about the military not as a practical tool but as a symbol of strategic intent.
Taiwan: Biden risks talking himself into a war he cannot win
Taiwan: Biden risks talking himself into a war he cannot win
The military balance is shifting China’s way, and half-abandoning a policy of strategic ambiguity won’t change that.
SSN vs SSK
SSN vs SSK
Time on station or a numbers game? The answer depends on the mission for Australia’s submarine fleet.
Australia’s seaborne trade: Essential but undefendable
Australia’s seaborne trade: Essential but undefendable
Recognising the limits to Australia’s military potential.
China threatens the West’s primacy, not its democratic systems
China threatens the West’s primacy, not its democratic systems
Cold War tropes misrepresent Beijing’s challenge, and exaggerate its material and ideological power.
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