There are some ideas in politics that turn a lot of laps before they find favour. Few have done the distance that a super national security department has.

The Foreign Policy White Paper will need to address the way economic and security analysts often talk past each other in the Australian policymaking space.

Whatever may be happening to the global security system, the global economy is growing, prospering, and is every day more closely integrated.

PNG wants Australia to fund education and health services, Manus Island Detention Centre - closed, but still operating, and two years after Cyclone Pam.

Russia’s last emperor Nicholas II remains a divisive subject, posing unresolved questions about the country’s past and present.

It's a good moment to ask whether the AIIB is holding true to the most central and repeated claim that the bank will be 'lean, clean and green'.

A key objective of Salman’s charm offensive is to court investors for an economy that has traditionally been closed to most international business.

The Foreign Minister has made clear that the liberal values at the heart of the regional order are of fundamental importance.

Policy-makers need to modifying government narratives and policy settings to embrace and celebrate the success of Australian investment internationally, as well as foreign investment in Australia.

The episode should trigger alarms for other neutrals concerned about the potential for North Korean skullduggery on their turf.

Universal basic income experiment in Kenya, South Sudanese government increases foreign aid visa fees days after famine declared, fund opposing Trump's global gag rule reaches $190 million and more.

A tightening of America’s purse-strings combined with scepticism about IMF programs would require a substantial rethink of the Fund’s operations.

Impeachment provisions are the constitutional equivalent of emergency brakes. One hopes they will never have to be used – but if they are, you pray fervently that they work properly.

Nation states, despite their political tenacity, are an economic anachronism.

There is great potential for conflict and collision in the increasingly crowded battlespace in northern Syria.

The candidate who stands to gain the most out of the Républicains’ difficulties is the Front National’s Marine Le Pen.

The full dimension of Australia's American alliance can't be fully comprehended if assessed on the military and intelligence relationship alone.

South Korea's likely next president Moon Jae-in favours an engagement-heavy approach toward North Korea that may push the US relationship into crisis, since the Trump administration has signalled a hard line on the regime.

International Women's Day on The Interpreter, Indonesian trade, North Korean tests and more.

LGBTQ+ asylum seekers detained in centres on Manus Island and Nauru are especially vulnerable to violence.

The British called us 'the new French' and the US saw us just another ally that needed to be carried.

The Asia Pacific is the most dynamic digital landscape in the world.

If the military and King work together there is every chance Thailand can continue its current stability. That, however, is likely to be at the expense of democracy and the freedoms it affords.

While the Chabahar project could enhance Iran-India political and economic engagement, there are potent obstacles in the way.

The latest news, research and analysis from around the world.

China walks the talk on infrastructure spending, Chinese tourists overtake Australians in Bali, and two different views on Trump and the global economy.

What could Australia could possibly do to make itself quite so indispensable that Washington would be prepared to defend Australia at the possible risk of losing a major American city?

Is McMaster a man who knows how to deal with top US military leaders simply because he had exposed their weaknesses in his book?

Japan takes a long time to decide to change, but once change starts, don’t blink.

A wrap-up of IWD events around the Pacific and no good news on the PNG economy.

Now that Australia has revoked the citizenship of Islamic State's Khaled Sharrouf, will he ever face prosecution for the crimes he has committed?

We need to consider opening a direct dialogue with the Tatmadaw. We must be willing to hold our noses and deal with the military generals.

Beijing will continue to spend as appropriate on its defence, but at a level that won’t cause too much alarm and can't be used in ‘China threat’ rhetoric.

Trump’s America may use its size and dominance to advance its interests with little regard for an economic rules-based order.

If President Trump is serious about improving the capacity of the US military, then the USCG needs to be part of the package.

There are, without question, contemporary Rostows and Marshalls in the US serving their country quietly and conscientiously.

Many sectors in Indonesia where the countries are well matched - such as legal, audit, health and mining services - remain closed to foreign investment or are tightly controlled.

The future of US aid, cash transfers in Lebanon, universal basic income and more.

As Donald Trump bullied and bragged his way to the Oval Office, I recalled two of Alistair Cooke’s Letters from America.

The DPRK has a lot of practice in sending missiles up. It does not seem to have practiced so much on getting things down.

Surely working with our nearest neighbours on the issues most important to them is in Australia’s national interest.

Jokowi’s main interest is economic cooperation. As he joked in Sydney: 'Let’s talk more about economics, I don’t want to talk a lot about politics – it gives me a headache'.

This week two F-35 Joint Strike Fighters landed in Melbourne for the Avalon Air Show, the first time the RAAF's fifth generation fighter aircraft have visited the country.

Next week Malcolm Turnbull will attend the first ever IORA Leaders Summit in Jakarta, marking the 20th anniversary of that regional grouping.

While international attention is focused on elections, more substantive change is likely to happen in European security policy.

Le Pen says France could be a 'grande nation' again if it left the EU. Economists say it could send France bankrupt and may spark another financial crisis.

How should we understand the motivation behind China’s decision to cut-off imports of coal from North Korea?