5 Aug 2019
Iran: Washington calls on Canberra
Politics more than military necessity will decide if Australia backs Trump’s push for a Persian Gulf security force.
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2 Aug 2019
Trump and the question of intelligence
Nominating loyalist John Ratcliffe as US intelligence chief will only compound the problem of speaking truth to power. -
30 Jul 2019
The Pacific step up goes to Washington
Finding a voice amid the diplomatic clamour in Washington can sometimes benefit from the help of friends. -
26 Jul 2019
Bob Mueller exits the stage
Rather than a beginning of something more, the testimony of the former Special Counsel this week felt like an end. -
23 Jul 2019
Trump and Xi need a trade deal and they need it soon
With the US election looming, the window for an agreement is closing – yet the two sides are closer than often assumed. -
22 Jul 2019
What Tom Cruise can teach us about great power competition
Hollywood’s “Healthy Development” of an audience in China carries a cost should reel life mask the real thing. -
11 Jul 2019
The pitfalls of North Korea’s summitry spectacle
It is easy to mistake process for progress in talking to North Korea. -
9 Jul 2019
The US does more in the Pacific than it gives itself credit for
Technical definitions of what counts as “aid” fail to capture the full scope of American assistance in the region. -
8 Jul 2019
US states pushing for Roe v Wade test case in Supreme Court
Over the last decade, a devastatingly effective assault against abortion access has been unfolding in the United States. -
5 Jul 2019
The burden of friendship: Germany, Trump and NATO
Germany earns a special ire in the President’s complaints, but Berlin sees less challenge in dollars and more in trust. -
4 Jul 2019
Iran’s dangerous gamble
Hardliners in Tehran might underestimate Washington’s reluctance to fight while overestimating their control at home. -
1 Jul 2019
The Republicans’ post-Iraq dilemma: the hollow threats
Not only is Donald Trump the boy who cried wolf, the US public will not support diving into a quagmire war of choice. -
24 Jun 2019
Iran: Australia’s deliberate ambiguity
Even without direct conflict, Washington’s tensions with Tehran pose an awkward alliance challenge for Canberra. -
21 Jun 2019
Five factors will decide the survival of the US-led alliance system
In the Asia-Pacific, we know the questions asked of the San Francisco System. We just don’t know the answers. -
20 Jun 2019
The challenge to legal abortion in the Trump era is global
Alabama’s new anti-abortion law might be extreme but resurgent attacks on legal abortion are widespread. -
19 Jun 2019
The limits of unilateral action against Iran
Washington is finding maximum pressure campaigns have limitations and bringing along friends and allies could help. -
18 Jun 2019
Are we ready for a rare earths trade war?
As China holds extraordinary power over material essential to high-tech products, Australia is key to diversification. -
14 Jun 2019
Oman: credibility gulf will test White House
The US was quick to blame Iran for the oil tankers stricken in the Oman Gulf, yet will Donald Trump convince the world? -
12 Jun 2019
That Trump phone call to Australia and what it means to refugees today
Secret “swaps” might have led the US President to hang up on Malcolm Turnbull but the principle of the deal must stand. -
6 Jun 2019
Just why is the North Korean status quo so persistent?
Maybe it’s Trump’s personality, maybe it’s domestic politics in Seoul, or perhaps North Korea simply loves the bomb. -
6 Jun 2019
Singapore steers the US-China extremes at Shangri-la
Was Lee Hsien Loong critical of China, giving the stick to America, or perhaps resigned he could please neither? -
4 Jun 2019
Superpower scrutiny at Shangri-La
The Chinese are finding they are now subject to the Spiderman rule: with great power comes great responsibility. -
3 Jun 2019
Trump’s Mexico tariffs an ominous sign for global economy
There is no appeasing a playground bully so why should countries bother to negotiate with the unreliable “Tariff Man”? -
28 May 2019
Huawei and the decoupling dilemma
If Washington wants to liberalise China’s economy, it must also accept China’s deeper integration with global markets. -
22 May 2019
Sign of respect: the Freely Associated States come to Washington
Wooed by China and Taiwan, the presidents of Palau, Micronesia and Marshall Islands now sit down with Donald Trump. -
21 May 2019
The clock is ticking on tensions with Iran
The US hasn’t got much to show a year after pulling out of the nuclear deal, but Iran’s patience is also running out. -
17 May 2019
What a Shorten government will mean for the US-Australia alliance
Revolution? No, but Bill Shorten might find it tricky to grin and bear it in dealings with Donald Trump’s White House. -
16 May 2019
Peeling back the label in Australia’s America and China relationships
Whether “friends”, “customers” or more, a definitive policy stamp is not needed to navigate security and economic ties. -
13 May 2019
The looming international law paradox between the US and Iran
Donald Trump is undermining much more than just the nuclear deal with Iran, but faith in international law, too. -
13 May 2019
Trump’s tariff tussle
Given America’s cherished belief in free enterprise, Washington should be delighted its rival is handicapping itself. -
3 May 2019
The persistent status quo with North Korea
For all the bluster, threats, reversals and extremes in recent times, very little “on the ground” has altered. -
30 Apr 2019
Visa tussles: here come the Irish again
Australia’s privileged access to a US special working visa class is under challenge once more and will likely be lost. -
16 Apr 2019
The remarkable political influence of the Indian diaspora in the US
And what the experience and example might hold for a growing South Asian community in countries such as Australia. -
12 Apr 2019
Julian Assange’s case is special, and no point pretending otherwise
Assange’s case, difficult as it is, unpleasant a character as he can appear, is still a test of Australian principles. -
9 Apr 2019
US bipartisanship on Asia
Look beyond the reality show coverage of the Trump presidency, the bipartisanship on regional initiatives is striking. -
8 Apr 2019
The useful myth of central bank independence
If Alan Greenspan was “the Maestro”, then Fed chair Jay Powell needs also play to the orchestra to resist Donald Trump. -
2 Apr 2019
A year after US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, Iran digs in
The Trump administration calls it “maximum pressure” but Washington’s ability to further squeeze Tehran is constrained. -
1 Apr 2019
As South Korea and Japan pick a fight, don’t expect Trump to care
Washington often been an informal umpire for the depressingly regular spats between Seoul and Tokyo – not this time. -
26 Mar 2019
The battle to resource the US National Defense Strategy
Shifting the money to match US objectives in the Indo-Pacific is still proving to be a challenge. -
25 Mar 2019
The Mueller illusion
What the long investigation has really exposed is more of the same old politics at play. -
20 Mar 2019
Why reciprocity matters: the US Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act
China’s days of treating the US as a peer and expecting special treatment at the same time appear to be running out. -
14 Mar 2019
What might a US-China trade deal look like?
A deal will imply that economic separation – or “decoupling” – of the two giant economies has not been pursued. -
12 Mar 2019
Tokyo may be happy about Hanoi, but has a lot more to worry about
With Pyongyang and Washington, the facts on the ground have not changed much for Japan and could get worse. -
8 Mar 2019
What the pessimists get wrong about Trump in Asia
It is possible to discern a slowly emerging US strategy for dealing amid the tweets of fury. -
7 Mar 2019
Kim and Trump, again: North Korea’s drives the wedge
Denuclarisation has stalled, but Pyongyang is still reaping the rewards by playing off the US and South Korea. -
6 Mar 2019
Political leadership versus diplomacy
Political leadership and diplomacy evolved over thousands of years into distinct fields - for good reasons. -
5 Mar 2019
Learning from Brexit in Donald Trump’s America
Internationalists need to be clear about what needs protection and what needs reimagining, and build public support. -
5 Mar 2019
Trump is 0–2 in his on-the-fly diplomacy with Kim. Time to stop
A mix of bluster, laziness, and media over-exposure is not going to get a deal done and revolutionise North Korea ties. -
5 Mar 2019
The Huawei indictments: allegations and politics
The Justice Department’s allegations are serious but the Chinese company doesn’t seem versed in intelligence tradecraft. -
4 Mar 2019
Breaking Russia’s space stranglehold
America’s new spacecraft represents a significant strategic shift in space.