In 2017, the new Trump administration launched its first foray into the complex and hostile situation in Taiwan. But behind the smoke and mirrors, what are the actual interests the new administration will have to grapple with in 2018?

As people around the world celebrate the beginning of a new year, the Australian government last year promised to bring its foreign policy into a new era. What however, does a 21st century cyber policy look like?

In 2017, Australians had to acknowledge that the global order that had shaped the world since the end of World War II was over. Not challenged. Not changing. Over.

As 2017 limps out and 2018 edges in, here’s Old Dobell’s almanac of the times, trends and twists of history.

As 2017 draws to a close, Australia's "intractable" refugee question remains unanswered. With Australia's international image—not to mention the refugees themselves—at stake, how much longer can Canberra stall?

Despite the end of the Cold War, 2017 was proof that the threat of nuclear weapons persists. However, when nuclear threats need not be blared through microphones over Red Square, but merely lobbed in 140 character installments over Twitter, it seems arms control procedures have failed to keep up.

This was a year in which cartographers, among others, were put on notice as the world's borders came under threat. From Iraq to Spain, separatism was in vogue.

Tis' that time of year once again, when the smell of gingerbread and the sounds of holiday frivolity melt the cynicism of even the most seasoned of foreign policy analysts. It is perhaps for that reason that a crucial geopolitical blindspot has developed.

In October, Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop MP told the 2017 AIIA National Conference that the Australian government was engineering its foreign […]

Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong told the 2017 AIIA National Conference in October that Australia needed to shift its foreign policy focus to engage with the changing world order.