Revisiting Zimbabwe: How to Build an African Democracy By Tinashe Jakwa 09 January 2018 Following a soft military coup that led to the resignation of Zimbabwe’s former president, Robert Mugabe, African countries are grappling with what “democracy” means for them. Read More
Obsolete? Coal in the 21st Century By Tyler McDonald 08 January 2018 The ever-growing movement against fossil fuels in favour of renewable energy has led to a perception that coal will go the way of the dinosaurs. The growing demand for energy however, may suggest otherwise. Read More
New Year, New Uncertainties in 2018 By Colin Chapman FAIIA 04 January 2018 As the world recovers from another new year's eve thoughts are now moving to what 2018 will bring. Unfortunately, following a turbulent 2017, it appears the hangover may last well into the foreseeable future. Read More
Diplomacy on the Doorstep: Australia's Equivocal Indonesian Relationship By John McCarthy AO FAIIA 04 January 2018 With close to 300 million people, and a GDP that for the first time last year hit USD$1 trillion, Australia has been quick to take notice of one of it closest neighbours. But how has Canberra handled a country whose relative proximity belies its stark dissimilarity. Read More
Australia's Foreign Policy Déjà Vu By Professor James Cotton FAIIA 03 January 2018 2017 was a year among many that continued to cast doubt on the durability of the existing international order. Worrying parallels can therefore be drawn with the tumultuous 1930s and they paint an eerily familiar picture. Read More
Prosperity and Security? Energy Development in the Arctic By Brigham A. McCown, RDML 02 January 2018 Despite its inhospitable environment, the Arctic's important geographic position, fruitful natural resources, and expanding commercial potential, have made the area a new focal point for policymakers further south. Read More
High Stakes Strategy in Taiwan By Reid Hutchins 01 January 2018 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? Read More
2017 in Review: The Old Order Ends By Allan Gyngell AO FAIIA 27 December 2017 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. Read More
2017 in Review: Ol' Dobell's Almanac By Graeme Dobell FAIIA 27 December 2017 As 2017 limps out and 2018 edges in, here’s Old Dobell’s almanac of the times, trends and twists of history. Read More
New Year, Old Problem: Australia's Refugee Question By Jenny Hayward-Jones 26 December 2017 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? Read More
2017 in Review: The Nuclear Landscape By Emeritus Professor Ramesh Thakur FAIIA 26 December 2017 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. Read More