Stephen Kuper

AUTHOR | No. of articles: 2946

Steve has an extensive career across government, defence industry and advocacy, having previously worked for cabinet ministers at both Federal and State levels.

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‘Focused Force’ v ‘Balanced Force’? The question is, are we getting the mix right?

The Albanese government’s Defence Strategic Review heralded a shift away from the structure of a “Balanced Force” towards a “Focused Force”, ...

GEOPOLITICS & POLICY • Fri, 06 Oct 2023

Indian Navy seeks to add third carrier to expand power projection capacity

Asia’s other rising power, India, is rapidly accelerating its capacity to project long-range power and sea control to counter a myriad of challenges to their ...

NAVAL • Tue, 03 Oct 2023

Is the US really a ‘dysfunctional’ superpower?

Amid mounting economic struggles, domestic political division, and waning influence of the global stage, many have begun to consider the United States as a ...

GEOPOLITICS & POLICY • Wed, 04 Oct 2023

‘Bad news outweighs the good’ – Global disorder fast becoming the new norm

The era of disorder is upon us, the post-Second World War order is fraying, and our “long holiday from history” is now over as Australia and the world settle ...

GEOPOLITICS & POLICY • Thu, 28 Sep 2023

Where is the urgency? Surface fleet review delay only leaves us more vulnerable

Revelations that the government’s response to the findings of its own surface fleet review is still some time off, ultimately spells trouble for Australia’s ...

NAVAL • Wed, 27 Sep 2023

Half an insurance policy? AUKUS SSNs more about post-Taiwan than anything else

While much has been made about the “offensive’ nature of Australia’s future nuclear-powered submarine fleet as a form of national insurance policy, it ...

NAVAL • Tue, 26 Sep 2023

Same, same but different? Learning lessons from similar ‘Middle Powers’

The true strength of contemporary “Middle Powers” is in their aggregated mass. However, every now and then, one outlier sets fire to the rule book and embarks ...

GEOPOLITICS & POLICY • Mon, 25 Sep 2023

‘Australianising’ industry policy to deliver national resilience and security

For Australian policymakers, the attractiveness of simply transplanting tried-and-true methods from overseas in an attempt to re-industrialise fails to account for one ...

INDUSTRY • Fri, 22 Sep 2023