Feature Insights

Calls for return of conscription raise question about what’s in it for younger Aussies

January 31 2024

A cat has been set among the pigeons, with Curtin University academic Dr Alexey Muraviev calling for Australian policymakers to consider reinitiating ...

With half of the world’s population heading to the ballot box, geopolitical instability joins death and taxes as the only inevitabilities for 2024. In this changing...

January 30 2024

US DOD highlights acute submarine labour shortages

The United States’ Department of Defense has raised the alarm on how acute workforce shortages will impact the nation’s shipbuilding base and ability to project...

January 29 2024

Australia needs higher aspirations in order to unite, survive and thrive

Australians have never been more disconnected from the future direction of the nation across every metric, whether it is cost of living, educational outcomes, job...

January 25 2024

If Europe is ‘ignoring the barbarian at the gates’, what are we doing?

Since the end of World War II, Europe has depended heavily on the United States for much of the heavy lifting of its security, resulting in what can broadly be considered a...

January 24 2024

Confronting reality: Australia’s need for a larger surface fleet

As an island continent, Australia can’t escape its intrinsic economic, political, strategic, and social connection to the ocean, yet as the Indo-Pacific becomes...

January 23 2024

PM issues challenge, sets out vision for confronting decade of disruption, danger

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has “soft launched” his pitch to the Australian people surrounding his vision of the nation and how it will confront a decade of...

January 22 2024

Looking into the crystal ball and preparing for the other side of a Taiwan crisis

The Defence Strategic Review went a long way to articulating the long-term objectives and capability priorities of the Australian Defence Force in the era of great power...

January 19 2024

Wolf’s howl? Chinese diplomats return to ‘Wolf Warrior’ diplomacy

China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, and his diplomatic team have shattered Prime Minister Albanese’s elated proclamations that the Australia-China...

January 18 2024

Out of the loop: Humanity quickens towards autonomous drones

Human intervention may have been quietly removed from the loop in the Ukraine war with the approved introduction of independently targeting, artificial intelligence-assisted...

January 17 2024

Undue influence? Does the ‘End of History’ still have too much say in our policy making?

When released in 1992, Francis Fukuyama’s “The End of History” championed the triumph of Western capitalist liberal democracy over global autarchy with the...

January 16 2024

Economic deterrence, flexibility, resilience at heart of new US defence industrial strategy

The Pentagon has released the United States’ first National Defense Industrial Strategy, seeking to reassert and re-establish the industrial dominance of the United...

January 15 2024

Assessing the true cost of a Taiwan conflict

There is no doubt that a potential conflict over the island democracy of Taiwan would undoubtedly have a high cost in terms of human life. But what about the economic costs...

January 12 2024

Inflection point 2024: The risks of WWIII and confronting global disorder

Only a couple of weeks into the new year and 2024 is well and truly picking up where 2023 left off, with mounting concerns about the new year shaping up to be an inflection...

January 11 2024

Ahead of schedule: Timing right for Chinese annexation of Taiwan

This year is shaping up as the most opportune time in recent memory for an attempted annexation of Taiwan by the People’s Republic of China.

January 10 2024

Kick the tires, light the fires: Australia urgently needs economic reform to thrive

It is no secret Australia is now facing a period of protracted, stubborn economic turmoil directly impacted by events both at home and abroad. Responding to these challenges...

January 09 2024

Updated DDGX report reveals plans for ‘reduced’ US large surface combatant fleet

An updated report to Congress detailing the progress and planning of the US Navy’s next large surface combatant (LCS), the DDG(X), has revealed tentative plans for an...

January 05 2024

New Year kicks off with reinvigorated calls for a national security strategy

In an increasingly dangerous world, planning to face the challenges is as important as directly responding. With this in mind, once again we have to ask, is an Australian...

January 03 2024

A double standard? Emphasis on OPV weapons overlooks other undergunned vessels

The year 2023 was definitely a year of hammering a number of the Royal Australian Navy’s major recapitalisation programs, namely the Arafura and Hunter Class,...

January 02 2024