Analysis

The king is dead, long live the king: Iran ceasefire the nail in the coffin of the ‘rules-based order’
As the world continues to grapple with the fallout from the conflict in the Middle East and prepares for the next round of negotiations between...
April 09 2026
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Australia’s Plan B: Where to in a post-global America world?
The fallout of America’s disastrous campaign against Iran, coupled with the continued fraying of the “rules-based order”, has Australia being urged to seriously...
April 08 2026
Put your money where your mouth is: Australia trying to achieve budget ‘grand strategy’ will leave us exposed in pursuit of Plan B
Yet again Australia’s “efforts” to develop and implement a form of “grand strategy” have been left wanting, as pivotal voices in the debate call for Australia to...
April 07 2026
Stuffed it: Middle East adventures throw economy, allies and stability into disarray
Opinion: By now it is pretty clear that the conflict in the Middle East responsible for constraining at least 20–25 per cent of the world’s oil supply is going from bad...
April 02 2026
Tired of winning: US government shows how to lose an industry and hurt its friends
Opinion: US policy reversals under Trump scrapping EV incentives, imposing broad tariffs and triggering an oil shock have undermined American and allied automakers, while...
April 02 2026
Information sharing of cyber threats vital to national security
Opinion: Modern conflict shows cyber operations and rapid intelligence sharing are essential to national resilience, but Australia must overcome legal, cultural and technical...
April 01 2026
AUKUS submarines: US and UK partners show the realities facing Australia’s small fleet
Opinion: Even in a best-case scenario, Australia’s eight nuclear submarines would likely produce only about two consistently deployable boats due to maintenance, workforce...
March 30 2026
From Pine Gap to HMAS Stirling: Australia must reclaim strategic authorship
Opinion: Australia risks remaining legally sovereign while effectively operating within allied military systems unless it asserts greater control over how its territory is...
March 30 2026
Failed: Strategic policy expert lashes Australia’s policymaking ‘elites’
Yet again the “Lucky Country” is finding that luck is far from a strategy to navigate life, but this didn’t happen overnight, rather it has been years, if not decades,...
March 27 2026
US struggling in Hormuz shows Australia needs to seriously reconsider its maritime capabilities
As the United States Navy continues its efforts to reopen and secure the Strait of Hormuz, Australia must learn some critical lessons about the scale and make-up of its...
March 25 2026
May you live in interesting times: ANU report reveals Australians’ growing anxiety about the world
Australia now appears to be living in the reality of the ancient Chinese curse: “May you live in interesting times”, with a growing proportion of the public recognising...
March 24 2026
125 years of the Army and Navy: Australia’s most notable operations
The year 2026 marks an important date for Australia’s military history, celebrating 125 years of the Royal Australian Navy and Australian Army operation and service to...
March 23 2026
Sovereignty is back on the menu: Australia faces uphill challenge to rebuild something few understand
The concept of sovereignty is something successive Australian governments and the public have both struggled to understand, particularly in an era of hyperglobalisation. Now...
March 20 2026
Q&A: The Iran war, cyber warfare, and the role of hacktivism outside of the front lines
Dr Avi Davidi, Iran expert at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, speaks to Defence Connect on the role of cyber operations in the fighting in Iran.
March 19 2026
Security, sovereignty and the Indo-Pacific: Morrison’s strategic ‘reset’ warning
Opinion: Former prime minister Scott Morrison argues that today’s global turmoil is a strategic reset, one that demands democracies, rebuilds strength and resilience...
March 18 2026
Trump the unilateralist becomes Trump the multilateralist – for now
Opinion: Donald Trump’s administration is now urging other countries to secure the Strait of Hormuz, exposing both American strategic misjudgement and Australia’s...
March 17 2026
Pentagon pushes to accelerate weapons procurement as strategic competition intensifies
Opinion: The United States is overhauling defence procurement to deliver military technology faster, expand industry competition and harness commercial innovation, explains...
March 16 2026
Ignorance is bliss: Technological self-denial is death on the modern battlefield
On the modern battlefield, technology developed by Iran, Russia and China has often been characterised as being copied or adapted from Western designs.
March 13 2026
Japan turns to dual-use technology to power a new defence industrial strategy
Opinion: Japan is rapidly integrating dual-use technologies and civilian innovation into its defence strategy to strengthen supply chains, expand defence exports and deepen...
March 11 2026
Lessons from the mother country: Lacklustre Royal Navy has some hard truths for RAN
Despite the recent success of Operation Highmast in 2025, all is not well with the Royal Navy, as events in the Middle East reveal that the once indefatigable Royal Navy is...
March 10 2026