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Analysis
Reimagined deputy? Australia has a unique role to play in the multipolar, ‘middle power strategy’ world
Australia has long prided itself on being an invaluable and irreplaceable “deputy sheriff” to the United States. Now as other middle powers begin...
August 25 2026
A grand vision or a mislaid foundation? Inside Keating’s ‘Grand Ambition’ for Australia’s foreign policy
Middle powers like Australia were told they did not need a grand strategy. For Paul Keating, however, the end of the Cold War was a chance to chart an independent course. But...
August 24 2026
Don’t mention the ‘M’ word: Australia fiddles while enemies mobilise, warns retired major general
Like all liberal democracies, Australia and Australians have a tough time understanding, let alone accepting the concept of mobilisation. Yet while successive Australian...
August 22 2026
New US tariffs on drones, components raise defence industry hackles in Australia
New tariffs announced by the US government on drone systems and their components have raised concerns about how Australian defence industry will be affected.
August 21 2026
Hitting the gym: Australia’s path to middle power relevance in the 2030s
It is becoming clearer by the day that Australia’s default strategy of great power hedging is exhausted. The nation must build genuine strategic autonomy by 2030 or face...
August 20 2026
Distance provides no protection for Australia against transnational cocaine campaign
Opinion: Colombia’s new president has vowed to reverse a coca boom four years in the making – Canberra has a stake in whether he can.
August 19 2026
Failing to plan or planning to fail? Australia remains hopelessly ill-equipped to handle fallout of Taiwan crisis
Over the past six years, Australia has already had two “once-in-a generation” wake-up calls, with both the COVID-19 pandemic and now conflict in Europe and the Middle...
August 18 2026
New questions surround South Korean activists investigated after Ukraine POW mission
Opinion: A South Korean investigation into six activists who travelled to Ukraine has raised fresh questions over North Korean POW treatment, unpublished allegations and the...
August 17 2026
Partners, not protectorates: US under secretary of war issues challenge for Indo-Pacific nations
US Under Secretary of War Elbridge Colby has once again pushed back against criticism of his critiques of “middle power strategy” championed by Canadian Prime Minister...
August 14 2026
South Korea investigates activists who travelled to Ukraine over North Korean POW case
Opinion: South Korean police are investigating six activists who travelled to Ukraine without government approval to advocate for two North Korean soldiers captured fighting...
August 13 2026
New AS9 Huntsman artillery capability crucial for war preparations, says Major General Collingburn
Australian Army AS9 Huntsman self-propelled howitzers and the AS10 armoured ammunition resupply vehicles are a crucial new capability for Australia’s war preparations,...
August 12 2026
A vanity project or a sign of a broader shift? Battleships, cruisers and other large surface combatants
In a shock to many, naval powers are increasingly betting on bigger, more heavily armed surface combatants, from the proposed Trump Class battleships to China’s Type 055...
August 11 2026
The Pacific does not need another alignment test, it needs a veto map
Opinion: The Pacific does not need another test of strategic alignment. It needs the resilience and sovereign capability to say no without losing access to the essential...
August 10 2026
Deterrence, lethality and the pace of innovation: CDF Admiral Mark Hammond on innovating for survival in an unforgiving world
Opinion: In a landmark address launching Australia’s 2026 Defence Innovation, Science and Technology Strategy, Chief of the Defence Force Admiral Mark Hammond AO RAN...
August 08 2026
What to expect when you’re expecting ... war: Just how prepared is Australia for the macro and micro realities of a conflict in our region?
As geopolitical fault lines continue to deepen across the Indo-Pacific, Australia faces its most perilous strategic environment since 1942. By drawing harsh lessons from...
August 07 2026
Australian adaptability: Ukraine’s drone war is changing warfare, can the ADF adapt fast enough to keep up?
Will the rapid evolution of uncrewed systems on the battlefields of Ukraine force the Australian Defence Force to rethink how it develops, acquires and sustains military...
August 06 2026
What I saw in Kyiv should change how every Western nation thinks about defence innovation
Opinion: Ukraine has demonstrated that speed, adaptation and industrial agility are now decisive military advantages. Australia must transform how it innovates before the...
August 05 2026
Australia has a strategy of denial: Now it needs a strategy of design
Opinion: Australia has invested heavily in a strategy of denial to deter conflict and resist coercion. But if Canberra is serious about shaping the Indo-Pacific, it must move...
August 04 2026
The end of an era v the age of empires: Is our ‘stewardship’ of the rules-based order a fool’s errand?
Australia and like-minded middle powers have long celebrated and communicated their investment in and commitment to maintaining the post-Second World War “rules-based...
August 03 2026
Fresh engagement with Singapore and Japan signals ongoing effort to achieve regional stability
Australia’s defensive relationship with allies in Asia has fostered a supportive and collaborative environment, recently reaffirmed through engagements with Japan and...
August 01 2026