Rhyming history: America has been here before

Donald Trump’s fall into disgrace invites comparison with the end of Richard Nixon, but America soon revitalised itself, and now will have to once again.

The Liberal Party’s struggles with multilateralism

Although the Liberal Party is a staunch supporter of Australia’s security alliances, its faith in the United Nations has ebbed and flowed over the years.

The “scrooge effect” on foreign affairs

DFAT has built an admirable record in navigating the rapids of international diplomacy over the last 50 years, but gradual cuts in funding can only undermine its future efficacy.

The Pacific step-up turns four

Australia’s much vaunted South Pacific ‘step-up’ has reached its fourth birthday and it remains an ambitious work in progress.

Six inquiries on Australia’s South Pacific step-up

Australia is doing a lot of thinking about what steps to take in the South Pacific, but how high does the ‘Pacific step-up’ have to go?

From invasion to independence

Cruel ironies and strange mirror effects mark Australia’s performance in the lead-up to Indonesia’s invasion, in 1974–75, and East Timor’s independence vote in 1999.

2020 in the Asia Pacific

Pundits across the region have different views about the new year’s prospects for the Asia-Pacific, but all agree that great changes are afoot, with growing dangers to the established international order.

Press freedom under threat in the South Pacific

Journalism has always been a tough trade in the South Pacific but growing pressure from China is threatening to make the situation worse.

Canberra’s secrecy obsession feeds on security fears

Australia remains the only democratic nation without strong national protection for freedom of speech and of the press and journalists are calling for reform in the face of Canberra’s assault on press freedom.

Britain left bereft by Brexit

Whatever sort of Britain emerges from the other side of Brexit, it’ll have a reduced role and reputation in Europe and perhaps the world.

Family and foreign policy in the South Pacific

Australia’s pivot to the South Pacific talks up both personal connections and foreign policy interests. but these different elements can repel as well as attract.

From construction to confrontation in the “Indo-Pacific”

‘Indo-Pacific’ has shifted from a geographic construct to an arena for mounting contest—and the label for a US strategy.