Picking the new Pope

With the death of Pope Francis, attention now turns to the selection of his successor through the mysterious process of the ‘conclave’ in Rome.

Uneven ambition

Australia is struggling to manage its fraught position between China and the United States, while trying to find a durable place among a crowd of ambitious partner nations across Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Two peas from the same pod

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump appear to share the same goal of eviscerating Ukraine as part of their broader plan to make the world safe for their personal brands of naked imperialism and thuggish autocracy.

The collapse of the global trade-order

The rising use of economic coercion is a symptom of an increasingly unstable world that is struggling to contain rise of China and is no longer bound by the norms and institutions established after World War II.

We three kings

The United States should be a bulwark against the oppressive authoritarianism and aggressive imperialism of Russia and China but, with the election of Donald Trump, the attitude seems to be ‘if you can’t beat them, join them.’

Mea culpa

Australian Army analyst William Leben discusses what he got wrong about Australia’s relationship with Papua New Guinea, major military acquisitions, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and what can be learned from it.

War – What is it good for?

Veteran American journalist Bob Woodward’s latest book “War” examines the current spate of conflicts around the world and highlights the worrying implications of Donald Trump’s simple minded narcissism in dealing with them.

Gradually, then suddenly

Ernest Hemingway observed in The Sun Also Rises that bankruptcy occurs gradually and then suddenly, and this should also be treated as a rule of geopolitical affairs.

Tales of Taiwan

Taiwan has evolved from its autocratic origins to rank as the most democratic nation in Asia, as well as the most economically dynamic, but these attributes have increased China’s determination to crush the former and absorb the latter, the same motivations as Russia’s disastrous invasion of Ukraine.

After Assad

With its Russian and Iranian allies stretched and distracted elsewhere, a swift assault by rebel forces has brought about the humiliating fall of Syria’s brutal Assad regime.

A world on the move

Global migration flows have risen to record levels since the pandemic, driven by economic opportunity and conflict, and are facing a widespread policy backlash.

Why sanctions don’t work

Economic sanctions have long been used as a nonviolent foreign policy tool to influence the behaviour and policies of targeted states. While they are often effective in prompting policy changes in democratic countries, they frequently fall short in altering the course of authoritarian regimes.