After Afghanistan

Against the advice of all of his senior military and intelligence officials, US President Joe Biden has opted to continue the irresponsible policy of his predecessor Donald Trump and fully withdraw American troops from Afghanistan by September, under a deal negotiated directly between the US and the Taliban.

Rethinking Australia’s approach to Africa

Africa is a powerful region for future strategic policy. Australia does not demonstrate the interest in African states it should.

An Australian head of the OECD

The appointment of Australian Mathias Cormann as the new Secretary-General of the OECD has important implications for Australia and China.

A new dawn under cloudy skies

After the relief of Trump’s departure, each democratic ally in the Asia-Pacific region is assessing how the new American president will approach their bilateral relationship and the growing threat of Chinese aggression.

Protecting Taiwan

Australian policy on Taiwan is a matter of ethics as well as strategy. Our decisions on Taiwan may define for this age the values that we represent and our willingness to uphold them.

Bringing Burma back from the brink

Myanmar’s military junta has ditched any effort to put a benign face on the coup it held at the start of February.

Four against one

Their recent summit-level meeting underlines “the Quad” will be a powerful stabilising force in the Indo-Pacific in the face of escalating Chinese aggression.

Can Myanmar’s civil disobedience movement restore democracy?

The people of Myanmar must choose their fate and system of government for it to be legitimate. A prolonged return to military rule or an illegitimate government will only perpetuate continued suffering and instability.

Can 2021 still be Australia’s year of Southeast Asia?

With multiple initiatives set to launch, 2021 was supposed to be the year Australia pivoted to Southeast Asia. Recent events in Myanmar will make this more challenging, but the underlying reasons for investing in Southeast Asia remain.

Turn and face the strange

While some of the worst fears around COVID-19 haven’t come to pass, the world has still been turned upside down over the course of the last year.

Saving democracy in Burma

Academics from UNSW Sydney have joined international colleagues in condemning this month’s military coup in Myanmar, saying the justifications for the action are not supported by events or the constitution.

Navalny sheds light on dark corners

The cynical imprisonment of Alexei Navalny won’t secure the future of Vladimir Putin’s brutal dictatorship for long.