The art of war

Like Niccolò Machiavelli ‘s The Prince, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War is a treatise of clear-sighted but ruthless realism in the pursuit of power.

Early warning alert

Dictators and hostile states from Hitler’s Germany to Putin’s Russia and Xi’s China tend to flag their actions long before the shooting starts, and a new national Centre to issue strategic warnings of all types could help Australia prepare.

Australia’s grand strategy

The grand strategy methodology is a useful framework with which to consider Australia and its contemporary international policies and activities as a middle power.

The high stakes of grand strategy

The Chinese challenge in Asia, and the Russian threat to the west, are real and require genuine debate, perhaps even strategic innovation. This may all sound intellectually confronting, but it’s vital to confront reality. Our future may well depend on it.

Australia’s “strategic personality” in a changing world

Beyond the tourist images of barbecues and beaches, what is Australia’s ‘personality’ in international affairs, and how might that change in the future?

Second track diplomacy could calm Asia’s power struggles

Australia must be nimble and smart as it adheres to the US alliance to ensure its security in the region while simultaneously looking towards Asia on economic and trade issues. Informal second track diplomacy offers a way to negotiate the rocky path ahead.

Hard times in Australian strategic thinking

A stronger defence force is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for achieving the sort of world that Australia want. Partnerships have also been central to our strategic success, and will remain so, but they must be partnerships we have chosen of our own free will.

Winning battles and losing wars: the next force structure review

The strategic question for the next force structure review is, should we care more about whether we can win on a single landmass or whether we can win across an archipelago? Or to recast the question, where can we least afford to lose?