In defence of strategic uncertainty
If there's one feature that defines Australia's strategic environment out to 2035, it is complex uncertainty. Not the supposedly inexorable rise of China, not the decline of America, not globalisation, not climate change or weapons of mass destruction or terrorism, but uncertainty.Spying aint what it used to be
There's excitement among online China-military watchers today as the first blurry images emerge of a new class of destroyer, the Type 052D. The unfinished paintwork tells you the ship is not completed, but the bunting suggests it's about to be launched:Reader riposte: Spend less on defence
Bernardo Camejo writes:China growth is still sustainable
With the European economy deeply mired and America facing both the 'fiscal cliff' and the need to correct its budget deficit, the world has come to depend on China continuing to growIs the Hong Kong tail wagging the China dog?
Edward Kus is a Research Associate in the East Asia Program at the Lowy Institute for International Policy.Wednesday linkage: Gangnam Style, Philippines, Neil Armstong and more
The Economist charts R&D spending in five big economies since the '80s.Interview: The future of intelligence
We were lucky to have Dr Jennifer Sims, Visiting Professor at Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies, in Canberra last month to engage with the Lowy Institute and policy community guests as part of the Lowy InsTuesday linkage: Mobile money, Cook Islands, Dalai Lama and more
What, no philosophy? Stephen Walt list ten things aspiring foreign policy wonks should study.Time to think big thoughts about G20
This morning, Treasurer Wayne Swan announced that the Government has given the Lowy Institute a grant to establish aChina: Cold War analogies won't wash
In the artificially narrow categories that have long demarcated the world of Australian strategy, Hugh White and Paul Dibb are sometimes lumped closely together.Movie trailer: Return to Base
Call Kenny Loggins, because South Korea just entered the Danger Zone. This ever-so-slightly-familiar synopsis for R2B: Return to Base is courtesy of IMDB:What I actually said about asylum seekers
Rawdon Dalrymple is a former Australian ambassador to Israel, Indonesia, the US and Japan.PIF week: Australia Pacific strategy (I)
Government officials, diplomats, aid officials, multilateral bankers and a handful of private sector representatives will come together with a host of non-member country representatives (including from China, IndonesiMonday linkage: Zakaria, Denmark, Baltimore drugs, Syria and more
Powerful piece from Dan Drezner on Fareed Zakaria and the celebritisation of the American academy.All quiet in Defence? Chief of Army responds
Lieutenant General David Morrison (pictured) is Chief of the Australian Army.North Korea in slow-motion
The Guardian produced this video of what are, for foreign policy wonks, familiar scenes of a North Korean military parade.Kurt Campbell on Oz China debate
America's senior Asia diplomat, Kurt Campbell, made an intervention yesterday in the debate generated by Hugh White's The China ChFiji’s fear and favour
In seeking fresh engagement with Fiji, the aim of Australia, New Zealand and the rest of the Pacific Islands Forum is to push for the best achievable political bargain between Fiji's people and the Bainimarama New Order regime.RAAF is growling, not purring
Major Gen (Retd) Jim Molan is author of Running the War in Iraq.India linkage: Gandhi dynasty, Congress, Indian diplomacy, social media and more
Danielle Rajendram is a Research Associate in the Lowy Institute's International Security Program whose work focuses on India and China-India relations.Australia latent Asia literacy
Kirrilee Hughes is a PhD Candidate at the Australian National University and is researching 'Asia literacy'.As the crow flies to Fiji
Having flown with the hawks in the cyber-debate on dealing with Fiji'sGet your tickets: Event with Chris Uhlmann, Steve Lewis & Julie Bishop
Next Friday 31 August at 10.45am join veteran political journalists Chris Uhlmann (from ABC's flagship current affairs program, 7.30) and Steve Lewis (News Ltd) in a very special event at the Lowy Institute, a literary roasting by the Hon Julie Bishop MP, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.Niall Ferguson and his critics (again)
I did worry that my response to the now infamousThursday linkage: China re-balancing, Italy, Gladwell, cyberwar and more
Michael Fullilove has started work as the Lowy Institute's new Executive Director.US conflicted over Syria
Rodger Shanahan raised some good points in his piece on Syria: the cautious approach of the US in the face of an impotent UN Security Council could ultimately make the situaUS and China meet in South Pacific
The Cook Islands, a tiny Pacific nation of 10,000 and recipient of significant Chinese aid, is the host of this year's annual Pacific Islands Forum, which starts on Monday 27 August.China: Niall Ferguson and his critics
The debate aroused in the US about Niall Ferguson's cover story for Newsweek (Hit the Road, Barack: Why We Need a New President) is revealing about theWednesday linkage: Burma, JSF, China then and now, Richard Gere and more
Reports about the lifting of censorship in Burma may not be all they're cracked up to be. (Thanks Milton.)Time is ripe for cyber security rethink
Clint Arizmendi & Chloe Diggins are from the Land Warfare Studies Centre. The views expressed are their own and do not reflect those of the Department of Defence or the Australian Government.Tuesday linkage: Holden, China cities, copyright, Asian Century and more
Asia's emerging economies are among the most exposed to financial risks from natural disasters, says a new study. (Thanks Malcolm.)Observations on the defence debate
Christopher Joye is a a director and strategic adviser to a number of funds management and financial services companies.Movie trailer: The Impossible
The Impossible is a new feature film about the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, and I think I can predict one line of criticism already: this was an Asian tragedy which killed an estimated 230,000 people, only a tiny portion of them Western tourists.Defence: The shape of things to come
Major Gen (Retd) Jim Molan is author of Running the War in Iraq.Reader riposte: The good guys in Syria
Ghassan Salem writes:Monday linkage: Indonesia, Niebuhr, Vietnam, Pacific Islands and more
'Beyond the boom': A new study of the Australian economy from McKinsey's inhouse think tank, the McKinsey Global Institute.Paul Ryan economic plan
With attention on Europe's economic mess, it would be easy to forget that America's intractable fiscal problem is coming to a head. The choice of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney's running mate should bring this back into focus.Reader ripostes: Morality and asylum seekers
Below, a comment from Marilyn Shepherd. But first, Hugh Wyndham writes:Historical echoes in China rise
Robert Ayson is Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at Victoria University, Wellington.India linkage
Danielle Rajendram is a Research Associate in the Lowy Institute's International Security Program whose work focuses on India and China-India relations.Syria: Who are the good guys again?
The air is thick with the stench of hypocrisy over Syria.Indo-Pacific: What in a name?
It was refreshing to hear Australia's Defence Minister Stephen Smith declare plainly that this country's region is the Indo-Pacific when he sIntercontinental ballistic microfinance
Gorgeous little piece of data visualisation (though really, it's an ad for Kiva).ADF silent in debates on modern warfare
The views expressed here, based on this working paper, are the author's and do not reflect those of the Department of Defence or the Australian Government.Thursday linkage: Banks, Solomons, Japan, multilingualism and more
Australian troops are set to come home from the Solomon Islands next year. Is the mission accomplished? (Thanks Danielle.)Asylum seekers: What is our moral responsibility?
Rawdon Dalrymple is a former Australian ambassador to Israel, Indonesia, the US and Japan.
