Imbalance of power

Despite the cuts, the United States will remain the world’s military giant for the foreseeable future, writes Andy Butfoy

05 Apr 13 | Comments (0)

Japan’s paradoxical shift to the right

A nationalist troika formed in the run-up to this month’s Japanese election poses challenges for the region, writes Tessa Morris-Suzuki

06 Dec 12 | Comments (3)

The diplomat who read Dostoyevsky

Tormented by self-doubt, regretting missed opportunities, George Kennan helped shape the postwar world, writes Graeme Dobell

08 Feb 12 | Comments (0)

At the pointy end of the bayonet conundrum

Graeme Dobell looks at humanitarian intervention in theory and practice

16 Dec 11 | Comments (0)

The diplomat

Geoffrey Barker reviews Philip Flood’s memoir of a career in the diplomatic service and as an agency head

24 Oct 11 | Comments (1)

Running the foreign service under Rudd

DFAT has emerged from a resourcing “trough,” according to departmental secretary Dennis Richardson. But there’s still a long way to go, writes Geoffrey Barker

31 Aug 11 | Comments (1)

Doing the right thing

BOOKS | Brett Evans reviews a surprising account of Guantanamo Bay’s first 100 days

06 Dec 10 | Comments (0)

All or nothing?

The WikiLeaks disclosures show the need to balance private and public diplomacy, writes Geoffrey Barker

02 Dec 10 | Comments (2)

Gaza: symbol and flashpoint

Can the Obama administration, bogged down in Afghanistan, rise to the challenge, asks Sumantra Bose

10 Jun 10 | Comments (1)

The Hitch from central casting

In terror of boredom, Christopher Hitchens talked to a receptive audience at the Sydney Opera House, writes Brett Evans

08 Oct 09 | Comments (1)

Obama the realist idealist

The failure of Woodrow Wilson at the Paris peace conference holds a lesson for the US president, writes Geoffrey Barker

02 Aug 09 | Comments (0)

Hoping for the best and hedging against the worst

Despite what Paul Keating says, an ambivalent attitude to China is justified by the facts, argues Geoffrey Barker

10 Jul 09 | Comments (0)

The good, the bad and the Section 420s

The Australia–India relationship is on the cusp of something deep and mutually beneficial. It would be tragic if thugs and misunderstandings got in the way, writes Robin Jeffrey

04 Jun 09 | Comments (4)

Collision course

Abandoned in the 1960s, “forward defence” makes a disturbing reappearance in the government’s defence white paper, argues Brian Toohey

05 May 09 | Comments (0)

The intellectual American alliance

For the American president and the Australian prime minister this week’s G20 meeting is a vital test, writes Bruce Grant

01 Apr 09 | Comments (0)

Why are we in Afghanistan?

Is Australia sleepwalking through a conflict with mixed objectives and uncertain prospects, asks Dennis Altman

10 Mar 09 | Comments (0)

After the exodus

The latest release of cabinet papers is a reminder of the political stresses triggered by the arrival of Indochinese boat people in the mid 1970s. Bruce Grant, author of The Boat People, looks at those events and their implications

29 Jan 09 | Comments (0)