Search Results
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Cavan Hogue. Russia, Ukraine and Crimea.
Western rhetoric about the situation in Ukraine shows little understanding of the realities of Russia and Ukraine. If Western countries want a new cold war they are going the right way about it. It is a complex problem which cannot be solved by superficial noises about democracy and territorial integrity. Crimea is a special case Continue reading »
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Walter Hamilton. Calling a spade a spade in Ukraine.
Ukraine, the U.N., the European Union and the U.S. have nine days in which to influence the tide of events in Crimea or witness the second (after the excision from Georgia of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in 2008) expansion of Russia’s military and political control beyond its post-Soviet borders. Nine days. That’s how long the Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. The way to the future through annexation.
Annexation, as in the latest example of Russia with Crimea, usually refers to a smaller entity being swallowed up by a bigger one. It has a long history with both violent and peaceful outcomes. A recent example is East Jerusalem which Israel took over after the Six-Day War in 1967, resulting in enmity ever since. Continue reading »
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Cavan Hogue. Russia and the West.
The USA and NATO seem to see their relationship with Russia as one of goodies and baddies. This is naïve and their hairy chested approach is not helpful. This paper looks at the realities of Russian attitudes to the outside world. Many foreigners write off Vladimir Putin as a “fascist”, a communist throwback, a brutal Continue reading »
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Héctor Abad Faciolince: An Idea of Europe
After centuries of war, European unity has been one of the world’s greatest achievements in the second half of the 20th Century. But can it last? The recent European Parliamentary elections have given rise to Euro scepticism and hostility to immigration. It is a testing time for Europe. John Menadue El Espectador, Colombia, 4 Continue reading »
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Walter Hamilton. Postcard from Poland and Auschwitz
Poland this month is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its rebirth as a democratic state. It is also marking 10 years since it became a member of the European Union. The country thus provides an interesting vantage point from which to observe Europe’s schizophrenic politics. To the west––notably in the UK, France and Germany––so-called Eurosceptic Continue reading »
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MH 17-Light a candle rather than curse the darkness
In the horror and sense of evil we all feel about the downing of MH17 how should we respond? Perhaps out best response is summed up in the above exhortation which is attributed to Peter Benenson the founder of Amnesty International. The candle cycled by barb wire has become the emblem of Amnesty. The quote Continue reading »
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Walter Hamilton. When Local Becomes Global
Why is Vladimir Putin calling down upon himself the ire of the world by failing to help secure the crash site of MH-17 for international investigators? The answer, I think, is pretty obvious. He does not want to demonstrate how much influence, if not control, Russia has over events in eastern Ukraine. Putin’s response has Continue reading »
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Richard Rigby. Tiananmen 25 years on.
On the night of June 3-4, units of the Peoples Liberation Army entered Beijing, killing some hundreds of ordinary Beijing citizens as they made their way to their objective, Tiananmen Square, the focal point of massive protests that had begun in late April following the death of former Party Secretary Hu Yaobang. The square was Continue reading »
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Tony Smith. Dubious celebrations of war.
On 28 July 1914, the world was thrown into a terrible conflict. On that day, a Serbian nationalist assassinated an Austrian archduke and his wife. Because European states belonged to alliances which were heavily armed and many countries on other continents belonged to their empires, the war spread until it had consumed over a million Continue reading »
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Another Israeli massacre of Palestinians.
One thousand and thirty-five Palestinians in Gaza, mainly innocent civilians, women and children have been massacred and so far the world turns its head away. And the number is increasing by the hour. We don’t want to feel the suffering of the Palestinian people. Alongside this 1,035 dead Palestinians there are 42 Israeli’s who have Continue reading »
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Richard Butler. US: What Leadership?
There is continuous debate, within the US, about President Obama’s handling of international affairs. To some, he has responded to their wish to see the US less entangled, everywhere; to others, he’s a feckless weakling and should be impeached. The only thing that seems clear about this debate is that it is agitated, apparently, interminable Continue reading »
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John Menadue. Diplomatic lessons for Canberra.
In my blog of July 31 ‘Overplaying one’s hand’ I said that there were clear lessons to be learned from the disasters of MH370 and MH17. The lessons are – don’t overplay your hand or overstate your case for domestic political reasons. Today in the SMH, Paul McGeough, see link below, refers to the failure Continue reading »
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Cavan Hogue. Stick versus Carrot in Ukraine?
A major problem with the situation in Ukraine is that you can’t believe anything anyone says because they all have their political agendas to push and don’t hesitate to lie. Crimea, Odessa and the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine have Russian majorities who would produce a majority for being part of Russia in any free Continue reading »
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John Menadue. MH17 – At last a thank-you to Malaysia may be on the cards.
In ten days’ time, Tony Abbott will be visiting Malaysia and India. The visit to Kuala Lumpur will at last be an opportunity for him to thank on our behalf the Malaysian Government’s significant contribution to ‘Operation Bring them Home’. Without fanfare the Malaysian Prime Minister secured two key outcomes that have been of great Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. Canberra’s fork in the road – the humanitarian way or the warpath?
What interesting, fraught and changing times we live in. This month marks the 75th anniversary of the start of World War Two. Britain and France with little ado told Germany to get out of Poland or else. Three days later King George VI made a radio speech to the British nation that good must prevail. Continue reading »
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John Menadue. We ‘warn the Tsar of Russia’.
In September 1892, the headline ‘The Hobart Mercury warns the Tsar’ did not threaten Russia sufficiently to attract a response or change its belligerent behaviour. I don’t think the Tsar thought it necessary to respond to people who have an exaggerated view of their own importance The Hobart Mercury over-reached itself. Australian Prime Ministers, particularly Continue reading »
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Richard Butler. Ukraine, not Sarajevo
In recent months, there’s been no shortage of suggestions, indeed warnings, that Russia’s absorption of Crimea and now it’s pressure on eastern Ukraine, is the equivalent of the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand, in Sarajevo almost exactly 100 years ago: the “ shot heard around the world”, which saw the beginning of the First Continue reading »
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John Menadue. NATO, Ukraine and Russia.
Nato,Ukraine and Russia…Katrina vanden Heuvel Washington Post 10 September 2014 If the United States and Europe were thinking rationally, the NATO summit in Wales last week would have been an opportunity to discuss a lasting resolution to the violent crisis in Ukraine, which has claimed thousands of lives and crippled the country’s economy. Instead, amid a fragile Continue reading »
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Cavan Hogue. The new Vietnam.
We seem to be rushing forward to the past in the Middle East and it looks increasingly like a rerun of Vietnam which began with a request from the Saigon Government (that we had to ask for), initial popular support for intervention against the Communist bogey, followed by disillusionment and defeat. A domestic political asset Continue reading »
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John Menadue. Julie Bishop – substance and style
According to opinion polls, Julie Bishop’s standing has climbed. In Harper’s Bazaar she has been described as the Woman of the Year. It is suggested that she could be a leadership contender… But how much substance and how much achievement has there really been. How has Australia’s foreign policy interests been advanced? Before looking at Continue reading »
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Cavan Hogue. Russia and the G20
Contrary to some media reports the G20 did not mention Russia in any of its documents and criticism came only from the West. Nothing happened which is likely to change Russian attitudes or actions. The Russia bashing by Australian politicians and media is not likely to worry Russia and the criticism by Western nations is Continue reading »
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John Menadue. Undiplomatic, politically partisan – and wrong!
Julie Bishop has decided to take on the President of the United States over his comments to an audience at the University of Queensland on the state of the Great Barrier Reef. It shows immaturity to jump in so quickly to defend what I think is the indefensible by attacking others without any real basis. Continue reading »
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Rethinking the cost of Western intervention in Ukraine.
In the Washington Post on November 25, Katrina vanden Heuvel had a very interesting article on the mistakes that Europe, NATO, and the US have made in their approach to Russia over the Ukraine and Crimea. She quotes Henry Kissinger as saying ‘Nobody in the West has offered a concrete program to restore Crimea. Nobody Continue reading »
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Cavan Hogue. Petroshenko visit.
President Petroshenko should be received courteously and his visit should be used to seek further trade with Ukraine. There is no reason to avoid cordial relations with Ukraine but our Government is going a lot further than that. Ukraine is a distant European country where we have limited interests. The Prime Minister appears to be Continue reading »
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Richard Butler. Russia.
Tony Abbott and Julie Bishop have been playing loosely in our relations with Russia even thought those relations are quite modest, at least as far as the Russians are concerned. Threatening to ‘shirt-front’ President Putin is not a dignified way to behave with a major nuclear power. Our recent behaviour towards Russia underlines that prejudices Continue reading »
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Henry Reynolds. Militarisation marches on.
This article by Henry Reynolds was initially posted in September last year. John Menadue Australia is obsessed with war. For a generation, federal governments have funded an intense program highlighting the importance of our military history. It has reached into every part of the country. Books, films and research projects have been subsidised. Old monuments Continue reading »
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Don’t arm Ukraine.
In July last year, Tony Abbott and Julie Bishop were eager to commit Australian police and Australian troops to Ukraine in the aftermath of the shooting down of MH17 by Russian separatists. Their plan didn’t work out as they hoped. I have carried blogs by Richard Butler and Cavan Hogue about the geopolitical risks of Continue reading »
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Ukraine: Watch This Space
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has announced his decision to send a contingent of 75 trainers to Ukraine as a demonstration of support for Kiev in its fight against Russian supported rebels in South Eastern Ukraine. The deployment will provide instruction in command procedures, tactical intelligence, battlefield first aid and logistics. Continue reading »
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Stuart Harris. China is not seeking to break the rules of global order.
Australia’s foreign policy, and notably its relations with the US and China, has been a mix of positives and negatives under the Coalition government, as was true of the previous Labor government. This reflects the lack of a broad strategic vision of Australia’s geographic realities and the evolving relationships involved. Former prime ministers, Gough Whitlam Continue reading »
