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Category Archives: International Affairs
MOBO GAO. The Chinese United Front Strategy: Its History and Present.
Amidst the fear of political interference of the Chinese government there is often a reference to one organ of the Chinese State, i.e., the United Front (UF). In some Australian news stories about the China, UF is sometimes dangled to … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, International Affairs
1 Comment
ANDREW FARRAN. Brexit: Game Plan upended?
As the deadline of 29th March approaches what could be the UK Prime Minister’s game plan to get her deal across the line and avoid the chaos and disruption that a crashing out Brexit would entail? She would want to avoid … Continue reading
Posted in International Affairs
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CAVAN HOGUE. Comment on Hugh White’s response to Paul Dibb on ANZUS and Taiwan.
Hugh White has made an effective rebuttal of Paul Dibb’s claim that we should join the US if China takes military action against Taiwan. It is important to stress that ANZUS does not require us to join with the USA … Continue reading
Posted in Defence/Security, International Affairs
6 Comments
DIANNE HERIOT. New Zealand and Federation. (Parliamentary Library Flag Post 25.1.2019)
While New Zealand participated in the Australasian Federation Conference convened in Melbourne in 1890, it had little real enthusiasm for the prospect of federating with the Australian colonies. As Sir John Hall, then Premier of New Zealand and one of two New Zealand delegates … Continue reading
Posted in International Affairs, Politics
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HUGH WHITE. The US shouldn’t go to war with China over Taiwan—and nor should Australia (ASPI: THE STRATEGIST, 13 Feb 2019)
Paul Dibb, in his recent Strategist post, writes that America’s strategic position in Asia would be fatally undermined if it didn’t go to war with China if China attacked Taiwan, and that Australia’s alliance with America would be fatally undermined if we didn’t … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Defence/Security, International Affairs, Politics
5 Comments
LINDSAY HUGHES. Saudi Arabia’s Ballistic Missile Programme: The Tip of the Iceberg.
It was recently reported that Saudi Arabia could be working towards developing a nuclear-capable ballistic missile programme. The fact that the news came as a surprise was, arguably, the biggest surprise of all. Saudi Arabia had made it clear, under Crown Prince … Continue reading
Posted in Defence/Security, International Affairs
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RAMESH THAKUR. Canada, China, the US and the Rule of Law – A Postscript
It will be recalled that on 1 December, Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huwaei Technologies, was arrested at Vancouver airport by Canadian authorities at the request of US prosecutors seeking her extradition to face charges of breaching sanctions imposed … Continue reading
Posted in International Affairs
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CHRISTIAN SORACE. From the Outside Looking In: A Response to John Garnaut’s Primer on Ideology (Made in China, 7.2.2019)
An introduction by Mobo Gao, Chair of Chinese Studies, Department of Asian Studies, University of Adelaide. The article below is a response by Christian Solace, an American academic, to a speech given at an internal Australian government seminar in August 2017 … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, International Affairs
1 Comment
SHEILA A. SMITH. US policy in Asia heads from bad to worse.
If the past year is any indication of the year ahead, US policy in Asia will be erratic and self-serving. The beginnings of an Indo-Pacific strategy notwithstanding, the Trump administration continues to work out its issues with countries in the region bilaterally … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, International Affairs
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SANDRA MORRISON, INGRID HUYGENS. Explainer: the significance of the Treaty of Waitangi (The Conversation).
The Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand’s foundation document. On February 6, 1840, the treaty was signed by representatives of the British Crown and Māori chiefs who acted on behalf of their hapū (sub-tribes). Māori are indigenous to New Zealand, … Continue reading
JOSEPH A. CAMILLERI. Just Peace: A timely roadmap for Australia or impossible dream? – Part 2
If ‘just peace’ requires peacemaking and peacebuilding to be sensitive to the cries of the poor and the cries of the Earth, how relevant is it to Australia’s present circumstances? If what is proposed is a holistic approach to the … Continue reading
ANTHONY PUN. A relapse of China panic.
Three media reports in the Sydney Morning Herald could be seen as a “Relapse of the China Panic” since it went into remission last December. It came in a period where Chinese Australians celebrate the Lunar New Year and indeed … Continue reading
MACK WILLIAMS : Chinese view of Second Trump:Kim Summit
Given the key role which President Xi has played in the negotiating process between President Trump and Chairman Kim a recent analysis in the Global Times (published by the People’s Daily) provides some valuable Chinese insights into the prospects for … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, International Affairs
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JOSEPH A. CAMILLERI. Just Peace: The only antidote to the age of violence – Part 1
Endemic violence, the hallmark of the last hundred years, shows no sign of abating. The death toll resulting from war in the 20th century is 187 million and probably higher. The number of armed conflicts in the world has risen … Continue reading
Posted in Defence/Security, International Affairs
3 Comments
MAX HAYTON. The New Zealand coalition says wellness makes economic sense.
The New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has made a strong impact on the world stage with her vision of liberal progressive politics that promote wellness and kindness. Doubters and opponents say economic realities could defeat her.
Posted in Economy, International Affairs
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MARTIN KETTLE. A special place in hell? Donald Tusk didn’t go far enough.
Not only were the Brexiters clueless: they didn’t give a stuff about Ireland. But this will come back to haunt the Tories
Posted in International Affairs
3 Comments
JEFFREY D. SACHS. Trump’s Syria withdrawal is a chance for peace.
From Donald Trump’s point of view, a US-installed Syrian puppet regime that would push out Russia and Iran is neither central to US national security nor practicable. And, here, Trump is right for a change.
Posted in International Affairs
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RICHARD BROINOWSKI. Cognitive Dissonance in Canberra
At the annual conferences of the Australian Institute of International Affairs in 2017 and 2018, at least two retired senior public servants strongly asserted their faith in the United States as guarantor of Australia’s security. They did so with varying … Continue reading
Posted in International Affairs
4 Comments
CAVAN HOGUE. Brazil – somebody down there loves Donald.
The newly elected Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, is a right wing, socially conservative former army officer who is a fan of Donald Trump and is following many of his foreign policy adventures like pulling out of the Paris Climate accords … Continue reading
Posted in International Affairs
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HARI KUNZRU. Fool Britannia (The New York Review of Books).
From the ill-conceived Brexit referendum onward, Britain’s governing class has embarrassed itself. The Remain campaign was complacent, the Leave campaign brazenly mendacious, and as soon as the result was known, most of the loudest advocates for severing ties with the … Continue reading
Posted in International Affairs
2 Comments
MARJORIE COHN. The US Is Orchestrating a Coup in Venezuela (Truthout).
As Venezuela’s second president, Simon Bolivar, noted in the 19th century, the US government continues to “plague Latin America with misery in the name of liberty.”
Posted in International Affairs
4 Comments
ELENA COLLINSON. What A Labor Victory Might Mean For Australian Foreign Policy (Council on Foreign Relations).
A federal election is due this year in Australia. While the Liberal-National Coalition government has yet to formally announce a polling day, the stage has effectively been set for a May election. According to Australian law, May 18 is the … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, International Affairs, Politics
3 Comments
GEOFF RABY. How a desert book festival outshone the chill over Davos.
Last week two major events on the calendar of global gatherings kicked off the New Year. They could not have been further apart. Some 20,000 attendees, mainly middle aged and older, made their way up the snow blanketed steep valleys … Continue reading
Posted in International Affairs
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WILLIAM BRIGGS-The US, walls, and the paradox of a globally integrated capitalist economy
Two significant events are being played out on the US-Mexican border. They appear at first to be unrelated and yet show the paradoxes and contradictions surrounding the economic structures that dominate our lives.
Posted in International Affairs, Politics
1 Comment
SATURDAY’s GOOD READING AND LISTENING FOR THE WEEKEND
A regular collection of links to writings and broadcasts in other media
Posted in Economy, International Affairs, Politics
1 Comment
RICHARD BUTLER. A Guessing Game
Trump’s extraordinary public attack on the whole of the US intelligence community has fuelled a guessing game: the well established one which questions the relationship between intelligence assessments and policy development; and, a current one, which questions whether Trump has … Continue reading
Posted in Defence/Security, International Affairs
6 Comments
MIKE SCRAFTON. The Intelligent use of Intelligence
The United States Intelligence Community presents an annual assessment of national security threats to Congress. President Trump and the US Intelligence agencies are at odds over the 2019 Report. Putting aside Trump’s simplistic and intuitive understanding and his disregard for … Continue reading
Posted in Defence/Security, International Affairs
1 Comment
DAVID JAMES. Venezuela beset by American dirty tricks (Eureka Street, 30 January 2019)
For those wishing to peer into the heart of darkness, the nexus between big oil and big money is a good place to start. Those who control the energy market and the financial markets control the world.
Posted in International Affairs
3 Comments
WANNING SUN AND HAIQING YU. WeChat, the Federal Election, and the Danger of Insinuative Journalism
A story appeared recently in The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) with an eye-catching title: ‘Warning WeChat could spread Chinese propaganda during federal election’. By linking Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda with a forthcoming Australian election, the story draws heavily on … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, International Affairs
5 Comments
MARTIN WOLF. China’s challenge of one world, two systems. (AFR 31.1.2018)
The accelerating breakdown in relations between China and the US is the most significant current event. How is this to be managed, given today’s global interdependence?
Posted in International Affairs
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