News, Articles and Comment

Ed. Two calls for recognition of realism against hyperbole in the public geopolitical discourse.

Ed. Rear Admiral James Goldrick AO CSC RAN (Retired) (1958–2023) was a towering figure in Australian and international naval thought – a commander at sea and ashore, a scholar of maritime history, and a teacher whose influence reshaped generations of naval professionals. His life’s work bridged the helm and the classroom, the bridge and the seminar room, the Royal Australian Navy, and its partners around the world. Given the breadth of his influence across command, education, and maritime thought, this volume seeks to consolidate and extend that legacy through critical reflection.

Ed. Two letters highlighting institutional learning, whether for better in the service of ceremonial fleet reviews or for worse in terms of political-bureaucratic stagnation.

Ed. The author reviews the defence and foreign policy background of Operation FORTIS, HMS Queen Elizabeth’s 2021 Indo-Pacific deployment, considering the operation a watershed in post-Cold War British foreign policy. A 10 minute read.

Ed. The author investigates the crisis planning and political justifications for the US invasion of the island nation of Grenada on 25^th October 1983. A 15 minute read.

Ed. The author provides a tour d’horizon of the strategic history of the last century, and the implications for understanding the US’s role in the multipolar world. A 15 minute read.

Ed. Hurricane Trump has arrived and is blowing hard, seemingly right across the world. As with all hurricanes, there is an overload of chaos being thrown at us at a dizzying pace. So, it is very hard to keep up with the difference between fact and fiction and it is easy to miss important stuff that is not necessarily within direct line of sight. The fourth estate are doing their best but are overstretched and are missing many aspects beyond the blaring headlines. The lessons of his first term have been learned and Team Trump hit the deck sprinting; this dedicated cadre of MAGA converts will keep going no matter what until the pips squeak. The MAGA machine is operating at full force, every day brings further mayhem – so far there has been just the one misstep with the Signal fiasco, the lack of ‘OpSec’ was probably not the main take away, but perhaps it was the open disdain for the behemoth of the EU held by the key MAGA Lieutenants.

Ed. Employing Ken Booth’s model of naval functions as a lens, and with the Russian Federation Navy in his sights, the author argues that modern navies offer policy-makers unique options and variable scaling when addressing regional challenges and crises. A 10 minute read.

Ed. Jeremy Blackham considers the socioeconomic and strategic consequences of climbing defence spending. A public overly focused on the high capital costs of procurement increases the risk of allowing deterrence to fail. Originally published by Cityforum. A 25 minute read.