News, Articles and Comment

Ed. The author’s investigation into the history of maritime strait multilateralism, a pertinent example of the ad hoc nature of sea control resulting from a rules-based vacuum, and the alternatives available to regional powers. A 25 minute read.

Ed. Originally published in July 2000 [88/3, pg. 204], this far-sighted article took aim at the inherent risk of ‘peace dividend’ logic in the increasingly volatile post-Cold War world, in which missile defence and nuclear proliferation were certain to become strategic concerns. A 15 minute read.

Ed. This article argues that although the Ukraine War has degraded Russian conventional forces, Moscow’s hybrid and grey zone warfare capability remains a persistent and growing national security concern. A 15 minute read.

Ed. The expert authors investigate the history of 21^st century space warfare, a legally undefined arena for grey zone conflict. A 25 minute read.

Ed. The author contemplates historical epistemology, with due regard to the Great Peloponnesian War and the nature of strategy. A 15 minute read.

Ed. With John Mearsheimer’s ultrarealism firmly in mind, the author addresses the logic of abiding by, and violating, the international law of war. A 15 minute read.

Ed. With due regard to technological evolution, geostrategy, and climate change, the author contemplates the historical trajectory of sea power theory, law, and its future. A 15 minute read.

Ed. The RNSSC author provides an appreciation of the strategic situation in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), and endorses an organic ‘multiplex’ as against a hegemonic ‘multipolar’ order for the region. A 35 minute read.

Ed. Churchill’s final volume of his war memoirs is titled Triumph and Tragedy: the theme of the volume is “how the great democracies triumphed and so were able to resume the follies which had so nearly cost them their life.” What did Churchill mean by tragedy? Was he referring to the incredible loss of life caused by the firestorms of Dresden and Tokyo or by the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Or was he lamenting the tragedy that, for most of Eastern Europe, he foresaw that one jackboot was to be replaced by another. As it wasn’t just the democracies that triumphed, the most successful victor of the Second World War was indeed Stalin claiming territories and spoils both in Europe and in Asia. Once again, we risk another tragedy as it looks increasingly likely the jackboots are on the rise.