Huawei ban part of global move to set limits on Chinese influence

Banning two big telcos tells Beijing that its drive to gain strategic and economic advantage through the next wave of internet technologies can’t happen in a way that undercuts Australians’ national security.

Open hands beat clenched fists in the Pacific

A combination of simple and immediate steps, symbolic events that build interpersonal connections and some ‘crazy’ ideas whose time is coming could inspire better relations with our Pacific neighbours than fearful policies couched in the language of risk and competition.

Riders on the storm: what the Tour de France tells us about global security

The world’s greatest sporting event, the Tour de France, is coming to its climax for another year. As well as a great sporting drama in itself, it offers a handy metaphor for the current state of play in global politics.

Australia in the South Pacific: Growing the yabby’s second claw

Australian engagement with our South Pacific partners is getting a lot of attention, as is Chinese engagement in the region. But there’s a missing link in our attempts to build better relations – the Australian corporate sector’s buy-in to South Pacific economies.

All Leninist autocracies are equal, but some are more equal than others

Common threads among the Chinese, Russian, North Korean and Iranian regimes add up to a disturbing strategic challenge to Western states’ power and stability, but these states use different tactics to further their goals.

The worried West – Chronic decline or hypochondria?

Being Russian, North Korean or Chinese at this moment in history and watching liberal democracies talk themselves into decline must be odd but satisfying.