Articles

By Norman Friedman* In mid-December the Administration issued its first National Security Strategy, titled America First but widely described as principled realism. Such annual documents are required under the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act. Typically they list goals without much effort to prioritize, and they are often disdained as poor reflections of actual policy. The title and the description place the new policy in the long history of U.S. security strategy, which reflects the struggle to reconcile national interest and ideology – the promotion of human rights and democracy as a primary factor in policy. With the defeat of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the United States is the only truly ideological power in the world.

THE successful quest to relocate HMAS AE1 was very much a team effort building on previous search attempts. The Royal Australian Navy teamed up with a range of search groups in this latest expedition, funded by the Commonwealth Government and the Silentworld Foundation, with assistance from the Submarine Institute of Australia, the Australian National Maritime Museum, Fugro Survey and the Papua New Guinea Government. The expedition was embarked on the survey ship Fugro Equator which is equipped with advanced search technology.

Lecture to the Asset protection series, Manila 13 December 2017 By Nicole Forrest Green* TERRORISM is the intentional, unlawful, indiscriminant use of violence and intimidation, especially...

The US National Security Strategy released by the Trump administration this week comprehensively outlines the country’s approach to security threats in the 21st century....

Australia’s oldest naval mystery has been solved with the discovery of the wreck of Australia’s first submarine HMAS AE1 off the coast of the Duke of York Islands in Papua New Guinea. A new expedition to find the submarine commenced last week and the search vessel ‘Furgro Equator’ has now located the submarine in more than 300 metres of water, Defence Minister Senator Marise Payne announced (Dec 2017).

The Minister for Defence Industry, Christopher Pyne, congratulated (Dec 2017) two Australian companies for their inclusion in a bid, led by Navantia, for the...

The Minister for Defence Industry, Christopher Pyne, announced (Dec 2017) that Naval Group has released expressions of interest and requests for information to help...

The US Naval Institute and the Australian Naval Institute have recently created a Partnership Program to the benefit of both their members. This program...

Refighting the Peloponnesian War: The Athenian Disaster in Sicily By Mike Fogarty: This article argues that the Athenian disaster in Sicily was a consequence of three events. Firstly, the limitations of imperium coupled with hubris weakened Athens. Secondly, Nicias was ill-suited to lead the force. Thirdly, the failure of Athenian political and military leadership led to their catastrophic defeat. There are lessons for today.

By Peter Jennings* Australia-China relations are by no means as fragile as some of Beijing’s local cheer squad would have you believe. That’s notwithstanding the...