The regional terrorist threat remains high on the list of Australia's national security priorities. It is time to take stock of the regional security environment and to ask how the Southeast Asian terrorist threat might evolve in the future. This report, authored by Peter Chalk and Carl Ungerer, analyses the changing nature of religious militancy...

Religiously motivated mass casualty terrorism conducted by shadowy networks on the fringes of international society is not the only threat to Australian security interests. But it is currently the most important. And for two main reasons it is likely to remain at the forefront of foreign and security policy considerations for a generation or more...

The federal government is adopting an all-hazards approach to national security—acknowledging that the response to both natural and man-made disasters is often similar and that improving community resilience is an important aspect of preparedness for disasters, whatever form they take. The forthcoming national security statement is expected to incorporate a more holistic assessment of national...

Defining national security priorities in the current world climate of increasing globalisation is a complicated task. National security concepts that focus on military threats and responses are no longer enough to deal with the range of security risks Australia could be exposed to in this new environment. This paper addresses critical questions that highlight the...

Intelligence is now at the forefront of our national security effort. Recent reforms have delivered more money and more people to the intelligence community but limited structural changes. This Policy Analysis, by Carl Ungerer, offers an assessment of the intelligence reform agenda and proposes some further steps towards restructuring the intelligence community and its activities...