This papers argues that much of the corona virus ‘blame game’, including the Australian government’s call for an international independent inquiry into China’s actions, is misguided and self-interested.

This paper highlights that security in the 21st Century is as much about defending the health, safety and prosperity of citizens from pandemics, disasters, pollution and supply shortages as it is about defending the state against armed aggression by other states.

This research by the Australia Institute finds that the Commonwealth’s ‘call-out’ of Army Reserves for bushfire relief served political rather than practical purposes, raising serious legal questions around the use of the military.

At a superficial level, Australia’s interests in the Middle East seem to be little more than providing military ballast to support the imperial or global ambitions of great powers. This paper concludes that Australia’s strategic interests are more effectively achieved through an active and well-resourced bilateral and multilateral diplomacy than through tokenistic actions.

The Philippines had a major, if unenforceable, win against China in the 12 July South China Sea Arbitration under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. But the implications go beyond the bilateral dispute between China and the Philippines and it carries great legal weight as an authoritative ruling by an international...