In the past year 80 countries recorded deteriorations in peacefulness, while 81 recorded improvements according to the fourteenth edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI), which ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness.

This report argues that Australia’s foreign influence laws should be amended to adopt a 'tiered' model, under which conduct originating in certain 'designated countries' would be subject to greater regulation than activity from other sources.

In this report, the authors seek to move Australia’s public policy discourse on the future of Darwin port beyond a binary choice. In doing so, they consider the harbour’s history, the nature of its strategic importance to Australia and our allies, and opportunities for its...

This discussion paper seeks the public's views about how the Australian government can incentivise businesses to invest in cyber security, including through possible regulatory changes.

More than at any time since World War II, science and technology (S&T) breakthroughs are dramatically redesigning the global security outlook. In this paper, the authors propose establishing a formal partnership between the Defence Department, defence industry and Australian universities.

All governments, civil society groups and businesses—large and small—need to know how to manage and mitigate the risk of ransomware, but organisations can’t deal with the attacks on their own. This policy report addresses key areas in Australia where new policies and strategies and improved...

Australia’s recent closure of its embassy in Kabul, and the withdrawal of all US forces from Afghanistan by 11 September 2021, casts a deep shadow over Afghanistan’s future prospects. In this paper, leading expert on Afghanistan, William Maley, examines the implications for the Afghan nation...

The global R&D system has undergone significant changes in just 20 years, with total global R&D investment tripling since 2000 to over $2.2 trillion per annum. This paper uses bibliometric data (data on research publications) to provide an alternative, output-based perspective on the change over...

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Federal Police’s framework to ensure the lawful exercise of powers in accordance with applicable legislation.