This paper endeavours to identify the principal factors that need to be identified and addressed if Australia is to pursue the nuclear propulsion option for its next generation submarines. The author argues that Australia has the capacity to manage these issues, even if it cannot...

This paper addresses how Defence can not only save money when purchasing a new cadre of weaponry, but do so in a way that benefits the economy. Both issues relate to affordability which may ultimately determine the impact of the Defence Strategic Review.

Innovation in northern Australia is thriving. It’s not clear why there’s a culture of innovation in the north, and perhaps that represents a focus for social research. This special report highlights how innovators in the north are at the leading edge of the fourth industrial...

This report demonstrates the extraordinary proactivity of Japan towards issues of regional order-building, security and defence policy, and military capability development, and teases out the implications for Australia as a closely aligned partner.

This annual poll reveals that in 2022, Australians report feeling unsafe, and as the potential for conflict in our region feels more possible. Support for Australia’s alliance with the United States has returned to a record high, with the majority of Australians now supporting increased...

This publication outlines KPMG’s analysis of the 2022 Australian federal election result, including an examination of the ALP's policy focus for the national economy, foreign affairs and defence, health and wellbeing, and climate change and energy.

The authors of this paper propose that the Australian Defence organisation should enact a wider set of supporting measures—particularly in data and reporting to track professional development—that’s more likely to create more sustainable success that delivers organisational improvements and outcomes for Indigenous staff recruitment and...

The document provides a comprehensive review of the challenges to New Zealand’s strategic defence interests, as well as defence officials’ advice to the Government on changing New Zealand’s defence policy settings.

This review considers whether the New Zealand Defence Force’s organisational structure and record-keeping and retrieval processes are in accordance with international best practice and sufficient to remove or reduce the possibility of the failings identified by the Government Inquiry into Operation Burnham and Related Matters.

In order to deliver on the Australian government’s ambitious plans for future shipbuilding capability, the urgent task today is to develop a bridging strategy that delivers short term capability wins and boosts vital industrial capability. The plan presented in this paper does both - by...

This briefing paper examines the evolution and requirements of regional security interoperability among the United States and its regional partners in the Indo-Pacific. It also assesses the evolving state of defence integration between the United States and Australia.

Australia’s decision to join with the United States and the United Kingdom to build Australian long-range nuclear-powered submarines has little to do with the defence of Australia, writes Allan Behm.

This explainer article looks at the recently formed AUKUS defence partnership and examines what the relationship entails.

To mark its establishment in August 2001, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute has published this intellectual history of its work over two decades. The story of how the institute did that job is told by ASPI’s journalist fellow, Graeme Dobell. He writes that ASPI has...

The ANZUS Treaty was signed on 1 September 1951 in San Francisco. It was the product of energetic Australian lobbying to secure a formal United States commitment to Australian and New Zealand security. This publication aims to show the range of those ties, to understand...

War between Australia and China remains a remote possibility. But by its very nature, defence policy operates in the realm of low-probability, high-consequence events. This report argues that the sheer ability of the Chinese Army to project military force over long distances places pressure on...

This report outlines the principles of secure communication, and uses some examples of emerging technologies to illustrate what the next generation of secure communications might look like.

This report examines the impact of quantum technologies on secure communications. It provides an overview of the key technologies and the status of the field in Australia and internationally.

This report and its recommendations reflect the committee’s belief that Australia’s defence relationships in the Pacific are extremely important and becoming increasingly so, and that additional efforts can and should be made to ensure the security of our region in the years to come.

To explore how to achieve ethical artificial intelligence (AI) in Defence, a workshop was held in Canberra from 30 July to 1 August 2019 with 104 people from 45 organisations in attendance. The workshop was designed to elicit evidence-based hypotheses regarding ethical AI from a...

The U.S. needs to make fundamental changes to its security efforts in the Persian/Arab Gulf and the Middle East. In this document, the author discusses the wide range of options available to the U.S, and how it can make progress in many areas in relation...

This discussion paper examines the 2020 Defence Strategic Update and the accompanying Force Structure Plan and Defence Science and Technology Strategy 2030. The context for their discussion and recommendations is the strategic transition that Australia is undergoing and in the unfolding impact of the COVID...

Governments and policy-makers have long recognised the strategic importance of Australia’s north to national defence, regional engagement and power projection. This report highlights the vast economic opportunities in northern Australia and how they can contribute to our national security.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Defence’s design process and implementation to date of the Defence Export Strategy.

In this collection of essays, United States Studies Centre experts cover the broad array of policy positions a Biden or Trump Administration could take, and the impact for Australia.