On the eve of the Vilnius summit Foreign Affairs published an article by long term, and recently reappointed, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg entitled ‘A Stronger NATO for a More Dangerous World: What the Alliance Must Do in Vilnius—and Beyond’. Foreign Affairs is the bible of the American foreign policy establishment, being the journal of the Council Continue reading »
International Relations
America is our “great and powerful friend” so it matters a great deal how reliable our firmest strategic partner is. Is the US heading for a degree of political dysfunction that could blow back into its steadfastness as a leading player and an Australian ally in a multipolar Indo-Pacific? Introduction “Things fall apart; the centre Continue reading »
Espionage, surveillance and monitoring in a society require guile, judiciousness, and care. Secrecy matters. Inserted agents assume roles for years as friends even as they are purloining your secrets. They are the charming thespians of treachery. Then come those who work in plain sight, drawing salaries from foreign powers, yet tolerated for the services they Continue reading »
The United States left Afghanistan in a state of dangerous and monumental disorder in 2021. Soon after, it made matters still worse by confiscating the meagre foreign exchange reserves of one of the world’s most deprived countries — shamelessly claiming that it was advancing certain human rights while doing so. Therefore, it took the US Continue reading »
For decades, the Indian state has suppressed the democratic rights of Kashmiris. Narendra Modi’s hard-right government is taking this pattern of repression to new extremes, with the complicity of Indian intellectuals who seek to toxify the cause of Kashmir. First published in JACOBIN July 16, 2023 India-controlled Kashmir is one of the most heavily militarised zones Continue reading »
Whereas once upon a time Australia was regarded as a country of goodwill, tolerance and decency, it is now reputed, worldwide, to be the country with the most inhumane treatment towards refugees. When I moved to the U.S. in 1981 I carried the Australian flag with an immature and ignorant pride, totally oblivious to the Continue reading »
The upcoming Spanish elections indicate the unthinkable – the resurrection of Franco’s influence within a new government. But perhaps it could be the last of his death throes. When I was five years old and lived in Argentina, my capacity for political analysis was even more limited than today. But that little boy from Buenos Continue reading »
It’s hard to know whether to cry or laugh reading the highlights of the hour-long conversation Joe Biden had with the New York Times’ Thomas Friedman on Tuesday, after meeting President Isaac Herzog. One can cry over the impotence and uselessness of the strongest superpower in the world when it comes to its protégé, Israel. Continue reading »
Ukraine and Georgia’s NATO aspirations not only touch a raw nerve in Russia, they engender serious concerns about the consequences for stability in the region. Not only does Russia perceive encirclement, and efforts to undermine Russia’s influence in the region, but it also fears unpredictable and uncontrolled consequences which would seriously affect Russian security interests. Continue reading »
President Biden hosted Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House on Tuesday. Herzog is addressing a joint session of Congress, which a handful of progressive Democrats are boycotting. The same members of Congress also boycotted the address of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a far right Hindu nationalist who is implicated in an anti-Muslim pogrom. Continue reading »