If Donald Trump has done nothing else, he should have convinced Australian strategic thinkers that the long-standing mantra of China-bad/America-good is no longer appropriate. It is testimony to how deeply held such views are within Canberra’s policymaking elites, however, that even someone rated as the “worst president ever” by American political scientists is unlikely to Continue reading »
USA
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have proven too gutless, so far, to speak frankly to Australians about the implications of the imposition of new tariffs by the US, the first of many, to be imposed on Australia. They have expressed some ritual regrets and said it was a poor reward for their sycophantic grovelling over Continue reading »
The Albanese Government is considering responding to the Trump administration’s tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium by placing a tariff on the Kardashian family. ”We were initially against retaliatory tariffs as the consumer is the one who pays the price,”... Read More ›
How should Australia respond when the US, our closest ally, is engaged in a very public and petulant global meltdown? Labor and the Coalition are desperately trying not to mention it while fearfully offering tribute to Donald Trump in the hope we will somehow be spared. This will not work. Bullies can smell weakness and Continue reading »
In trying to understand US President Donald Trump, the proposition has been put that he is sultanistic. In many respects, Trump’s second presidency does appear to be “sultanistic”. Sultanism requires all individuals, groups and institutions to be subject to what appears to be the unpredictable and despotic intervention of the ruler who does not operate Continue reading »
During the recently concluded Munich Security Conference, Professor Graham Allison from Harvard University met Dr Huiyao Wang, founder and president of the Centre for China and Globalisation based in Beijing, to discuss Dr Wang’s new book (“Escaping Thucydides’s Trap: Dialogue with Graham Allison on China-US Relations”) which is grounded on and develops arguments made in Continue reading »
The Coalition’s leading numerologist, Sussan Ley, has called upon American President Donald Trump to add an extra F to the tariffs he has imposed on Australia. ”Whilst tariffs are not ideal it would help in the short term if Donald... Read More ›
“All murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.” Voltaire “I’m fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in.” – George McGovern (Politician, USA) We seem in this age, in what is deceptively described as the West, to be constantly Continue reading »
In 1951 Australia turned to its newfound “great and powerful friend” America, consummating the move by signing the ANZUS treaty. ANZUS remains seriously misunderstood by most Australians, especially among the ageing ranks of conservative aficionados in Australia where it has the status of a holy cow. This is despite the fact that the treaty is Continue reading »
Donald Trump’s recent actions with respect to the use of tariffs as a weapon to re-industrialise America demonstrates not only an utter failure to understand the economics of that move but also the geo-economic realities of the world in which those actions are being taken. Tariffs have been around for hundreds of years and have Continue reading »