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 »
USA
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 »
Something far more sinister than mere genocide is unfolding in the United States and other advanced nations around the world: the forces of darkness have declared open war on human knowledge. With the purging of government websites, the banning of a whole vocabulary of words related to climate, gender and other hate issues of the Continue reading »
No issue in the forthcoming election is as important as Australia’s international identity and the crisis in the Western alliance about its senior partner, the United States. The alliance is fragmenting and, it appears, President Trump is daring Europe to defend Ukraine against Russian aggression independently. He wants NATO members to double their defence spending Continue reading »
Donald Trump’s election to the presidency is a Gift. Notwithstanding that it, and his subsequent behaviour, has induced involuntary bowel movements and Acute Disorientation Syndrome throughout the policy-making establishments of the Western alliance, his advent is not, therefore, without its merits if we are the richer for it. The Gift? Clarity, an indispensable aid to Continue reading »
Ukraine will have to cede more territory than it would have in April 2022 — when the US and UK talked it out of a peace deal — but it will gain sovereignty and international security arrangements. There should be little doubt about how a lasting peace can be established in Ukraine. In April 2022, Continue reading »