History did exist before 7 October 2023. It existed before 1948 and 1929 and goes back millennia. (more…)
Tag: International relations
-
A political ethos of justice and human commonality
On 24 December 2023, Benjamin Netanyahu declared, “This is a battle not only of Israel against these barbarians, it’s a battle of civilisation against barbarians.” (more…)
-
North-South Korea relations – missed opportunities
While confrontations continue in Seoul between right and left-wing factions over the fate of Yoon Suk Yeol following his ill-conceived declaration of Martial law on 3 December 2024, it is instructive to look back at the many attempts to improve North-South relations when things seemed not quite so hopeless. Can they be revived? (more…)
-
Lone soldiers, lone wolves: Are IDF returnees a security threat?
Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of studies and literature on foreign fighters and the risks they pose to their home countries focuses on jihadis, with a smaller smattering of pieces on far-right individuals seeking combat experience in Ukraine. (more…)
-
Trump floats US takeover of Gaza – after ethnically cleansing Palestinians
Standing beside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said that “the US will take over the Gaza Strip,” which would be emptied of Palestinians. (more…)
-
Who’s tough enough not to pull the AUKUS trigger?
A time may come when someone must write the history of Labor’s 2025 historic electoral triumph over the Coalition, and the “rope a dope” strategies and tactics which took Opposition leader Peter Dutton in, then spat him out. If it all comes to pass, students of Labor history will note that it was two key figures of the left, Penny Wong and Anthony Albanese himself, who rode AUKUS to victory in the successive AUKUS Cups. (more…)
-
Trump’s MAGA and the new Pax Americana
In the short period since his election, President Trump has started to tear down the edifice of western rules-based law and international order. Ironically this is the international political and economic system of which the USA has been its main beneficiary, definer and enforcer, and over which it has engaged in conflicts and wars around the world since the end of the second world war. (more…)
-
Does CHINA really want to invade Australia?
That China may want to invade Australia is a silly idea promoted by certain people in Australian media. For example, in early 2023, Sky News Australia published an hour-long documentary claiming China’s “aggression” could start a new world war. This may be linked to the huge $1.5 billion fund set aside by US Congress to project China in a bad light, the sum including $500 Million for media outlets to produce journalism critical of China. Nevertheless, as shown in a Lowy Institute Poll in 2024, its influence is clear; two-thirds of Australians think China will become a ‘military threat’ in the next 20 years. (more…)
-
An open letter to Israelis: Where to from here?
Return to the hell of conflict or forward to peace and security? (more…)
-
The campus under siege
Suppression of critical voices through the instrumentalisation of religious fanaticism in university systems remains a powerful tool for maintaining the status quo, writes Sadaf Shabbir.
-
Humanity’s operating system has been infected
Humanity is like a vast operating system designed to run on principles of fairness, collaboration, and kindness. Research shows that humans are hardwired to work together, share resources, and build systems based on trust and mutual benefit. This is how we’ve thrived for millennia. (more…)
-
The hollow man seeks to lower the temperature
“And don’t forget Australia, that reliable imperial lapdog ready to hop to” – Eve Ottenberg. (more…)
-
Under Trump, the US and China may be greater friends than ever
Much has been said about the impending trade war amid Donald Trump’s threats to implement new tariffs against China, Mexico and Canada. But while many fear this could exacerbate tensions between China and the United States, we could find China is not as impacted as first thought. (more…)
-
Reasons ABC’s James Carleton should not be celebrating the ‘liberation’ of Syria
When ABC journalist James Carleton discussed the overthrow of the Assad government on a Radio National ‘God Forbid’ program (‘Rebel fighters have overthrown the Assad regime in Syria, what does that mean for its people?’ 13/12/24), he warmly congratulated one of the program’s guests, Alia Malek, who was celebrating the ‘liberation’ of Syria. (more…)
-
End, end the Gaza genocide
Worshippers of Death, They will remain such, In the annals of human history. Never forgiven, Never forgotten, For the genocide, They perpetrated! … (more…)
-
A clear and present danger to the peace of the world
Donald Trump is still to be sworn in for his second term, but is already confirming that he remains a menace to world peace, security and stability.
-
Jakarta pips Dutton in nuclear race
Peter Dutton’s hopes for Australia to be the first nation in the Southern Hemisphere to pioneer the use of small-to-medium nuclear reactors seem dashed.
-
The UN can end the Middle East conflict by welcoming Palestine as a member
The June 2025 UN Conference on Palestine can be the long-awaited turning point for the region.
-
Trump is cutting the last threads of the tattered cloth of ‘the rules-based international order’
What do Panama, Canada and Greenland have in common? Could Donald Trump be getting the US back to brass tacks, to a core strategy of dominating the Western Hemisphere? Possibly, and he may be blowing away the fraudulent rhetoric about rules-based international order, territorial integrity, international law and the crusade to expand democracies.
-
Lunar New Year predictions for Xi and Trump
The Year of the Snake begins on 29 January. Over the next couple of weeks, fortune tellers will flood the press with their views, each with as much weight and reliability as the mottos in fortune cookies.
-
Ukraine war: President Trump confronts a decision
In less than two weeks, when Donald Trump takes office, he will confront sharply conflicting advice on Ukraine from pro-war and anti-war camps in his incoming administration. We cannot predict the outcome, but here is relevant analysis of the choices facing him. (more…)
-
A US-China war is just around the corner. True or false?
Before asking whether we are on the precipice of a calamitous war between the United States and China, we need to query who wants such a conflict and who will benefit from it.
-
Hotel California: Time to check out
The Eagles classic “Hotel California” could be considered an allegory for membership in the imperial system of the United States. At least to this point, that appears to be the mindset prevalent in Australia’s political, defence and security class, regardless of the harm that membership causes. It is time to check out.
-
American-Israeli bombs destroy Australian food aid in Gaza
Last Sunday, (5 January) an American-Israeli guided missile deliberately attacked and destroyed an Australian-funded food aid storage facility in the area of Deir al-Balah in Gaza. It is, in effect, an attack on Australia. Where is the government’s condemnation?
-
Netanyahu as an American stooge
The war about Israel and its right to exist is not really between Israel and the leading terrorist militias whose aim is to destroy Israel. It is now, more clearly than ever, between the US and Iran. (more…)
-
The ICC war crimes arrest warrant against Netanyahu is not antisemitism
The arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Gallant sparked outrage in Israel and across the Jewish world. But the ICC’s decision is neither antisemitic nor a modern-day blood libel: it is a call for Jews not to sacrifice the universal ideal of justice on the altar of uncritically defending Israel. (more…)
-
The risk of a nuclear breakout by Iran has increased
The Donald Trump-JD Vance victory marks a repudiation of the post-Cold War neoconservative Washington playbook of militarised responses to foreign policy challenges. Tulsi Gabbard, the director of National Intelligence-designate, shares their anxiety over America’s addiction to intervening in foreign conflicts not of vital interest to the US, whose net effect has been to destabilise countries and entire regions.
-
That which can be destroyed by the truth, should be
“That which can be destroyed by the truth, should be.” This is a line by fantasy author PC Hodgell, though it’s often misattributed to Carl Sagan. (more…)
-
I have learned a few things
I have learned a few things in my time on this earth. Not many, but a few. (more…)
-
In the fight against tyranny, don’t let your happiness depend on big wins
If you stand for truth, peace and justice in this world then it’s important not to make your happiness dependent on large-scale wins. (more…)