Australian defence

Thinking the Unthinkable: Could Australia ever contemplate nuclear weapons?

John Gee Memorial Lecture

Professor Hugh White’s latest book How to Defend Australia has raised some challenging questions. One of them is whether there could be circumstances under which Australia might in future think about getting nuclear weapons. This clearly raises many grave issues - above all strategic and moral issues. In this 2019 John Gee Memorial Lecture, Professor White explores these questions further, in the light of the debate which his book has provoked.

SDSC Graduate now writing on the world stage

Thomas Paterson will be receiving his Master of Strategic Studies (MSS) degree today, marking the celebration of two very busy and transformative years.

A Geostrategic SWOT Analysis for Australia

A spectrum of potentially existential matters face the nation and the world: concerning great power contestation, the environment and governance.

Why Australia Needs a Radically New Defence Policy

In this Centre of Gravity paper, three of Australia’s leading strategists and defence practitioners from the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Emeritus Professor Paul Dibb, Honorary Profe

Why is no one debating one of the budget's biggest spends?

One of the largest and fastest growing expenditures in the federal budget, defence spending, will receive little or no debate, to the cost of our nation’s security.

Being a good neighbour: Australia in Asia

Australia 360: A panel of academics from the SDSC discuss Australia’s relationships with its neighbours.

Prospects for the Rules-Based Global Order

The two-decade period of United States post-Cold War predominance is now over, and an era of greater multipolarity has begun.

From the submarine to the ridiculous

The old plan was to build a conventionally powered version of a nuclearpowered French submarine. It was crazy. The new plan – to buy a nuclearpowered submarine instead – is worse.