As Ukraine retakes parts of its northeastern region from Russia, the Kremlin continues to increasingly look to private military companies to fill in military power gaps.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, right, poses for a photo with Samoa’s Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa.
AP
The Foreign Minister’s focus on the Pacific is already beginning to pay off with new security treaties and increased military collaboration with neighbouring Pacific nations.
South African foreign minister Naledi Pandor hosts US secretary of state Antony Blinken for a strategic dialogue.
Jacoline Schoonees/Dirco
Anthony Kammas, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
The word ‘neoliberal’ gets thrown around a lot, often with differing and even contradictory meanings. Here, a political economist explains the origins and evolution of this complex concept.
The right track? Foreign Minister Penny Wong meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang during the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Bali last month.
Johannes P. Christo/Pool/AAP
Jeffrey Fields, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Joe Biden is set to make his first visit as president to the Middle East, during which he will meet the Saudi crown prince the US accuses of ordering the murder of a journalist.
This election was a perfect storm for the Coalition, with fires, floods and international criticism dialing up the pressure for climate action. In the end, Australia made the decision for them.
Judging by the campaign, and a bit of recent history, we can expect to see a Labor government pay more attention than their predecessors did to Indonesia – and Southeast Asia in general.
Managing the transition to a net-zero emissions economy must be a priority task for the next government. Our strategic and economic success depends on it.
Buildings in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv that were destroyed by Russian bombardments.
Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
Ukraine appeared not to matter much to the US and other Western countries. It wasn’t a vital interest. Russia’s war has redefined Ukraine’s status with the West.
Not only are great-power conflict, nuclear war and the end of civilisation as we know it still real possibilities, our collective capacity to manage them may be decreasing.
Senior Research Fellow, Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship and Visiting Professor of International Relations, Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil, University of Pretoria