Empire Strikes Back: Imperialism as the Final Frontier of the United States

The United States has long been losing global power to China, as Beijing challenges Western dominance by leveraging strategic pressure points such as Venezuela, Greenland, and Iran. Imperialism becomes the final frontier of a falling hegemon, a move arising out of diplomatic insecurity, not power. As such, it can be concluded that such interventions globally sends a single message across nations, about the uncertain fate of the global order. … Continue readingEmpire Strikes Back: Imperialism as the Final Frontier of the United States

Reforming the Kimberley Process: Are blood diamonds truly a girl’s best friend?

Behind the glitz and the glamour of an annual 300-billion-dollar industry lies a troubling reality. From alleged human rights abuses to multilateral pitfalls, it appears diamonds aren’t the only thing you find when you dig below the surface. In November 2025, the Kimberley Process, a process designed to reduce the production of conflict diamonds, failed to reach consensus for the third year in a row. … Continue readingReforming the Kimberley Process: Are blood diamonds truly a girl’s best friend?

Mark Carney, a Non-Aligned Movement and The Middle Power Conundrum – Is There a Third Way?

In a speech that may be considered one of the great speeches of history, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated a need to stop operating under the pretence that the international order is working ‘as intended’ and that alignment with the great powers protects member states of the world. What is perhaps most notable about Carney’s statement however is not its unique challenge to the world order, but its replication and parallels to a challenge issued more than 60 years ago.
… Continue readingMark Carney, a Non-Aligned Movement and The Middle Power Conundrum – Is There a Third Way?

The Neo-Monroe Doctrine: Post-Maduro Venezuela and a New Age of American Interventionism

Reports of low-flying aircraft and explosions over Caracas, Venezuela, hit Australian media in the early evening, and quickly, it was all over. For many international commentators, leaders, and political figures, this intervention in Venezuela was not just shocking, but unprecedented. However, such American interventionism in Latin America has a history that precedes Trump, and is representative of a renewed age of superpower intervention in geopolitics. The real question is, what comes next? … Continue readingThe Neo-Monroe Doctrine: Post-Maduro Venezuela and a New Age of American Interventionism

Defence diplomacy in the Pacific: what the Australia–PNG treaty means

On 16 September 2025, Papua New Guineans celebrated independence, marking 50 years since its separation from Australia. The following day, Prime Ministers James Marape and Anthony Albanese came together in Port Moresby to announce their commitment to the landmark ‘Pukpuk’ defence treaty, the first alliance of its kind for Australia since ANZUS in 1951. The treaty carries implications not only for Australia’s Pacific strategy and Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) domestic politics, but also for the wider regional power struggle between the United States (US), China and other powers in the Pacific. … Continue readingDefence diplomacy in the Pacific: what the Australia–PNG treaty means

Burning books, bombing campuses: the logic of intellectual destruction

Across time and across continents, powerful states and regimes have suppressed and extracted knowledge to maintain control. Whether through the destruction of universities, the silencing of dissenting scholars, or the recruitment of talent from less resourced nations, these strategies have shaped global power structures for centuries. … Continue readingBurning books, bombing campuses: the logic of intellectual destruction

Reach for the stars: space as the final frontier in foreign policy

Space is being widely viewed as the next domain of politics, diplomacy and warfare, and Australia is taking the space domain seriously.

This is demonstrated by the creation of the Australian Space Agency (ASA) in 2018 to protect commercial Australian interests, and the Defence Space Command in 2022 to protect Australian sovereignty in space. The establishment of these two stations comes from a long history of humanity turning its attention to space as the final frontier that signals where Australian national interests lie. … Continue readingReach for the stars: space as the final frontier in foreign policy

Indonesia’s Reformasi 2.0: the political echoes of 1998 movements with contemporary 17+8 demands

On 25 August, 2025, nationwide social unrest sparked across Indonesia. These demonstrations emerged amid broader civil unrest over economic hardships and a planned increase in housing subsidies for parliamentarians. Since early 2025, Indonesian citizens have been grappling with rising costs of living, widening inequality, and limited job opportunities, especially among young people. This movement has drawn similarites to the Reformasi movement of 1998, which ended  three decades of dictatorial, rule, ushering in a new democratic age. In both cases, economic hardship, corruption, and public anger at elites’ privilege have became catalysts for mass mobilisation. … Continue readingIndonesia’s Reformasi 2.0: the political echoes of 1998 movements with contemporary 17+8 demands

Australia-Canada: the alliance growing in importance

The uncanny similarities between the two recent Australian and Canadian elections are not a mere coincidence. They are reflective of the political convergence between Australia and Canada in a world that is becoming increasingly uncertain under the second Donald Trump presidency. Indeed, the two countries share historical, political and cultural ties that date back over a century. Both countries have fought wars together, are members of the British Commonwealth, have diverse multicultural populations and, at least until recently, been staunch allies of the United States. … Continue readingAustralia-Canada: the alliance growing in importance

The Kennedy legacy: A Gen Z twist, family divisions, and an all-American love story

Kennedy served as a symbol of patriotism and political hope until his untimely death. Currently, his retrospective approval rate sits at a whopping 90 per cent. Despite only serving just over 1,000 days as President, Kennedy left a monumental legacy which would follow his family for generations. It was ultimately his assassination that crowned him as “the martyred prince of American politics”. … Continue readingThe Kennedy legacy: A Gen Z twist, family divisions, and an all-American love story