Holding Pattern

The United States has sought to weaken, contain and, at times, remove the Sandinista government in Nicaragua since at least 1981, when Ronald Reagan became President. Through CIA support for the Contra insurgency, economic sanctions, diplomatic pressure and funding for opposition organisations, successive U.S. administrations have attempted, sometimes openly and sometimes covertly, to interfere in […]

Writing on Substack, economist Mariana Mazzucato argues that replacing a leader is not enough. Labour needs a much clearer and more ambitious economic vision. Mazzucato is well known for her influence on progressive economic thinking, and Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has spoken admiringly of her work. She has also worked on a transport plan with […]

One of the most misunderstood aspects of the history of Zionism is the assumption that, from the beginning, its founders unanimously demanded the creation of a Jewish majoritarian state. When the First Zionist Congress met in Basel in 1897, it adopted a program calling for the establishment of a “publicly and legally assured home” for […]

AUKUS, Great Power Coercion and the Future of the Alliance Richard Marles argues that Australia’s defence policy can no longer be based simply on protecting the continent and its immediate approaches—a task well suited to a larger number of conventional submarines. Instead, he argues that Australia must develop the capacity to project military power into […]

Three recent articles illustrate that Australia is taking a very large gamble with AUKUS. In The Bulwark (29 May), Jonathan Last argued that both Russia in Ukraine and the United States in its confrontation with Iran have discovered a hard truth: relatively cheap drones can neutralise vastly more expensive military systems. The significance of drones, […]