ASPI Publications

Special Report Issue 29 - Nuclear weapons: Arms control, proliferation and nuclear security

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The nuclear arms control agenda currently enjoys a prominence that it has not had since the first half of the 1990s. This report, authored by Rod Lyon, explores a range of issues, including President Obama’s Prague commitments, the looming Global Nuclear Security Summit, and the scheduled Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference.

Special Report Issue 28 - Here to help: Strengthening the Defence role in Australian disaster management

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This Special Report, authored by Athol Yates and Anthony Bergin argues that it’s time for Defence to more fully incorporate domestic disaster assistance tasks as part of its core business.

Defence is likely to be used more frequently in the future to assist in domestic disaster management. There will be larger and more frequent extreme weather events due to climate change; increased vulnerability of the growing populations in coastal developments and in bushfire-prone areas; continual reduction per capita in the number of volunteers and emergency services personnel; and growing community and political expectations to use military resources to support whole-of-government counter-disaster efforts.

To prepare for the increased demand on, and expectations for the use of, Defence in disaster management there are three actions that should be taken:

- Australian Government should clarify that Australian disaster assistance is an ADF priority task. Elevating domestic disaster assistance into a core Defence activity will ensure that this priority flows through the Australian Defence organisation.

- Defence should undertake a fundamental review of its domestic disaster assistance role with the goal of maximising its contribution to Australian disaster management. This is likely to involve modifying existing organisations, policies and procedures, logistics and training.

- Defence and civil counter-disaster organisations should work together to facilitate the transfer of capability development, research and development and other skills to accelerate the development of the states and territories next-generation disaster management systems.

The QDR: a future of hybrid warfare? by Ron Huisken

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The latest formal statement of US defence policy, the QDR, plays down sweeping ambition in order to remain focused on the tasks immediately at hand—Iraq and above all, Afghanistan. And it sees a future of ‘hybrid’ warfare, likely to involve a diversity of actors and to blur the traditional distinction between inter-state conflict and protracted counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations. It suggests the US will be looking for more from its allies, including Australia.

Special Report Issue 27 - Time for a fresh approach: Australia and Fiji relations post-abrogation

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This Special Report argues that it is time for a fresh approach by the Australian Government to prepare the grounds for a more effective re-engagement with the Government of Fiji. Eliminating some of the negatives in the current bilateral relationship is a necessary first step toward re-engaging positively.

The report, authored by Professor Richard Herr, recommends:

• rebalance the regional relationship

• avoid undiplomatic language

• abandon indefensible travel bans

• relax defence bans

• cooperate on non-traditional security issues.

Let's test that idea - contestability of advice in the Department of Defence by Andrew Davies

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Defence has processes in place that are designed to produce military capabilities that the government can draw on. Supposedly designed to match military means with strategic ends, the results are more often reflective of the preferred structures of the three Services. Alternative or transformational options have no champion. In the past, there was a dedicated organisation within Defence that provided an alternative perspective. It is time to have another look at that model. This paper is authored by Andrew Davies.

A delicate issue: Asia's nuclear future

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The world stands on the cusp of a new era in nuclear relations—one in which Asia is likely to become the dominant influence on global nuclear arrangements. The old, bilateral nuclear symmetry of the Cold War is giving way to new multiplayer, asymmetric nuclear relationships. And it is doing so at a time when power balances are shifting across Asia, when pressures for proliferation are returning to the regional agenda, and when non-state actors are an increasingly worrying part of the Asian nuclear equation.

The paper, authored by Rod Lyon, argues that Australia’s own policy options will be profoundly shaped by how Asia’s nuclear future unfolds. It looks at how Australia can assist with redesigning nuclear order in a cooperative Asia but notes a darker, more competitive Asian nuclear future would confront Australian policymakers with difficult choices, of hedging rather than ordering.

The report concludes that Australian strategic policy should retain the flexibility to accommodate a range of possible Asian nuclear futures, striking a balance between its ordering and hedging strategies during a possible turbulent era in regional security.

Connecting the docs: towards an integrated national security strategy by Carl Ungerer

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Since 2008, the Rudd government has commissioned over two dozen policy reviews on all aspects of national security, from terrorism to transnational crime. But integrating these various strands of security policy in an increasingly complex and complicated risk environment is a difficult task. This Policy Analysis sets out the challenges of building a more integrated national security strategy. It argues that the concepts of risk and networked security are central to understanding and mitigating the growing number of national security issues facing Australia.

Japan: Recasting politics, and opening up strategic 'space' by Rod Lyon

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), elected to the government benches in a landslide at the end of August 2009, is celebrating its first 100 days in office, and observers are starting to get a clearer picture of the new forces in Japanese politics. This paper, authored by Rod Lyon, looks at Japanese domestic politics and the implications for Australia, focusing on the two major stategic issues: the US-Japan alliance, and Australia's bilateral strategic relationship with Japan.

Special Report Issue 26 - Cyber security: Threats and responses in the information age

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Noting the release of Australia's new Cyber Security Strategy in November 2009, this paper argues that the development of Australian cyber security policy has been outstripped by the uptake and use of information and communications technologies by the public, industry and government—and concomitant abuse by criminals and foreign powers. In no small part this has been because of government over-reliance on industry self regulation in which there was a failed belief that the 'light touch' telecommunications regulatory regime would see safety and security solutions rising from the private sector at a rate greater than, or equal to, the threat. The problem has been further compounded by a narrow policy focus addressing the legal definition of cybercrime, rather than the broader problems stemming from information and communications technologies.

This Special Report, authored by Alastair MacGibbon, argues that there is a widening gap between the cyber security problem and our national ability to deal with it and offers a range of policy suggestions targeting various opportunities for government and the private sector, including establishing an internet crime reporting and analysis centre to assist the public, who are increasingly important from a cyber security perspective. The paper concludes that it is time for decisive national leadership, and a step-change in the policy process.

Information sharing in Australia's national security community by Kelly O'Hara and Anthony Bergin

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This Policy Analysis, authored by Kelly O'Hara and Anthony Bergin, examines the information sharing vision of the new National Security CIO in light of reforms made towards a more joined-up national security community. It argues that information sharing should be a high priority for improving decision making in Australia’s national security community.

This Policy Analysis recommends:

Making information discoverable and accessible to authorised users by means of off-the-shelf technology;
Mapping the information exchanges between agencies to reveal the extent of connectivity and capability gaps;
The National Security CIO conduct a regular audit to determine the extent to which community members have reached key milestones in making information discoverable and retrievable;
The new National Security College incorporate training modules on how to advance a responsibility to provide culture for senior national security officials;
The National Security CIO work in consultation with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner to develop a transparent national privacy framework of principles to guide information sharing in the national security community;
Greater use of Web 2.0 in the national security space to facilitate information sharing;
Establishing a centralised security vetting agency to issue clearances, rather than each agency ‘doing its own thing’.