January 2024
Why contempt is Trump’s rocket fuel
The inability of elites to disagree with Trump’s base without detesting them is energising his campaign again.
December 2023
Democratic recession could deepen in 2024
At this moment of maximum global peril, democracies have lost the thing they need most: the power of their legitimacy.
November 2023
Far left is down the rabbit hole
How young social justice warriors got mixed up with an adherent of oppressive Sharia Law is a question worth pondering.
Why China running the world is scary
Want to know what life under Chinese Communist rule would be like? Take a look at the differences between Halloween in Sydney and Shanghai.
October 2023
Geopolitical era is worse than a new cold war
The liberal toolkit didn’t just fail to change the dictators. It’s now being weaponised against the West.
As evil goes global, so must we
The world’s most odious regimes are supporting Hamas. Democracies should enable Ukraine to deliver a knockout blow against global authoritarianism.
September 2023
All bets are off if Trump returns to the Oval Office
It’s hard to imagine free societies hanging on globally against an emboldened group of dictatorships if Team Democracy loses Uncle Sam as its key player.
Why voting No will harm Australia’s Pacific diplomacy
In the region where anti-colonialist narratives are powerful and we are playing diplomatic catch-up, the referendum’s failure will be a gift to an expansionist China.
August 2023
Prigozhin’s murder could backfire on Putin
By dealing with the ‘Prigozhin problem’ in such a duplicitous manner, the Russian dictator has devalued his guarantees and gambled the stability that makes him a predictable actor for Russia’s elites.
Putin not the only one to blame for ruining Russia
Propping up the regime of the woefully inept Boris Yeltsin was a critical error that led to chaos and created perfect conditions for “goats” to prosper.
Trump 2.0 would target US democracy
A second Trump presidency wouldn’t be the muppet show we’ve seen, but a ruthless operation subordinating the institutions of independent government.
July 2023
China, not NATO, is militarising Asia
The Solomon Islands’ ‘strategic partnership’ with Beijing should disturb anyone who values peace. It also justifies Australia’s increased engagement with NATO.
On Ukraine’s streets, a new mood emerges
Grief is everywhere, but so too determination. Our special correspondent shares insights from his time in Ukraine in a final dispatch.
Drone warfare could tip the balance in Ukraine
An Australian company is helping Ukrainian forces fight for control of the sky, where drones carrying small bombs or flying ‘kamikaze’ missions are increasingly important.
Will Putin turn captured nuclear power plant into a dirty bomb?
Volodmyr Zelensky says his intelligence services have proof that Russians have mined the Zaporizhzhia electricity plant and plan to blow it up.
‘You will send more?’ Ukrainians want Australia’s Bushmasters
Ordinary Ukrainians have become skilled in military weaponry and which Western country is supplying what in the war against Russia.
Ukraine appeals for ‘life-saving’ Aussie troop carriers
Ukraine’s defence minister has repeated calls for more of Australia’s armoured troop carriers as it pushes ahead with its counteroffensive in the south-east.
June 2023
The atmosphere in Kyiv right now might surprise you
War is hell. People are dying and the horrors you see on TV and social media are all too real. But special correspondent Misha Zelinsky detects optimism in the air.
Putin’s Ukraine folly has left him dangerously exposed
The Russian leader has seen off this latest challenge to his authority, but Yevgeny Prigozhin has uncovered growing vulnerability at the top, writes special correspondent Misha Zelinsky in Warsaw.
Putinistas blaming America for Ukraine let the Dictators Club off the hook
The facts don’t support a shadowy Washington conspiracy. NATO has not ’expanded″ east towards Russia. Former Soviet nations have rushed westward towards democratic freedoms and collective security.