Programs & Projects

The International Security Program

The International Security Program

The International Security Program looks at strategic dynamics and security risks globally, with an emphasis on Australia's region of Indo-Pacific Asia. Its research spans strategic competition and the risks of conflict in Asia, security implications of the rise of China and India, maritime security, nuclear arms control, Australian defence policy and the changing character of conflict. The Program draws on a network of experts in Australia, Asia and globally, and is supported by diverse funding sources including grants from the MacArthur Foundation and the Nuclear Threat Initiative. It convenes international policy dialogues such as the 2017 Australia-ROK Emerging Leaders International Security Forum and has a record of producing leading-edge, influential reports.

Experts
Latest publications
News and media
The risks and ramifications of Trump's impulsive adventurism
Commentary
The risks and ramifications of Trump's impulsive adventurism
'The prospect of a game of nuclear chicken between two cocksure hustlers like Kim Jong-un and Trump is deeply unsettling; more so if it comes at the front end of Trump’s learning…
More Indonesian maritime co-operation remains an elusive goal
Commentary
More Indonesian maritime co-operation remains an elusive goal
Jakarta is only very slowly responding to Canberra's overtures for more joint security at sea. We have no choice but to persevere, writes Euan Graham. Originally published in The…
Dominoes in the South China Sea
Commentary
Dominoes in the South China Sea
First the Philippines, now Malaysia is being drawn deeper into China's orbit. Are dominoes teetering again in Southeast Asia? The limitations of that metaphor were clear in the…
Law of the sea: Activist judges open a pandora's box
Law of the sea: Activist judges open a pandora's box
The recent judgement by the Arbitral Tribunal constituted under Annex VII of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the nature of the features in the South China…
What the Philippines and Australia can learn from Vietnam about living with China
What the Philippines and Australia can learn from Vietnam about living with China
It is early days, granted, but the Philippines' crude and crass new president Rodrigo Duterte appears increasingly intent on reversing his predecessor's plucky South China Sea…
Tactical nuclear weapons in the modern nuclear era
Analyses
Tactical nuclear weapons in the modern nuclear era
In this Lowy Institute Analysis, Brendan Thomas-Noone argues that advances in technology are making tactical nuclear weapons more precise and potentially more usable. He argues…
What needs to happen before the 2018 ASEAN-Australia leaders summit
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's pledge to hold an ASEAN-Australia leaders' summit in 2018 is a sign that Australia intends to take a more proactive and public role in shaping…
Dastyari shows foreign political donation ban needed
Commentary
Dastyari shows foreign political donation ban needed
Originally published in The Australian Financial Review.Rory Medcalf
The Hague Tribunal's South China Sea ruling: empty provocation or slow-burning influence?
Commentary
The Hague Tribunal's South China Sea ruling: empty provocation or slow-burning influence?
Last month’s ruling by a tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on the dispute brought by the Philippines against China has earned its place in maritime legal…
We must not be bullied out of South China Sea
Commentary
We must not be bullied out of South China Sea
Originally published in The Australian.Euan Graham