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Observing how our past appeared when it was the future can help us understand why events occurred as they did, how individuals became prisoners of their experiences and missed what was blindingly obvious to later generations, and occasionally saw what was coming, only to be dismissed by their contemporaries. In short, the future of war has a distinctive and revealing past.’ Lawrence Freedman [1] History is an assessment of events from the past retold in the present. History is often biased; it is both …

Moving from Gender Analysis to Risk Analysis of Failing to Consider Gender Source: The RUSI Journal The Australian Defence Force is a world leader in integrating the aims of UNSCR 1325, with it being a critical part of training and operations. Despite some success, we must continue to build on and improve the gender planning considerations within our planning processes. Because in wars fought within and ultimately for the support of civilian populations, the gender dimension is a vital one. The article …

Envisioning a new command & control (C2) architecture for all-domain operations Source: MITRE - Feb 21 It is a universal truism that legacy systems are challenged in the effective command and control of joint forces due to impediments between domains, echelons, classifications, and allies. This article investigates the needs of a future, joint command and control system and uses two operational vignettes against a threat with advantages in geography, initiative, and force generation to discuss these needs. …

Australian Army Research Centre Spotlight Briefs provide a periodically released curated overview of issues relevant to Australian Landpower. Spotlight Briefs derive solely from available open source material. Inclusion of material in a Spotlight Brief does not imply or reflect Australian Army, Australian Defence Force or Australian Commonwealth Government policy. The below is a focus on the ‘Strategy’ section of Spotlight Brief 1/21 , which can be viewed fully here . Influencing Adversary States Source: …

Cyber Capabilities and Multi-Domain Operations in Future High-Intensity Warfare in 2030 Source: NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence – Dec 20 Western militaries have spent decades attempting integration of maritime, land and air domains, yet still run into misunderstandings and issues that undermine our ability to operate as a joint force. Despite rapidly growing demand to operate beyond the physical domains, cyber suffers similarly, exacerbated by its newness and opacity to those not …

Improving supply chain resilience through preparedness Source: Security Challenges – Oct 20 Increasingly discussed prior to 2020, COVID-19 brought Australia’s vulnerability to trade disruption into stark reality. Until recently, there has been little from a Departmental (any Department) or overall Government side that has sought to understand our supply chain vulnerabilities and potential mitigation. The disruption of supply chains due to the pandemic has highlighted how these failures exacerbate security …

Eli Berman, Joseph H. Felter, and Jacob N. Shapiro (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2018, 408 pages). The 2018 publication of Small Wars, Big Data: The Information Revolution in Modern Conflict coincided with the release of a body of resources on professional military education by the book’s publisher, Princeton University.  This resource, the Empirical Studies of Conflict (ESOC) website, hosts databases that provide detailed conflict data for a dozen conflicts worldwide, in addition to a number …

“Logrolling” in Antarctic governance: Limits and opportunities Source: Polar Record – Dec 20 In this article, McGee, Carpi and Jackson offer two simultaneous areas of consideration: addressing China’s increasing international influence and assertiveness regarding the Antarctica Treaty, and providing a case study in ‘log-rolling’ as a strategic approach. The former is of increasing importance to Australia given we have significant responsibilities and interests in Antarctica. Matters which undermine either …

Global reset: COVID-19, systemic rivalry and the global order Source: Research in Globalization – Dec 20 One of the surprises from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was the failure of strong Western nations to minimise or control the spread of the disease. This has complicated their standing within the world, a standing already under pressure from rapid economic and military growth in Asia. Dunford and Qi suggest one potential outcome of this, with a reset of the international order now focused on Beijing and …

An analysis of counterterrorism measures taken by Indonesia since the 2002 Bali bombings Source: The Pacific Review – Jul 20 As much as a shock that the Bali bombings of 2002 were to Australians, the event and its long-term impact were even greater for the Indonesians. Coming at the start of the US ‘War on Terror’, there was significant pressure on Jakarta from Washington and Canberra to reform their domestic security posture and crack down on terrorist groups and supporters. Nearly 19 years on, Kathrin …