Nuclear Proliferation CSIS delivers ‘ Toward a More Proliferated World? ’, a comprehensive report identifying and assessing the geopolitical trends that may shape the future nuclear proliferation landscape. CSIS argues that the current US framework to prevent proliferation is being eroded by geopolitical forces; and raises questions whether the international community’s relatively successful non-proliferation track record can be maintained. CSIS highlights seven concerning trends: Nuclear threats are …

This blog post is a two-part adaptation of the author’s essay entitled Moral injury and the gap between the soldier and the state’s moral identity, which placed third in the ADF Officer’s category of the 2019 Jamie Cullens Defence Essay Competition. The original can be viewed in full on The Forge’s website here . While Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Veteran Suicide receive a great deal of attention in Australia, the existence of moral injury is receiving growing attention. A/Prof Deane-Peter …

When responding to the strategic challenges in the Indo-Pacific, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is employed as a tool of coercion and deterrence. In regional peacekeeping, for example, where the Australian Federal Police (AFP) is charged with maintaining order and controlling crime alongside the indigenous police forces, the ADF is used as an instrument of persuasion against the greater sources of violence and instability. Within this role, the ADF can be thought of as an ‘information operation’ (IO). …

Major Power Competition IFRI reports that the ‘Transformation of Russian Strategic Culture’ is evolving fast. With the Russian ruling regime maturing “into a more rigid autocracy, its ideological outlooks become increasingly conservative, which hampers the modernization of the strategic culture”. The pressure of actual military engagements and rapidly evolving technologies are also influencing changes. As a result, IFRI argues their next moves are almost impossible to predict, as “Russian strategic culture …

Insight into the strategic calculus of an opponent is a rare commodity. Intention is often inferred indirectly from an adversary’s actions, giving rise to misunderstanding, miscalculation and misfortune. Following World War II, Sir Basil Liddell Hart interviewed German Generals facing trial at Nuremburg, recorded in The Other Side of the Hill , which offered insight into the calculus informing decisions to execute particular actions at given times. This account critically forced review of British views of …

Major Power Competition From The Diplomat , an analysis of the Type 076 LHD being developed by the People’s Liberation Army. Of note is that it is believed capable of conducting fixed wing flight operations via electromagnetic catapult, suggesting the intent to operate UAVs, in addition to the capability of conducting well-deck operations. If accurate, this might suggest an expanding scope of naval power projection made possible by using unmanned systems, at lesser expense than traditional aircraft carrier …

Major Power Competition From the Modern War Institute (MWI), a report analysing hybrid warfare in the Ukraine, with exploration of Russian activities across multiple domains. This report is important in that it highlights the breadth of this contemporary competition, much of which is not lethal, occurring off the battlefield. It also complements analysis also from MWI recommending joint force awareness of the US Marine Corps modernisation program as a microcosm of adaptation to the requirements of today’s …

Most of us have a fair idea on the definition of organisational culture. It shapes institutional behaviour, motivations, philosophies, expectations and ambitions. Put simply, organisational culture determines ‘ what, how and why things are done, [and will be done,]’ within an enterprise. Arguably, to comprehend an organisation, particularly one with which you wish to partner, you must understand its culture. Accordingly, this second blog in a series on the French Army, the armée de Terre , will offer an …

This blog is part of a series on Quantum Technology and future land warfare, put out by the Robotic and Autonomous Systems Implementation and Coordination Office (RICO), a part of Future Land Warfare Branch within Army HQ tasked with coordination and de-confliction for Army's Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS)/Artificial Intelligence (AI) and emerging disruptive technology. Quantum sensors measure time, dynamics (i.e. forces, acceleration and rotation), and fields (i.e. gravitational, electromagnetic …

This is the third blog in a series on the French Army, benchmarking the armée de Terre , its culture and in this post, its structure. This series will offer an outsider’s perspective on its organisational culture. In doing so, it will review the observations relevant to the increasingly important Army-to-armée partnership. The author currently serves as Army’s Liaison Officer to the armée de Terre in France. Humans embrace structure – of all kinds. It codifies chaos. With neatness and simplicity, structure …