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Abstract Strategic brinkmanship, the preparedness to take a country to the edge of war without having to ultimately do so, has a powerful historical basis in the United States and China and is on the rise between those nations in the Indo-Pacific. Although their competition is multifaceted, the most significant security risk for Australia appears likely to play out in the race for technologically sophisticated autonomous systems and artificial intelligence (A/AI), where risk-taking could confer a decisive …

This edition of the Australian Army Journal explores force structure, command and control, with particular focus on the relevance of disruptive technology. In doing so, it presents contemporary perspectives as well as those drawn from Army’s archives.  Three book reviews focus on the moral, cultural and practical challenges posed by war. The Australian Army Journal is an integral element of the Australian Army Research Centre’s contribution to discourse on the profession of arms and preparation of the ADF …

American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict   by Elbridge A. Colby Yale University Press , 2021. pp 384 Hardcover ISBN: 0300256434 Paperback ISBN: 0300268025 Reviewed By : Courtney Stewart   Since its 2021 release, Elbridge Colby’s The Strategy of Denial remains a critical contribution to defence strategists grappling with the evolving complexities of China’s growing assertiveness, great power competition in the Indo-Pacific and the role of allies within these dynamics. The Strategy of Denial argues …

Ms Courtney Stewart is Senior Managing Consultant OCRT Consulting. Ms Courtney Stewart has over 20 years of national security experience in government, industry, and think tanks. Courtney is regularly invited to speaker and commentate on deterrence matters in the Indo-Pacific. She previously served as the US Department of Defense (DoD) Policy Exchange Officer to Australian DoD Strategic Policy Division. In the Pentagon she worked in the offices of Nuclear and Missile Defense, East Asia, Nuclear Matters, …

Dr Jack Watling Senior Research Fellow, Land Warfare, Royal United Services Institute Dr Watling provides a powerful assessment on the profession of arms and delves into the human elements of war and contemporary battlefields. He states he will cover four things: Firstly, address what is the relationship between technology and professionalism. Secondly, suggest some aspects of the human face of battle which are changing and which we need to confront and be prepared for. Thirdly, address what that means for …

The War Diary of Lieutenant General Geoffrey Keyes   by Geoffrey Keyes, edited by James W. Holsinger Jr University Press of Kentucky , Lexington, 2024,  459 pp Hardcover ISBN: 9780813198712 Reviewed By: Chris Roberts   Lieutenant General Geoffrey Keyes, a 1913 graduate of the United States Military Academy, saw active service in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations during the Second World War, and later served in occupied Germany and occupied Austria. During the North African Campaign, from November …

The War of Ideas: Jihad Against Democracy   Written by: Walid Phares, Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, ISBN: 9781403976390, 266 pp. Reviewed by: Lieutenant Colonel Jason Thomas The referees for the author of this book are many and varied. Phares is, according to the book sleeve, a world renowned expert on Islamic based terrorism and the Middle-East, with many television and governmental interviews. It is obvious upon reading the text that his knowledge of the subject is indeed impressive. Additionally, he makes …

The Secret War: A True History of Queensland’s Native Police   Written by: Jonathan Richards, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, 2008, ISBN: 9780702236396, 320 pp. Reviewed by: Major Murray Stewart Considering the Australian frontier war raged from 1788 into the 1920s across Australia with the expanding settlement, and about 2000 white and 20,000 Aboriginals were killed as a direct result of armed clashes, it is surprising that it is only now starting to loom in Australian military consciousness. …

Extraordinary Justice: Military Tribunals in Historical and International Context   Written by: Peter Judson Richards, New York University Press, New York, 2007, ISBN: 9780814775912, 272 pp. Reviewed by: Wing Commander Terence O’Connor Against the background of the ongoing Guantanamo Bay controversy, the time is right for a book that presents a balanced analysis of the history and current utility of Military Tribunals and Military Commissions. Extraordinary Justice: Military Tribunals in Historical and …

Between Victor and Vanquished – ATIS Interrogators in the Pacific War   Written by: Arthur Page, Australian Military History Publications, Loftus, 2008, ISBN: 9780980475319, 525 pp. Reviewed by: Colonel Terry McCullagh Between Victor and Vanquished is Arthur Page’s own story of his remarkable wartime career. Arthur arrived in Australia at the age of 19, a refugee from a Japan gone mad with nationalistic fervour and rabid militarism. Arthur’s parents had escaped to Japan in 1920 from Russia, so this was the …