The United States Studies Centre prides itself on providing independent analysis in the form of research reports and briefs, academic publications, books and commentary. All USSC publications are viewable free of charge.
The release of Australia's Defence Strategic Review (DSR) is one of the most significant moments in the nation's defence landscape in three decades. The review comes at a time of increasing global tensions...
America’s first octogenarian president has finally announced he is going to seek more time in office amid lacklustre public enthusiasm.
At first glance, the challenges facing US President Joe Biden’s re-election appear daunting...
Alexis de Tocqueville arrived in America in 1831 originally to study prison reform. The young French liberal instead produced two volumes which still constitute the most insightful evaluations of the infant American Republic...
The two biggest television events of the year so far in the United States have been the all-cable-all-streaming-live-chopper-coverage of Donald Trump’s motorcade from Mar-a-Lago to the courtroom in Manhattan where he became the...
The advent of AUKUS has invigorated longstanding discussions within the Australia-US Alliance about established patterns of cooperation within the bilateral defence industry and technology relationship. Indeed, the success of AUKUS Pillars I and...
The American concept of integrated deterrence places heavy emphasis on cooperation with allies such as Australia. It also emphasises scientific and technological innovation, as US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin described at the...
On a visit to Australia in the late 1960s, formidable American writer Gore Vidal mused on the presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson.
Vidal told a story that might even be true. At a...
When Australia announced its trilateral security partnership with the United Kingdom and the United States in September 2021, the response from the Indo-Pacific (in particular, from Southeast Asia) was tumultuous. It is no...
The rap on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is that he was in over his head, lurching and grasping to prosecute former president Donald Trump, and that the case would collapse in a...
The United States rose to global primacy as a maritime power whose merchant vessels plied international waters and whose navy secured the vital shipping lanes that still power the global economy. Today, the...
The announcement of the optimal pathway for Australia acquiring nuclear-powered submarines has brought forth, quite rightly, an avalanche of dissection, commentary and analysis. During the past few weeks the national debate has swung...
Former US President Donald Trump has been indicted today. We spoke with the USSC's Senior Non-resident Fellow Bruce Wolpe to get his take on this unfolding moment in US political history.
Bruce, how significant is this...
The AUKUS submarine announcement earlier this month reignited a long-running debate about how to best preserve Australia’s sovereignty.
The announcement addressed some key concerns. For example, the United States will sell (rather than...
The USSC's Director of Economic Security, Hayley Channer, discusses the AUKUS announcement, and why the cost of the new submarines sparked surprise in some circles.
The rationale and intent of AUKUS is sound. However, it will be costly and present ongoing opportunity costs and trade-offs, not only for defence but for broader national resources.
While the first two...
While it may make some of us baulk, the eye-watering $368 billion cost of Australia's submarine venture is a clear and obvious sign that we will do whatever it takes to ensure our...
We now know the “optimal pathway” for Australia to achieve a nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) capability by 2033. This timeline delivers a capability within a decade – completely defying earlier critiques of this program...
Future generations are very unlikely to credit Christopher Hitchens with saving the Left. Nor is he likely to be remembered as a great essayist like his long-time hero George Orwell, or even H.L...
The AUKUS report is one of the most significant defence pacts in Australian history, and experts at the United States Studies Centre have provided their take on today's important announcement.
One of the criticisms of the AUKUS announcement in September 2021 was that the argument for why Australia needed a nuclear-powered submarine was not run and won by the Morrison government. With the...