Publications

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.

 
 
Michael J. Green, Tom Corben, Sophie Mayo, Alice Nason, John Kunkel

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...

26 April 2023
 
Jared Mondschein

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...

26 April 2023
 
Stephen Loosley

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...

22 April 2023
 
Bruce Wolpe

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...

21 April 2023
 
Tom Corben, Sophie Mayo

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...

21 April 2023
 
Frank L. Smith III

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...

18 April 2023
 
Stephen Loosley

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...

17 April 2023
 
Alice Nason, Blake Herzinger

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...

10 April 2023
 
Bruce Wolpe

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...

5 April 2023
 
Blake Herzinger

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...

4 April 2023
 
Peter Dean

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...

1 April 2023
 
Bruce Wolpe

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...

31 March 2023
 
Peter K. Lee

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...

29 March 2023
 
Hayley Channer

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.

24 March 2023
 
Hayley Channer

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...

21 March 2023
 
Stephen Loosley

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...

15 March 2023
 
Peter Dean

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...

15 March 2023
 
Brendon O'Connor

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...

15 March 2023
 
Michael J. Green, Peter Dean, Tom Corben, Peter K. Lee, Hayley Channer, Blake Herzinger

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.

14 March 2023
 
Peter Dean

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...

13 March 2023