The UK is an island nation, connected to the world by seas and oceans. It's prosperity and security are conditional upon the free flow of goods, services, people and data across, through (and under) the global commons, and the sustainable management of the maritime ecosystem on which its climate depends. However, recent academic discourse has highlighted a maritime vacuum in the national consciousness. By reframing the conversation away from outmoded perspectives of 'sea-blindness' to one ...

Singapore is located in the heart of the Muslim Malay world, yet 78 per cent of its population is ethnically Chinese. The prosperous city-state relies on outside sources for virtually all its water and food; it has no access to the high seas, on which it depends for 85 per cent of its trade, except through its neighbours' waters. Physically linked to Malaysia by a causeway and a bridge, only twenty kilometres of sea separate Singapore from the nearest Indonesian territory.Surrounde...

In the wake of a shift in the global power balance, how can Australia best protect itself?The Echidna Strategy overturns the conventional wisdom about Australia's security. Australia will need to defend itself without American help, but this doesn't need to cost more.The truth, which no Australian political leader is willing to confront, is that America's security is not threatened by China's rise. Once we accept that conclusion, the entire edifice...

Defence expert Kim Richard Nossal presents a damning indictment of defence procurement in Canada, and shows how to fix it.Defence procurement in Canada is a mess. New equipment is desperately needed for the Canadian Armed Forces, but most projects are behind schedule, over budget, or both. Not only has mismanagement cost Canadian taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, it has also deprived Canada and the CAF of much-needed military capacity.Successive go...

A clear-eyed examination of how Australia should approach the complex security challenges at play in its maritime domainSecurity starts at home ...Australia has drawn closer to many of its Asia-Pacific neighbours in recent years, but 'when push comes to shove, it continues to look well beyond the oceans and regions that surround it to the distant horizons of Europe and North America for its ultimate security guarantee'.In Girt by Sea, inter...

The character of war is constantly changing, and so too must the approach to national security. But Australia’s defence policy is broken. Successive governments have not approached the nation’s security with the intelligence, resoluteness and seriousness it requires.After more than 120 years of defence policy centred on dependency, the geopolitical situation demands new thinking by politicians and policymakers to secure the nation for the future. In light of technological progress,...

This open access book is the first comprehensive overview of maritime or marine spatial planning. Countries across the globe are beginning to implement maritime spatial plans; however the authors of this collection have identified several key questions that are emerging from this growing body of MSP experience. How can maritime spatial planning deal with a complex and dynamic environment such as the sea? How can MSP be embedded in multiple levels of governance across regional and national ...

A concise introduction to the history and evolution of security at sea. Whether it is pirates, smugglers, illicit fishing, or disputes in the South China Sea, the oceans are of increasing importance in international security. In Understanding Maritime Security, Christian Bueger and Timothy Edmunds provide a concise introduction to the history of security at sea and explain the core frameworks of analysis that professionals use to understand and tackle challenges ...

What kind of Royal Navy does Britain need now? The 21st century promises to be one of huge uncertainties and challenges for the senior service. Does Britain have the right naval strategy to cope with emerging threats (does it have a naval strategy at all, and should it?) and, if so, does the Navy have the right ships and enough of them to implement it? Given the time taken to introduce changes and develop new systems, policy makers, naval chiefs, and designers are confronted with 50-year d...

Public Relations practice, its approaches and methods have become widely and deeply entrenched in business, government and in many other complex organizations especially in the developed nations of the world. In same manner, its relevance and utility as tool of institutional promotion have equally come to be appreciated in the Armed Forces. The text therefore, within context of the evolution, growth and development of the broad discipline of Public Relations appropriately situates its prac...

"Canberra's strategic illusions are the ultimate cause of our AUKUS debacle, but politics is involved too." HUGH WHITEThe twentieth issue of Australian Foreign Affairs examines Australia's momentous decision to form a security pact with the United States and the United Kingdom that includes an ambitious, expensive and risky plan to acquire nuclear-power submarines – a move that will have far-reaching military and strategic consequences.Dead in the Wat...

What challenges does Australia face as the world's great powers battle for a foothold in the Pacific?The latest issue of Australian Foreign Affairs examines the growing rivalry and increasing tension in the Pacific as it becomes a stage for a great-power contest to gain influence and a strategic position in the region.Girt by China looks at the challenges for Canberra as it seeks to strengthen ties with Pacific island countries and to counter moves...