Cold War lessons from Ronald Reagan

One year ago, Anthony Albanese, Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden gathered at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego to share the ‘optimal pathway’ for Australia to acquire the nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS agreement. This critical step laid out the timeline, the type of submarines that would be acquired and the price tag of $268-$368b for AUKUS Pillar I.

But we wanted to check in, one year after the optimal pathway was announced. How are we progressing? Was the pathway realistic? And what are the barriers would be most likely to derail this plan?

United States Studies Centre (USSC) Director of Foreign Policy and Defence Prof. Peter Dean and Research Associate Alice Nason joined Director of Engagement and Impact Mari Koeck to discuss.

Read more:

AUKUS inflection point: Building the ecosystem for workforce development by Peter Dean, Alice Nason, Sophie Mayo and Samuel Garrett

AUKUS has become a case study in generational politics by Peter Dean and Alice Nason

Are Biden and Congress playing chicken with AUKUS? by Tom Corben and Alice Nason

The university sector’s value proposition for AUKUS: Times Higher Education Summit outcomes report by Peter Dean, Sophie Mayo and Alex Favier

The social licence for AUKUS has not yet been earned by Sophie Mayo, Peter Lee and Alice Nason

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Produced by: Elliott Brennan

This is the third in a series of three episodes this week recorded following USSC’s Indo-Pacific Strategy Simulation in November 2023. In these recordings, leading regional experts sit down with our own resident scholars to discuss Indo-Pacific security issues, trilateral cooperation between Australia, Japan and the United States, and the finer points of designing and playing a strategic simulation.

This episode features Prof. Peter Dean, Director of the Foreign Policy and Defence Program at the USSC in conversation with Jacqueline Borsboom, Managing Director for Australia at the Asia Group.

Subscribe to the USSC Briefing Room on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Produced by: Elliott Brennan

This is the second in a series of three episodes this week recorded following USSC’s Indo-Pacific Strategy Simulation in November 2023. In these recordings, leading regional experts sit down with our own resident scholars to discuss Indo-Pacific security issues, trilateral cooperation between Australia, Japan and the United States, and the finer points of designing and playing a strategic simulation.

This episode features Prof. Peter Dean, Director of the Foreign Policy and Defence Program at the USSC in conversation with Zack Cooper, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC.

You can also hear from Zack Cooper and Peter Dean in the recording from the Sydney International Strategy Forum panel discussion on AUKUS, the Quad and the future of alliances and partnerships here.

Subscribe to the USSC Briefing Room on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Produced by: Elliott Brennan

This week on the podcast, we’re bringing you the first three episodes in a series recorded following USSC’s Indo-Pacific Strategy Simulation in November 2023. In these recordings, leading regional experts sit down with our own resident scholars to discuss Indo-Pacific security issues, trilateral cooperation between Australia, Japan and the United States, and the finer points of designing and playing a strategic simulation.

This episode features Dr Michael Green, CEO of the USSC, in conversation with Nobukatsu Kanehara, Executive Director of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Tokyo, Japan.

You can also hear from Nobukatsu Kanehara in the recording from the Sydney International Strategy Forum panel discussion on AUKUS, the Quad and the future of alliances and partnerships here.

Subscribe to the USSC Briefing Room on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Produced by: Elliott Brennan

After a year of travel, conferences and meetings in the four Quad countries — Australia, India, Japan and the United States — four think tank experts from across the Indo-Pacific enter the USSC Briefing Room to discuss Quad cooperation. 

What is the Quad trying to achieve? What is and isn’t working well and how can the four countries more closely and effectively cooperate on their shared vision for the region?

In this ‘QuadPod’, Lucas Meyers, from the Wilson Center in the United States, Dr Gaurav Saini from the Council for Strategic and Defense Research in India, Dr Shu Uchida from Waseda University in Japan, and the USSC’s own Victoria Cooper share their views on the big questions.

Read more:

• The Quad topic on ussc.edu.au
• What is the Quad? by Blake Berger, Victoria Cooper, Lucas Myers, Shu Uchida, and Gaurav Saini
• Bolstering the Quad: The case for a collective approach to maritime security by Tom Corben, Ashley Townshend, Blake Herzinger, Darshana M Baruah, and Dr Tomohiko Satake
• The Quad is edging closer to collective maritime defence by Tom Corben

Subscribe to the USSC Briefing Room on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Produced by: Elliott Brennan

Last week, the special counsel Robert Hur released his report with findings of his investigation into President Biden’s handling of classified documents after he left the office of vice president. While a legal vindication in that he will not be charged, it has poured petrol on the fire that is discussion on Biden’s age and whether he’s up for a second term. We dove into this topic with Washington insider, United States Studies Centre Non-Resident Senior Fellow Bruce Wolpe.

How much of a risk is this to Biden’s campaign? Who is winning the messaging war between Republicans and Democrats? And, ultimately, what would actually have to happen in order for President Biden to step aside?

Subscribe to the USSC Briefing Room on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Produced by: Elliott Brennan

Last month, world leaders gathered in Dubai for the UN Climate Change Conference – COP 28. The loss and damage agreement supporting nations impacted by climate change made headlines, but the walk back of language around fossil fuels was viewed by many as a step backwards.

Was COP28 a net positive or negative? How relevant is COP anymore? Where should global efforts focus to mitigate climate change?

United States Studies Centre (USSC) Non-Resident Fellow Lachlan Carey, Manager at RMI sat down with USSC Research Director Jared Mondschein to discuss COP28 and next steps for climate action in 2024.

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Produced by: Elliott Brennan

The first contest of the 2024 US presidential election kicked off in Iowa this week. Dedicated Republicans turned out and voiced support for Donald Trump, delivering him the majority of votes with a 30-point margin over his competition. Ron DeSantis barely beat out Nikki Hayley for the number two spot, but Hayley was the only candidate to win a precinct other than Trump.

Going into the next primaries, does anyone stand a chance against Trump? What would be the pathway to victory for a Trump challenger? Who is a likely choice for vice president?

United States Studies Centre Non-Resident Senior Fellow Lester Munson joined Research Director Jared Mondschein to break down what happened in Iowa and what this means for Trump’s candidacy.

Read more:

Trump wins big in Iowa, now what? By Lester Munson

A guide to the 2024 presidential election: from primaries to president by Ava Kalinauskas and Samuel Garrett

USSC Insights | Reactions to Iowa

Where the ‘other’ 2024 Republican candidates stand on Australia and the world by Ava Kalinauskas and Samuel Garrett

Subscribe to the USSC Briefing Room on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Produced by: Elliott Brennan

Looking for something to read? In our ‘Book Talk’ series, our experts discuss their book projects and why you should read them. In this episode, Associate Professor David Smith talks through his research on religious persecution in the United States, the role of religion in politics, and ideas of political order, social cohesion and American identity.  

Why does a country that sees religious freedom as central to its founding have such a painful history with religious persecution? How does the US experience compare with what we’ve seen in Australia? Where is the United States today on the spectrum of religious persecution and protection? 

Associate Professor Smith’s 2015 book Religious Persecution and Political Order in the United States was published by Cambridge University Press. 

Produced by Elliott Brennan 

Are you wondering what to read over the holiday period? In our ‘Book Talk’ series, our experts discuss their latest book projects and why you should read them. In this episode, USSC CEO Dr Michael J. Green sheds light on the evolution of Japan’s grand strategy. 

How is Abe’s strategic approach to the Indo-Pacific reflected in Japan, Australia and the United States today? What lessons can be learned from Abe’s approach to China and the Trump administration? Why is the relationship between Australia and Japan deepening? How might strategic competition end? 

Dr Green’s 2022 book, Line of Advantage: Japan’s Grand Strategy in the Era of Abe Shinzō, draws from Mike’s long-standing connection with the former Prime Minister and provides a unique political and historical context of Japan’s security policy and the role of US alliances in the Indo Pacific. 

Read more: 

• Dr Michael J Green, Line of Advantage: Japan’s Grand Strategy in the Era of Abe Shinzō, (Columbia University Press, 2022) 
• USSC Director of Research Jared Mondschein and Research Editor Victoria Cooper, One year from the 2024 US presidential election: The stakes for Australia and the alliance (United States Studies Centre, 2023) 

Produced by Elliott Brennan