ASPI ranks highly in international survey of think tanks

ASPI has once again been rated as a world class Institute in the University of Pennsylvania’s 2013 Global Go-To Think Tank Index.

Last year ASPI ranked in the top 30 of Security and International Affairs Think Tanks. This year that category has been split, and ASPI is pleased to have made it onto both new lists. ASPI ranks in the top 20 of ‘defense and national security think tanks’, the highest ranked institute in that category outside of Europe and the United States, and in the top 30 of ‘foreign policy and international affairs think tanks’. 

After 18 months of hard work on establishing our social media presence, ASPI has made its debut in the ‘best use of social networks’ category, ranking in the top 30. Our extensive social media reach allows ASPI to communicate its first class research and analytic ability to the public, something we believe is important as a majority publically  funded think tank.

ASPI is also very pleased to note that its collaboration with South Africa’s Brenthurst Foundation has been recognised as a top 30 collaborative venture. Our work with Brenthurst reflects the importance both our institutes see in developing mature policy discussions both within Africa and with the international community.

Finally, ASPI is delighted to see that the international community thinks that our best work is still ahead of us, ranking us number two on the list of ‘Think tanks to watch’. Given that the number one position was the BRICS Policy Centre in Brazil, representing what by common consensus is the most important developing area in international affairs, we appreciate the vote of confidence.

To see the report go to http://gotothinktank.com/

Contact: Lynne Gozzard

Phone: 02 6270 5109

ASPI is expanding its research team

ASPI is expanding its team of experts and research scope to respond to the challenges presented by a more complicated strategic outlook and to make a contribution to thinking for a new Defence White Paper in 2013.

Following the departure of Dr Carl Ungerer as National Security Program Director, ASPI is recruiting two Program Directors and one or more Research Associates to provide high level support to the Institute’s research programs. This is an exceptional opportunity for talented individuals to contribute to the work of Australia’s leading think tank on defence and strategic policy issues.

ASPI has been ranked among the top 30 think tanks on security and international affairs in the world in the Go-to Think Tanks index compiled annually by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Some of the research topics and expertise that the new positions will cover include international defence and security, US–Australia relations and trends, the security aspects of cyberspace, Australian national security policy, Chinese military capability, the strategic dimensions of international economics with a focus on our region, and Australian defence capability development and budgeting.

More information about this recruitment can be found here.

Beyond Af-Pak: Australia’s long-term interests in Pakistan

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute has today released a new Strategic Insights publication titled ‘Beyond Af-Pak: Australia’s long-term interests in Pakistan’ by Kate Boswood, Jacob Townsend and Silal Shafqat.

The report argues that stability in Pakistan will remain central to the international community’s interests in South Asia, well beyond the war in Afghanistan.

Australia is not a major player shaping the international community’s interests in Pakistan. But we can contribute by fostering security at the margins because we are viewed as having less of an ‘agenda’ or political baggage than others. Australia should shift its practical actions to peripheral geographic areas to engage with Pakistan’s major zones of instability. 
 
The most important of these are Pakistan’s border areas with Afghanistan: Balochistan province, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KPK) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Large swathes of these areas have long been identified as incubators and theatres of serious transnational security challenges, with impacts felt regionally and globally. But no Australian department is directly attempting to improve security at the local level in Balochistan and KPK.

Australia’s current assistance does not address community insecurity directly. We are missing a strategy that aligns our long-term interests in Pakistan’s stability with more substantive opportunities to pursue them. A practical emphasis on improving community security in Pakistan’s border areas would more closely align with our priority of supporting Pakistan’s stability.

Australia should:
• strengthen civilian oversight of police
• strengthen community policing
• improve training for lower police ranks.

Australia should stress the importance of Pakistan’s future, regardless of what happens in Afghanistan. 
By shifting the focus to improving stability in Pakistan’s peripheries, Australia will find feasible opportunities for engagement that more directly align with our interests. Promoting community security—by supporting civilian oversight of police, community policing pilots, and training for low-rank personnel—is a niche that Australia can fill. 

Key positions announced at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI)

Peter  Jennings, currently the Deputy Secretary for Strategy with the Department of Defence, has been selected to be the new Executive Director of ASPI following the retirement in April of the incumbent, Major General Peter Abigail (Retd).

ASPI is one of Australia’s leading public policy think-tanks. It is an independent, non-partisan policy institute established by the government to provide fresh ideas on Australia’s defence and strategic policy choices.

“Peter was selected for the Executive Director’s position after an extensive global search process,” said Mr Stephen Loosley, Chairman of the ASPI Council. “The Government has now confirmed the appointment.”

“I am pleased to welcome Peter to this position,” Mr Loosley said. “He is a very experienced strategist having worked at the highest levels of Defence and Government over many years.”

“I know that he will bring high quality leadership and analytical skills to ASPI, and further build on the solid reputation of the Institute.”

“I also want to thank Peter Abigail, who is the outgoing ASPI Executive Director,” Mr Loosley said. “Peter Abigail has served ASPI with distinction over the last seven years. He has steered the Institute through a period of significant change and growth, including successfully renegotiating ASPI’s financial agreement with the Department of Defence. Under Peter’s leadership ASPI has cemented its leading role in defence and strategic policy thinking in Australia and been recognised as one of the world’s leading security and international affairs think tanks,” Mr Loosley said.

The Government has also extended Stephen Loosley’s term as Chairman of the ASPI Council.

“I am pleased to serve in this capacity,” Mr Loosley said. “At a time of international change Australia faces a growing range of strategic challenges. ASPI can play an important role in improving the quality of Australia’s strategic policy thinking.”

“I am looking forward to working with Peter Jennings on continuing to strengthen ASPI’s influence and putting forward new strategic thinking for Australia,” Mr Loosley said.

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Note: Peter Jennings bio is available here. Peter Jennings will not be available for interview until he leaves the Defence Department and starts at ASPI in late April. We will advise the media on his availability. Mr Loosley is available for interview at the following number: 02 6270 5110

You can also read the press release from the Minister for Defence here.

Two steps forward, one step back: Indonesia’s arduous path of reform

The  Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has released a new publication titled ‘Two steps forward, one step back: Indonesia’s arduous path of reform’. Launching the publication, ASPI Executive Director, Peter Abigail, noted that it had been some time since the Institute last wrote upon the topic of Indonesia, and the latest assessment provided a valuable overview of developments in Australia’s large neighbour. 

The publication, written by Professor Damien Kingsbury of Deakin University, says Australians have long worried about whether Indonesia is ‘special’ or ‘normal’. Instead, we need to deal with Indonesia as it really is—a country experiencing simultaneously the challenges of political reform, economic development and a shifting regional security environment. The country’s political future is less certain than we would hope: after SBY’s term of government ends, the choice of a successor will be critical in determining the future of reform. We can’t rule out that Indonesia might slide back to old ways of doing business—democratisation is a fraught process.

As the Indonesian economy grows, so too do the prospects for Indonesia to establish its natural position as the leader of Southeast Asia. As the world is re-examining Indonesia, so too Indonesia is looking afresh at the world—more interested in external issues than it was a decade ago. The Southeast Asian subregion increasingly finds itself at the centre of a more strongly interconnected Indo-Pacific region—so Indonesia’s strategic importance is going up.

It’s important for Australia to build a better strategic relationship with Indonesia. The two are complementary partners. Australia should be proactive in exploring new opportunities for cooperation with a reform minded Indonesia—it’s in our interests to draw Indonesia into a more important strategic role in regional security.

Professor Damien Kingsbury is the Director, Centre for Citizenship, Development and Human Rights, Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University, Melbourne.

Japan’s strategic outlook

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute today released a new report, Japan’s strategic outlook by Dr Rod Lyon.

Japan has endured a difficult couple of decades, but probably confronts another. With its economy stalled, its political system still evolving towards a genuine multiparty system, and its population ageing and shrinking, it confronts a daunting array of domestic challenges.  The great East Asian earthquake of March has only added to its problems. The after-effects will be felt for years, not least in the continuing nuclear problems at Fukushima. Those challenges mean Japan will probably remain an introverted strategic player during the next decade or so.  Arguments made by a range of commentators about five years ago, that Japan had entered a critical ‘turning point’ in its strategic policy, now seem less compelling.

For Australia, the challenge is how to partner with that inward-looking Japan over the next ten-to-fifteen years. The pace of change in Asian strategic settings is such that much may change during that period. And there aren’t many Japan-sized players in the regional system, so we have to work to ensure that the one we already have remains committed to shared objectives to the greatest extent possible. We need to ‘work with’ Japan, perhaps bringing more ourselves to the relationship to offset Japan’s period of hesitancy.  But we might also need a ‘work around’ strategy—accepting that we need to do more with others to compensate for Japan’s strategic hesitancy. Australia wants an Asia with a range of engaged great powers—and Japan is an important part of that future Asia.’

Beyond bin Laden: Future trends in terrorism

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has released a new publication titled ‘Beyond bin Laden: Future trends in terrorism’.

This Strategy report examines the shifting patterns of global terrorism. It is the first major ASPI report on terrorism since the death of Osama bin Laden in May 2011. The report provides a comprehensive assessment of the geographic, operational and ideological trends that are driving the current wave of jihadist terrorism around the world. Those trends point to the increasing diversification of the threat, as a new generation of terrorist leaders in South Asia, North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula adapt and reinterpret al-Qaeda’s ideology.

The paper argues that new patterns of global terrorism will require more agile and effective policy responses. For Australia, the focus of counter-terrorism and counter-radicalisation efforts must shift towards the three areas most at risk from the influence of al-Qaeda’s ideology – individuals, institutions and the internet.

The paper was written by Carl Ungerer, Director of ASPI’s National Security Program.

More than good deeds: Disaster risk management and the Australian, Japanese and US defence forces

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has released a new publication on the challenges for the defence forces of Australia, Japan and the US in responding to regional natural disasters.

The report, authored by Athol Yates and Anthony Bergin, suggests that Asia–Pacific states need to allocate greater resources to risk reduction activities and increase the speed and effectiveness of relief efforts.

Australia, Japan and the US are active in promoting disaster risk management as a key component of their Asia–Pacific relations and regional military engagement strategies.

This report argues that the three states’ militaries will continue to play an increasing role across the disaster risk management spectrum.

The primary justification for dispatching defence forces to help another country experiencing a disaster is usually humanitarian.

But for Australia, Japan and the US, there are several other drivers: reinforcing alliances and partnerships, advancing foreign policy agendas and providing knowledge of operational military capabilities.

To better match the three nations’ defence forces’ disaster assistance capabilities with government expectations, the report recommends:

The defence forces of the three countries should establish a regular trilateral dialogue to share lessons learned in disaster risk management and improve trilateral and multilateral military cooperation during and after disasters.

Governments should publicly identify the benefits of using their defence forces in disaster risk management activities.

All three military forces should integrate the key drivers for their use in disaster risk management activities into strategic guidance, doctrine, force structure and capability development.

Defence forces and other stakeholders should seek to moderate government and public expectations about the use of the military in disaster risk management activities by identifying the costs and benefits of that involvement.

Defence forces should produce a list of options for government that covers both disaster relief and disaster risk reduction activities that they could undertake. 

Release of ASPI Strategy – Our near abroad: Australia and Pacific islands regionalism

The  Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has released a new publication on the challenges for Australia to engage its Pacific neighbours.

The report, authored by Richard Herr and Anthony Bergin, suggests that with rising Chinese influence in the region, the US appears to doubt that Australia can deliver on South Pacific issues.

The Pacific Island members of the United Nations now meet under the rubric of the Pacific Small Islands Developing States that excludes Australia.

The Melanesian Spearhead Group has backed fellow member Fiji against Australian sanctions.  The MSG doesn’t include Australia.

Australia is losing influence over collective decision-making in the South Pacific. 

Australia should re-gather the threads of regional leadership.

The report makes  recommendations to achieve this including: establishing a regional maritime coordination centre; encouraging Chinese participation in regional law enforcement; repairing our relationship with Fiji; providing funding to  the MSG Secretariat; introducing a  scheme for permanent migration from the smaller island states; assessing the practicality of a regional insurance scheme for natural disasters; including the fisheries sector in our Pacific seasonal worker pilot scheme; offering a program of scholarships to talented Islander children to attend boarding schools in Australia; introducing a Colombo Plan for the Pacific islands; creating an Office of Sport and Diplomacy within DFAT to bring together the people of the Pacific through sport; establishing a Pacific islands studies institute here; and ensuring that a Pacific islands posting is part of a complete Australian diplomatic career.

Three views of risks: Selecting and acquiring military equipment

Release of ASPI Special Report

Providing the ADF with state of the art equipment can be a challenging business. Sometimes the world market can provide a proven solution with the right level of capability, but often that isn’t the case. Then it’s a matter of either accepting a more modest level of performance or going down the path of developing a new weapon system. This collection of papers provides three different perspectives of the issues that arise when defence planners have to weigh these options.

The first paper, by ASPI’s Mark Thomson, discusses the applicability of commercial techniques for evaluating and managing risks in defence projects. The translation isn’t straightforward because of the ‘public goods’ nature of defence, and cost-benefit calculations are tricky when there is a degree of subjectivity in the benefit side of the equation.

In the second paper, ASPI’s Andrew Davies takes a more empirical look at defence projects and the many pitfalls that come with technically challenging projects. The paper concludes that high levels of engineering skill—a commodity in short supply within Defence—are needed if projects are to have the best chance of success. The paper is rounded off with some thoughts by recently retired DMO CEO Dr Steven Gumley, who has provided his ‘four rules of defence acquisition’.

Defence projects couldn’t be delivered without the work of industry. The final paper, by CEO of Thales Australia Chris Jenkins, provides an industry perspective. He argues that maintaining defence industry should be seen as a vital part of the nation’s defence strategy and that tomorrow’s defence capability will be shaped in no small part by the skill base being laid down today.