- Section 702 foreign surveillance law lives on, but privacy fight continuesby Peter Swire, Professor of Law and Ethics, Georgia Institute of Technology on May 9, 2024 at 12:32 pm
Privacy advocates lost out when Congress reauthorized Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act without major reforms. But the renewal fight returns in 2 years.
- Climate engineering carries serious national security risks − countries facing extreme heat may try it anyway, and the world needs to be preparedby Ben Kravitz, Assistant Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Indiana University on April 4, 2024 at 12:45 pm
The big question: Would climate engineering like sending reflective particles into the stratosphere or brightening clouds help reduce the national security risks of climate change or make them worse?
- Hundreds of Nigerian children are being kidnapped – the government must change its security strategyby Al Chukwuma Okoli, Reader (Associate Professor) Department of Political Science, Federal University of Lafia, Nigeria, Federal University Lafia on March 22, 2024 at 3:52 pm
Nigeria’s school abductions are a sign of neglect of territorial and human security in the country.
- The government is fighting a new High Court case on immigration detainees. What’s it about and what’s at stake?by Anne Twomey, Professor emerita, University of Sydney on March 20, 2024 at 4:45 am
The government will head back to the High Court next month for another immigration case. If it loses, there could be wide-ranging consequences.
- Will the AUKUS deal survive in the event of a Trump presidency? All signs point to yesby John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University on March 18, 2024 at 2:57 am
Amid reports of a dip in US production of nuclear submarines and concerns about the future of the agreement under Donald Trump, some have questioned the viability of AUKUS. But they need not worry.
- Over-emphasising some things, underplaying others: ASIO’s threat assessment is underpinned by confusing logicby Greg Austin, Adjunct Professor, Australia-China Relations Institute, University of Technology Sydney on March 4, 2024 at 2:54 am
ASIO is effective in defeating threats and being transparent in reporting on them, but its latest annual threat assessment leaves room to question its strategic priorities.
- Surveillance and the state: South Africa’s proposed new spying law is open for comment – an expert points out its flawsby Jane Duncan, Professor of Digital Society, University of Glasgow on February 5, 2024 at 2:19 pm
The fact that the presidency is attempting to get away with minimal regulation of bulk interception raises doubt about its commitment to ending intelligence abuse.
- South Africa’s new intelligence bill is meant to stem abuses – what’s good and bad about itby Jane Duncan, Professor of Digital Society, University of Glasgow on January 11, 2024 at 3:54 pm
The bill seeks greater intelligence powers but neglects oversight.
- Spycatcher scandal: newly released documents from the Thatcher era reveal the changing nature of government secrecyby Dennis C Grube, Professor of Politics and Public Policy, University of Cambridge on January 4, 2024 at 3:44 pm
Cabinet Office papers expose Thatcher’s anxiety over the famous book, and the difference between governing in the 1980s and the modern information age.
- What is the government’s preventative detention bill? Here’s how the laws will work and what they mean for Australia’s detention systemby Michelle Peterie, Research Fellow, University of Sydney on December 6, 2023 at 11:20 am
The release of more than 140 ex-detainees from immigration detention has prompted a panicked government response. So, what does the legislation say, and what happens now?
- Extreme weather leaves energy networks vulnerable to ‘hostile actors’, Climate Statement warnsby Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra on November 29, 2023 at 11:30 am
The Climate statement, prepared by departmental officials, will be released by the Minister for Climate and Energy Chris Bowen on Thursday with updated security warnings.
- David McBride is facing jailtime for helping reveal alleged war crimes. Will it end whistleblowing in Australia?by Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, Associate Professor, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland on November 20, 2023 at 4:45 am
David McBride helped bring about a reckoning with the Australian Defence Force, but came at a legal cost. Will it stop others coming forward?
- Fewer U.S. college students are studying a foreign language − and that spells trouble for national securityby Deborah Cohn, Provost Professor of Spanish and Portuguese, Indiana University on November 16, 2023 at 1:20 pm
A new report from the Modern Language Association shows an unprecedented drop in the study of foreign languages among college students.
- In our first major intelligence review since COVID, here are 7 key priorities to be ready for the next pandemicby Patrick F Walsh, Professor, Intelligence and Security Studies, Charles Sturt University on October 19, 2023 at 12:20 am
Nearly four years on from the start of the pandemic, there has been no independent review of the role the intelligence agencies played during the crisis.
- The AUKUS deal will be hotly debated at the ALP national conference, but its real vulnerabilities lie in Americaby Matthew Sussex, Associate Proessor (Adj), Griffith Asia Institute; and Fellow, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, ANU, Australian National University on August 16, 2023 at 3:53 am
The loudest disagreements at this year’s ALP national conference are likely to be on foreign policy – the AUKUS deal prime among them.
- Out of the shadows: why making NZ’s security threat assessment public for the first time is the right moveby Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato on August 11, 2023 at 3:30 am
The Security Intelligence Service needs public support and trust to do its work well. Adding a degree of transparency to it’s annual threat assessment should help.
- Are we alone in the universe? 4 essential reads on potential contact with aliensby Mary Magnuson, Assistant Science Editor on August 4, 2023 at 12:30 pm
Whistleblower allegations that the government possesses UFOs may not be backed up by public physical evidence, but some argue that listening for extraterrestrial life is the first phase of contact.
- NZ’s first national security strategy signals a ‘turning point’ and the end of old certaintiesby Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato on August 4, 2023 at 4:05 am
New Zealand faces “more geostrategic challenges than we have had in decades”, according to the defence minister. A broad defence and security reset aims to prepare the country for what may be ahead.
- The nuclear arms race’s legacy at home: Toxic contamination, staggering cleanup costs and a culture of government secrecyby William J. Kinsella, Professor Emeritus of Communication, North Carolina State University on August 1, 2023 at 12:26 pm
Nuclear weapons production and testing contaminated many sites across the US and exposed people unknowingly to radiation and toxic materials. Some have gone uncompensated for decades.
- Trump faces additional charges – 4 essential reads to understand the case against him for hoarding classified documentsby Naomi Schalit, Senior Editor, Politics + Democracy, The Conversation US on July 28, 2023 at 1:27 am
Former President Donald Trump was indicted on further charges over his hoarding of classified documents – and he has a new co-defendant in the case.
- The New York Times worried that publishing the Pentagon Papers would destroy the newspaper — and the reputation of the USby Kevin M. Lerner, Associate Professor of Journalism, Marist College on June 28, 2023 at 12:35 pm
The New York Times’ publication of the Pentagon Papers showed the paper was willing to jeopardize connections to other powerful institutions, including the government, to serve the public interest.
- Chronic sexual misconduct in Canada’s military is a national security threatby Jason Walker, Associate Professor, Graduate Studies, Leadership and People Management, University Canada West on June 19, 2023 at 7:56 pm
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has a serious problem with sexual violence. The military’s chronic and unresolved toxic culture puts the country’s national security at risk.
- How the exposure of highly classified documents could harm US security – and why there are laws against storing them insecurelyby Gary Ross, Associate Professor of Intelligence Studies, Texas A&M University on June 14, 2023 at 12:38 pm
The indictment identifies categories of risk to the United States and its allies due to his alleged mishandling of classified documents. A scholar of intelligence studies examines four of them.
- A jury of ex-presidents? No, but Trump’s fate will be decided by 12 citizen peers, in a hallowed tradition of US democracyby Stefanie Lindquist, Foundation Professor of Law and Political Science, Arizona State University on June 12, 2023 at 5:44 pm
Like all criminal defendants, Trump will enjoy the protection that a jury will offer from abuse by government prosecutors.
- ‘If you want to die in jail, keep talking’ – two national security law experts discuss the special treatment for Trump and offer him some adviceby Thomas A. Durkin, Distinguished Practitioner in Residence, Loyola University Chicago on June 12, 2023 at 11:49 am
If you were Trump’s lawyer, what would you advise him to do now? Two national security specialists have some words for and about the former president after his federal indictment.
National Security
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