In the era of strategic competition, debate about how to preserve the international rules-based order without provoking a catastrophic conflict continues unabated. Following the invasion of Ukraine, concerns around Taiwan have made the stakes in these debates only more tangible. To answer the critical question about how to avoid great power conflict, former White House staffer Dr William Inboden argues we should look to the past and, specifically, US President Ronald Reagan’s role in the waning ...
May 28, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 153
Price tag aside, one of the biggest obstacles to the success of AUKUS is export controls. Stakeholders in all three AUKUS countries are increasingly concerned that the United States International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) present a significant challenge to the timely sharing of equipment, information, and technology between the three countries. These challenges are not new, but the stakes have never been higher. Realising the full potential of AUKUS hinges on timely ITAR reform. Indeed,...
May 22, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 152
The Quad partnership — Australia, India, Japan and the United States — represents a powerful grouping of Indo-Pacific states seeking to maintain stability and resilience in the world’s most dynamic region. What can the history of the Quad, which dates back to the George W. Bush administration, tell us about its future? How can the Quad successfully align the diverse views across the region to address shared challenges? To discuss these questions, the United States Studies Centre held a public fo...
May 22, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 151
The United States Studies Centre and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) hosted a special event to hear from leaders across the region about the state of play for democracy and how aligned countries can work together. The event featured a keynote address followed by a panel discussion. Keynote address Australian economist Professor Sean Turnell spent much of his professional career studying the Myanmar economy and moved there to advise the State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi. Aft...
Apr 06, 2023•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 150
In an era of heightened economic and technological competition, the United States and Australia are rapidly recalibrating their strategic approach. The technology policy landscape is front-of-mind across all aspects of business and government. This conversation explored a range of technology issues facing Australia and the United States including, the role of AI and automation in jobs, innovation and inequality, data sovereignty, the CHIPS Act, decoupling and technology regulation. The United St...
Mar 31, 2023•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 149
With the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines through AUKUS, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia is on the cusp of “the single biggest leap in our defence capability in our history.” Now, 18 months since the original surprise announcement, the highly-anticipated AUKUS report shares the “optimal pathway” to acquire the nuclear-powered submarines. But the pathway is fraught with challenges and aligned intentions do not guarantee delivery. Where is the greatest daylight between the ...
Mar 16, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 148
The United States and Australia both followed circuitous routes to marriage equality. When US Ambassador to Australia John Berry (ret'd) first arrived in Australia in 2013, he was the first openly-gay US ambassador to a G20 country. However, not only was same-sex marriage not legal in Australia, it was not yet legal in all of the United States. In Australia, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce AC was one of the most influential voices in the marriage equality campaign. How have these influential leaders...
Mar 03, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 147
At his inauguration more than two years ago, President Biden promised that America was back, ready to resume its leadership role in world affairs. But, as a multitude of crises present increasingly complicated policy problems for world leaders, how can the Biden administration hope to manage these tumultuous international relations? What is the United States trying to accomplish in its foreign policy? And why is it that the world seems so constantly unstable and in flux? Understanding US foreign...
Feb 16, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 146
On 7 February, President Biden will make his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress and his first appearance before the newly Republican-controlled House of Representatives. As directed by the US Constitution, the sitting president must deliver to Congress "information of the State of the Union". Less of a report card, the annual message has become an opportunity for the president to publicly tout their accomplishments and rally support for their policy agenda for the year ahe...
Feb 08, 2023•58 min•Ep. 145
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s widely acclaimed rap retelling of the story of America’s first treasurer, Alexander Hamilton, effectively scrubbed the moniker of “forgotten founding father” when it became one of the most successful Broadway musicals of all time. When Hamilton launched in Sydney in 2021, it was the only place in the world the musical was being performed. As Hamilton commences its final weeks in Australia, the United States Studies Centre welcomed Jason Arrow (Alexander Hamilton), Akina Edmo...
Feb 07, 2023•59 min•Ep. 144
The United States Studies Centre launched a new report by the Foreign Policy and Defence Program, titled Many Hands: Australia-US contributions to Southeast Asian maritime security resilience. While Australia and the United States already pursue a range of security cooperation activities in Southeast Asia, this report examines how they can work together with Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam to resist maritime coercion in the South China Sea. The webinar featured the report autho...
Jan 12, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 143
While the broad bipartisan support for AUKUS and the Australia-US alliance are unlikely to change with the new Congress, budget constraints and priorities will likely shift in ways that present both new challenges and new opportunities for Australia. What will a Republican-controlled House of Representatives mean for US defence spending? Will the election results change the US approach to China? How and where can Australia work with the United States on the next steps for AUKUS? To discuss these...
Dec 01, 2022•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 142
The United States Studies Centre launched its publication, US Midterms 2022: The stakes for Australia and the alliance at a special event in Canberra. USSC commissioned polling on public opinion in the United States, Australia and Japan on issues ranging from sentiment toward AUKUS and the stationing of US troops in allied nations to alignment on climate change and priorities for the next US Congress. This session of the conference looks forward and features Dr Michael Green, Chief Executive Off...
Dec 01, 2022•34 min•Ep. 141
This session features CNN and The Atlantic's Ron Brownstein in conversation with Jared Mondschein, Director of Research at the United States Studies Centre. The session is part of a half-day conference hosted by USSC to launch its publication, US Midterms 2022: The stakes for Australia and the alliance. USSC commissioned polling on public opinion in the United States, Australia and Japan on issues ranging from sentiment toward AUKUS and the stationing of US troops in allied nations to alignment ...
Dec 01, 2022•39 min•Ep. 140
This session features New York Times journalist Jane Coaston in conversation with Dr Michael Green, CEO of the United States Studies Centre. The session is part of a half-day conference hosted by USSC to launch its publication, US Midterms 2022: The stakes for Australia and the alliance. USSC commissioned polling on public opinion in the United States, Australia and Japan on issues ranging from sentiment toward AUKUS and the stationing of US troops in allied nations to alignment on climate chang...
Nov 30, 2022•54 min•Ep. 139
The United States Studies Centre launched its publication, US Midterms 2022: The stakes for Australia and the alliance at a special event in Canberra. USSC commissioned polling on public opinion in the United States, Australia and Japan on issues ranging from sentiment toward AUKUS and the stationing of US troops in allied nations to alignment on climate change and priorities for the next US Congress. This session of the conference includes an introduction by USSC CEO Dr Michael Green, a present...
Nov 30, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 138
Chinese President Xi Jinping secured his historic third term amidst a message of heightened urgency to “reunite” with Taiwan. US officials have come out saying a move to take Taiwan could happen by 2023, but Director of the German Marshall Fund’s Asia Program, Bonnie Glaser says this timeline is based on “sheer speculation.” Does the escalating war of words indicate an invasion is imminent? What are the variables that will influence Taiwan timelines going forward? What would a Taiwan invasion me...
Nov 23, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 137
After passing record levels of investment in infrastructure, research and science, and climate the United States is on a clear pathway to a clean energy transition. Such historic legislation coincides with United States Studies Centre polling indicating that significant majorities of Americans and Australians want to see their nations collaborate with each other on fighting climate change. Yet the midterm elections could see President Biden’s Democratic party lose one, if not both Houses of Cong...
Nov 23, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 136
If the rest of the 21st century will be defined by strategic competition, Professor Hal Brands posits the 2020s will be the most intense and definitive decade. As the US-China rivalry hits fever pitch, China’s aggression toward Taiwan, economic coercion and military escalation will only escalate during this critical period, which Brands and co-author Michael Beckley label the “Danger Zone.” What are their reasons for believing the 2020s will be the most intense decade? What near-term strategy sh...
Nov 08, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 135
US presidents are obsessed with sharks. From President Nixon asking the Secret Service to put in shark nets around his Florida holiday house to former President Trump tweeting that "sharks are last on my list." Sharks are an apex obsession. To explore the interactions between 10 presidents and the sharks they conserve or hate, the United States Studies Centre hosted a talk with University of Sydney Senior Lecturer in Public Policy Dr Christopher Pepin-Neff. Starting with Washington and ending wi...
Nov 08, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 134
With the US midterm elections for the control of Congress fast approaching, voters in the state of Georgia face important and highly anticipated elections this November. Georgia voters will decide the marquee Senate race between the incumbent Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and Trump-endorsed newcomer Republican Herschel Walker in a race that may well determine which party controls the Senate. At the same time, Georgia also has a major gubernatorial race, with Republican incumbent Governor Br...
Nov 08, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 133
The United States Studies Centre hosted a special US midterms event featuring The New York Times' Jane Coaston, ABC's Political commentator Annabel Crabb, and USSC's CEO Dr Michael Green. The presumption of a red wave in the US November midterms elections has been tempered by setbacks on the Republican agenda and significant legislative victories for Democrats. But the winner of the US House and Senate elections impacts far more than US domestic politics. The US posture toward China, defence fun...
Nov 01, 2022•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 132
NATO’s Madrid Summit in June brought about the Alliance’s long-awaited new Strategic Concept which delivered an assessment of a much more adversarial international environment and set out a vision for at least the next decade. While the document makes it clear the 30 countries-strong alliance is attuned to the challenges from outside its core geographical and functional areas, it will be looking much closer to home for at least some time to come given the Russian Federation’s aggression in Ukrai...
Oct 25, 2022•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 131
The simple act of voting – who can vote, how easy it is to vote, who counts the votes, who certifies the votes, and whether the people accept the legitimacy of the outcome of an election – is at the heart of the crisis of confidence in democracy in the United States. After studying voting practices in dozens of countries, E.J. Dionne Jr. and Miles Rapoport found Australia to be one of the most compelling and effective voting systems in the world. What will it take to begin to apply lessons from ...
Oct 04, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 130
A world-renowned Indo-Pacific expert, at this event, USSC CEO Dr Michael Green discussed his new book "Line of Advantage: Japan’s Grand Strategy in the Era of Abe Shinzō" with USSC Non-Resident Senior Fellow Dr Lavina Lee. Published in March this year, the book draws from Dr Green’s long-standing connection with former Prime Minister Abe Shinzō. It provides a unique political and historical context for Japan’s new grand strategy and our understanding of the role of US alliances in the Indo-Pacif...
Sep 06, 2022•50 min•Ep. 129
Ira Shapiro's recent book, The Betrayal: How Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans Abandoned America, chronicles the US Senate during the Trump presidency. As a veteran scholar and former Senate staffer with bipartisan experience, Shapiro determines that the Senate and its Republican members, led by Mitch McConnell (R-KY), ultimately abandoned late Senator John McCain's (R-AZ) guiding principle 'Country first'. Can the Senate recover its purpose and help resolve legislation to address Ameri...
Aug 23, 2022•59 min•Ep. 128
The January 6 Select Committee hearings highlight points of crisis in American democracy, yet the roots of these challenges undeniably precede the Capitol riots given US economic, social and cultural trends. Princeton University professor and political scientist Stephen Macedo's authoritative work on immigration, liberalism, populism, and democratic theory explores such trends. What are the most important economic, social, and cultural trends fueling these tensions in US democracy? What can be d...
Aug 22, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 127
In an age dominated by terms like fake news and disinformation, what are the facts about the history of the United States? In the updated edition of A Documentary History of the United States, Alexander Heffner revisits primary sources to tell the unvarnished history of the United States – compiling the key documents, speeches, letters, tweets and Supreme Court decisions from the Declaration of Independence to Articles of Impeachment against Donald J. Trump following the January 6 insurrection. ...
Jul 07, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 126
As a daughter of a cherished US president, scion of a political dynasty, globally-renowned philanthropist and accomplished former ambassador to Japan, Australia has arguably never had a higher profile US ambassador than it soon will with Caroline Kennedy. What is the history of the relationship between President Biden and Caroline Kennedy? What can we expect of her approach to contentious issues like US trade policy and climate change? How will her approach to China and the Indo-Pacific region c...
Jun 01, 2022•57 min•Ep. 125
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February altered the European security architecture for generations to come. One clear piece of evidence of this: Finland and Sweden announcing they will be formally applying for membership in the NATO alliance – ending their decades-long neutrality and elevating their NATO engagement from Enhanced Opportunity Partners, alongside Australia, to fully fledged members. With Finland’s membership in NATO more than doubling the length of the alliance’s borders with R...
May 27, 2022•58 min•Ep. 124
