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INSIGHTS
YAIA's blog, Insights, is a platform aimed at promoting the voice of emerging young Australians in the analysis and commentary of International affairs.
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Extrajudicial executions and destabilisation: a canary for Kenya’s future security?
On 30 June 2016 the bodies of Willie Kimani, Josephat Mwenda and Joseph Muiruri were discovered in Ol-Donyo Sabuk River, 73km northeast...
Aug 26, 20163 min read
Deepening US-India defence ties and the prospects of an alliance
In June Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama met in Washington for their third major bilateral summit. While...
Aug 24, 20164 min read
Forgotten conflicts part II - The line in the sand
On a typical map of the world, a sliver of the northwest African coast is shaded in grey. The dashed border outlines an area called...
Aug 23, 20163 min read
Malaysia's future: inevitable doom or economic boom?
The (1MDB) 1 Malaysia Development Berhad scandal and the passing of the National Security Council Act push Malaysia away from economic...
Aug 21, 20164 min read
Australia in the AIIB: refocusing the ‘pivot to China’ back to Asia
Contemporary Australia is reminded every few years of the importance of Asia-focused trade for the prosperity of the Australian economy. ...
Aug 18, 20164 min read
The DNC hack: has American democracy been compromised?
In contrast to their Republican counterparts, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in July presented a vision of optimism, strength...
Aug 17, 20163 min read
One week after Referendum, bombs rock Thailand
Between 10-12 August Thailand was rocked by a coordinated bombing attack in its upper southern provinces. In 14 separate explosions in...
Aug 16, 20163 min read
Thailand: twentieth time lucky?
After overthrowing a democratically elected government two years ago, Thailand’s ruling military junta seemed to see no irony in holding...
Aug 15, 20163 min read
Jokowi and West Papua: progress on the human rights front?
Indonesian human rights activists had high hopes for Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo and his administration when they formed government in 2014...
Aug 12, 20162 min read
The calculus of regional responses to the Syrian refugee crisis
Commentators often cast Middle Eastern responses to the Syrian refugee crisis into moral binaries. Lebanon, Jordan and, to a lesser...
Aug 11, 20164 min read
Espionage is very much alive
'Hacking' is rife today. It is no different to old fashioned espionage in its purpose: to advance the national interest. Russia, North...
Aug 10, 20163 min read
Holy warriors and the holy kingdom: Saudi Arabia’s precarious security situation
The Saudi Arabian National Guard is due to receive its first AH-6i Little Bird attack helicopters from Boeing within weeks. They were...
Aug 8, 20163 min read
A war of words: the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting aftermath
The ASEAN Foreign Ministers (AMM) meeting from 23-26 July in Laos failed to reference The Hague 12 July arbitral award that ruled China’s...
Aug 5, 20163 min read
All politics is local politics: Kevin Rudd and the UN
'All politics is local', goes the famous saying. The recent refusal by the Turnbull Government to endorse Kevin Rudd for the position of...
Aug 5, 20164 min read
Australian Energy and Environment portfolios merged: hope for a renewable revolution?
With a price on carbon politically infeasible, unleashing a renewable energy revolution is the only path to fulfilling global climate...
Aug 4, 20164 min read
The rise of Western populism
Within the Western world, populism and nativism are undoubtedly on the rise. In the space of just one month we have witnessed Brexit, the...
Aug 2, 20163 min read
‘A declaration of war’: North Korea condemns sanctions against Kim Jong-un
On 6 July the United States took the unprecedented step of imposing sanctions against Kim Jong-un, blacklisting North Korea’s supreme...
Jul 31, 20163 min read
Timor-Leste's quest to become ASEAN’s eleventh member
The small, half island nation of Timor-Leste has been on a long journey to get to where it is today. After submitting an application to...
Jul 31, 20163 min read
Was arbitration on the South China Sea dispute a waste of time?
On 12 July the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague issued its ruling on the case brought by the Philippines against China...
Jul 29, 20164 min read
For democracy and national security: Australia must be-Leave in Britain
'I fear Brexit could be the beginning of the destruction of not only the EU but also Western political civilisation in its...
Jul 24, 20164 min read
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