• Politics and Policy

    Sausages and cauldrons: Making law and policy in 21st Century Australia


    David Rowe |  December 2, 2024


    The divergent fates of proposed federal legislation to restrict social media use by children and online gambling adverts for everyone highlight the complex interplay of public concern, political convenience and vested interest lobbying which shapes policy making in contemporary Australia.


  • Neuroscience

    Mental gymnastics


    Brandon Munn |  December 2, 2024


    The brain is a marvel of efficiency, honed by thousands of years of evolution so it can adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world. Yet, despite decades of research, the mystery of how the brain achieves this has remained elusive.


  • International

    Why sanctions don’t work


    Babak RezaeeDaryakenari |  December 2, 2024


    Economic sanctions have long been used as a nonviolent foreign policy tool to influence the behaviour and policies of targeted states. While they are often effective in prompting policy changes in democratic countries, they frequently fall short in altering the course of authoritarian regimes.


Latest Story

  • The library of Babel

    Roger Kreuz     |      December 1, 2024

    The internet is often described as one of humanity’s great achievements. But like any other resource, it’s important to give serious thought to how it is maintained and managed – lest we end up confronting the dystopian vision imagined by Jorge Luis Borges over 80 years ago.

  • Stirring the mud

    Georgina Lancaster     |      December 1, 2024

    Conflicting interests and geopolitical competition are complicating proposals for deep sea mining in the Pacific.

  • Space precinct

    Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan     |      December 1, 2024

    Nation states must revitalise existing measures and consider them in international space policy debates to solve the ongoing difficulties in framing new rules for space governance.

  • Hey, Vlad! China is not your friend

    Fergus Neilson     |      November 30, 2024

    China has positioned itself as an ally of Russia in Putin’s brutal war of conquest in Ukraine, but over time demographic, economic and strategic realities suggest it will be China that dominates Russia.

  • Exercise your life expectancy

    Open Forum     |      November 30, 2024

    If everyone was as active as the top 25 per cent of the population, people over the age of 40 could add five years to their life, according to a new study led by Griffith University researchers.

  • Tackling racism in Australia

    Amanuel Elias     |      November 30, 2024

    The Australian Human Rights Commission has launched a comprehensive “National Anti-racism Framework” to tackle, if not eliminate, racism in all sectors of society and government.

  • Small is beautiful for China

    Victor Chen     |      November 29, 2024

    Australia’s efforts to curry favour in the Pacific by investing in smaller projects and firms are already facing competition from China.

  • A kick up the pants

    Jolyon Ford     |      November 29, 2024

    If populist attacks on traditional multilaterial institutions catalyse much-needed engagement, reform and revitalisation, they might unintentionally offset some of the damage their own rhetoric does to the legitimacy of those bodies.

  • AI and humans – who will domesticate who?

    Rob Brooks     |      November 29, 2024

    The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence technology is dominating the headlines, but might a future suffused with AI change human evolution too?

  • Pacific climate security

    Isabelle Bond     |      November 28, 2024

    Promoting the importance of climate security for the South Pacific offers an opportunity to promote Australia’s broader regional strategy.

  • Emergency tools for the disabled

    Open Forum     |      November 28, 2024

    Research has found many people living with a disability feel unsupported and unprepared to face a crisis – but vital new tools have been created to help.

  • Chain, chain, chains

    Chris Ogden     |      November 28, 2024

    Trump’s return has normalised and supercharged authoritarianism around the world, making it the rule rather than the exception.