The ACSS Podcast

Welcome to the twelfth episode of the ACSS' third season podcast where Vishwas Grover sits down with Heather Murphy, Senior Analyst at The Lab. We delve into Australia's international development policies, the Lab's mission, and its role in the Australian development ecosystem. Heather's insights on Australia's Indo-Pacific engagement, indivisible security, and regional dynamics are discussed. We...

In the eleventh episode of the ACSS' third season, Ryan Zabik sits down with Associate Professor Matt McDonald to discuss all things security. Matt McDonald is Associate Professor in the School of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland. His research focuses on critical theoretical approaches to security and their application to issues such as environmental chan...

In the tenth episode of the ACSS' third season, Jackson Skinner sits down with Meg Tapia to discuss what it is like to deal with real crises, what leadership in action looks like and how to deal with intense situations. Meg is a seasoned national security and foreign policy practitioner with over 20 years of operational experience, including 16 years as a diplomat. Meg is currently the Managing Di...

In the ninth episode of the ACSS’ third season, Jacob Huth sits down with Robert Pratten, CEO of Conducttr, to discuss the value of crisis simulations, the story of Conductrr and the role of crisis simulations in preparing the next generation of national security leaders. Show Notes: The Italian Job (1969) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064505/

In the eighth episode of the ACSS' third season, Richard Maude joins Jackson Skinner to discuss a career in the public service, the Australian government's 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper and the recent Shangri-La Dialogue. Richard Maude has held many high-level public service positions, including Director-General of the Office of National Assessment and senior adviser on foreign policy and nation...

In the seventh episode of the ACSS’ third season (part two of the discussion with Dennis Richardson), Jackson Skinner further discusses Dennis Richardson’s views on the role of government in society, essential leadership traits, the United States’ staying power in Asia and the value of wargaming throughout a long career in the APS. Show Notes Dennis recommends: Anything written by Ben MacIntyre, b...

Dennis Richardson AO has served as the Secretary of the Department of Defence (2012-2017) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2010-2012), the Director-General of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (1996-2005) and as the Australian Ambassador to the United States (2005-2009). In part one of the sixth episode of the ACSS' third season, Jackson Skinner sits down with Denni...

In the fifth episode of the ACSS’ third season, Jackson Skinner sits down with Dr Ben Herscovitch, Research Fellow at the ANU’s School of Regulation and Global Governance, to discuss the state of American democracy, the implications for its resolve in Asia, US-China economic statecraft, Taiwan and Australia-China relations. Show Notes: The Prince - https://open.spotify.com/show/62dyKz8nKOOCjoU3E5E...

In the fourth episode of the ACSS' third season, Jackson Skinner sits down with Sam Roggeveen, the Director of the International Security Program at the Lowy Institute, to discuss the Indo-Pacific regional order, US-China relations, the 2023 Defence Strategic Review and AUKUS. Sam's recommendations: Pre-order The Echidna Strategy by Sam Roggeveen ( https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/echidna-st...

In the third episode of the ACSS' third season, Jackson Skinner sits down with ANU Peace and Conflict Studies expert, Associate Professor Nicolas Lemay-Hébert, to discuss humanitarian interventions, fragile situations, the changing world order and his experience in Haiti. Show Notes and Nicolas' recommendations: Abdulrazak Gurnah — Afterlives: A Novel (find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Afterliv...

In this second episode of the ACSS' third season, the Chief Crisis Simulations Officer, Shiva Shah, details what complex systems are, how they are being integrated into the simulations in 2023 and how to best contend with them. Shiva's reading/resource suggestions: Systems Effects by Robert Jervis ANU School of Cybernetics - "One of the Leading Institutions in the study of complex systems and spec...

In this first episode of the ACSS' third season, Tim Hobbs the Founding Director for 2020 and Jacob Huth the Director for 2023 explore where the ACSS has been and where it is going. They detail important information about the value of the Summit for Delegates, Team Members, and Stakeholders and why involving yourself in the ACSS is so important. We hope you enjoy and learn from this podcast and al...

Over the last three years Australia has relied heavily on its defence force to respond to non-military related crises arising from bushfires, floods, and the pandemic. In this episode, former Chief of the Australian Defence Force (1998-2002) Admiral (Retired) Chris Barrie outlines why this is problematic for both military preparedness and national resilience, and proposes that a universal service...

In a discussion with Fergus Hanson from ASPI (Australian Strategic Policy Institute), cyber policy, vulnerabilities, attacks, and resilience are explored with in-depth examples and hypotheticals. Situations like life-threatening cyber attacks are explored, alongside various other discussion points like policy targeted towards different threat actors, how to manage a situation in which victims (of...

This year is the 20th anniversary of the Bali bombings. In this episode, we are joined by Sylvia Laksmi, an Indonesian national, former financial intelligence analyst and counter-terrorism expert. We discuss Indonesia’s counter-terrorism program, expanding cooperation between Indonesia and Australia to combat terrorism at its source and the challenges in tracking financial flows to terrorist organ...

Cyber is evolving rapidly, with threats increasing in sophistication as they exploit the vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure, defence capabilities, and knowledge. Governments and the private sector struggle to address cyber crises and their ramifications with limited purview and waning resources. It is clear that the approach to cybersecurity must be adapted to be more resilient to the fiel...

Interventions are fraught with risk. Risk for those providing assistance. Risk for those on the ground. Exploring the nuances of success, the idea of fragile states, and the means of accountability, this podcast provides listeners with the important contextual understanding of such a complex topic. This week, we had the privilege of being joined by distinguished academic and practitioner, Dr. Nich...

In the midst of the 2022 Australian Federal Election campaign, the Solomon Islands pressed ahead and signed a security agreement with China lighting a political firestorm. The agreement between Honiara and Beijing is just one of the many steps in China’s growing power and expansive ambitions. What are the security implications and what does this all mean for the region broadly and more importantly...

For almost as long as history, terrorism has existed—a constant in an ever-changing world. With the tragic events of 9/11 catalysing the field as an area of research and study, in this episode, we explore the misconceptions and main ideas which lay central to the complex area of terrorism studies. Having the privilege of discussing the topic with expert Sophie Saydan, we delve deep into the concep...

In this episode, we had the privilege of interviewing ANU’s Chancellor, the Honourable Julie Bishop. The Chancellor devoted her life to Australian politics and spent years across multiple ministerial positions. Her portfolios included Education, Science and Training, Women’s Issues and Foreign Affairs. Some of the Chancellor's later political endeavours include serving as Australia’s first female...

The political status of Taiwan is contentious. Recognition of the Republic of China has been a point of conflict in international politics for many years. The West’s relationship with China has ebbed and flowed, arguably influenced by states like the US and Australia’s interaction with and support of Taiwan. Australia’s alliance commitments and political agenda place it in a delicate position. Dr...

The politics of nuclear weapons is back on the agenda for Australian policymakers. Regional nuclear capabilities combined with flashpoints across the Asia-Pacific have the potential to create security risks for Australia. In addition, the AUKUS nuclear submarine security pact complicates Australia's role as a non-nuclear state. Dr Benjamin Zala joins us on this episode to explore the modern implic...

2022 has been nothing short of momentous in the realm of Russia's relations with the West. After six months at war, questions arise regarding Russia's short-term and long-term intentions in the conflict. What are the implications of US-supplied weaponry to Ukraine? Is the response from the international community helpful in achieving a resolution to the war? On the 9th of August, we got the privil...

The 2022 ACSS Director, Genevieve Lumb, joins us to discuss the upcoming summit in December, what our delegates should expect and the work the ACSS team is doing in preparation.

The second season of the ACSS podcast explores evolving national security issues which are highly relevant to our listeners in 2022. This content is designed to help our delegates prepare for the crisis summit week in the 2022 iteration of the ACSS. Episodes throughout the series will be identified to our delegates as being either essential or complimentary to their preparation. Opinions and views...