USSC Briefing Room

The Trump administration recently completed its AUKUS review, including a directive from President Trump to proceed “full steam ahead” on AUKUS Pillar I. But even after securing the Trump stamp of approval, there has been comparatively little information on how the review handled Pillar II and experts have raised concerns about the growing scope of advanced capabilities it now includes.   Is AUKUS...

Are we seeing a rupture or a transition in 2026? USSC CEO Dr Michael Green and USSC Director of Foreign Policy and Defence Dr Lavina Lee sat down with host Mari Koeck to discuss what the geopolitical developments in Iran, Venezuela and Greenland mean for alliances and middle powers.   Can NATO survive the Greenland pressure? What is the end game with Venezuela and Iran? How should middle powers li...

India’s relationships with key international partners changed significantly in 2025. Following the tariff standoff with the United States, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in close meetings with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Summit. And an Indian Defence Minister visited Australia for the first time in 12 years in October. What is driving these changes in India’s...

Admiral Lisa Franchetti’s career spanned 40 years, nearly half of which was at sea. She was the first woman to serve as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first woman to serve as Chief of Naval Operations and only the second woman to ever be promoted to four-star admiral in the US Navy. When visiting Australia in November, Admiral Franchetti (ret’d) joined Research Fellow Tom Corben on the...

Recently we have seen cracks forming within the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement. We are seeing Republican members of Congress push back on issues, like the Epstein files or President Trump’s approach to Ukraine, in the most significant way since he took office in January.  What is causing these rifts within the MAGA movement? Is MAGA whatever President Trump says it is? How are these tens...

The United States Studies Centre (USSC) has just released our annual Allies and partners poll .  The USSC polled publics in Australia, the United States, Japan and, for the first time this year, India. This means there was polling data to compare public opinion across all four Quad countries. Where do the Quad countries stand on Trump, security and the future of the Indo-Pacific? What are the bigg...

On 2 April 2025, President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on most countries around the globe as part of “Liberation Day” but is the president allowed to impose tariffs like that? This is the question the US Supreme Court is considering at the moment. What were the arguments for and against the presidential power to unilaterally tariff? How are the justices likely to decide? How could their decis...

As China’s rapid military modernisation reshapes the regional security landscape, deterrence has become the cornerstone of US and allied strategies in the Indo-Pacific. Former US Marine Corps Commandant General David Berger (ret’d) joined the USSC Briefing Room, reflecting on the bold reforms that transformed the Marine Corps and the growing importance of interoperability with allies like Australi...

Recently, a gunman killed four people and wounded eight at a Latter Day Saints (or Mormon) church in Michigan. President Trump described this as “yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America” – but there are distinct differences between this and other high-profile shootings.   How was this similar to or different from other attacks on religious institutions in America?...

President Trump wants to make American shipbuilding great again. China has significant dominance in shipbuilding with 34% of all ships on water being made in China and 57% of ships under construction being made in China.   How do systems around finance and infrastructure influence global power dynamics? How much of a concern is increasing US shipbuilding? What role does Australia play in the shipb...

This week Lisa Curtis joins the podcast. She is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Indo-Pacific Program for a New American Security and she served in the US Government for more than 20 years across the White House National Security Council, CIA, State Department and Capitol Hill.   What has changed in America at home and abroad from a year ago? Are US alliances fit for purpose? Where can US allie...

When Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited China this year, his visit to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding got some of the most media attention. How did pandas become China’s national treasure and how are they used in diplomacy? Could trade wars or heightened competition with China lead to the removal of pandas from the United States or other countries? What role will...

Legislation is hard to pass in the United States, but tends to have a longer-lasting impact than executive orders, which can be easily overturned. President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act put climate change at the forefront of his legislative agenda. Now, with President Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill Act , we see the first major legislative action of Trump 2.0, particularly related to climate ch...

Six years after his death in prison, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues to make headlines due to his longtime friendship with President Trump. While most news cycles in the Trump-era have a flashbang approach, this one has remarkable staying power and the legal logistics are key to understanding the story.   What was the legal case against Epstein and his partner Ghislaine Maxwell? H...

The White House has recently released America’s AI Action Plan: Winning the race and, in launching the plan, President Trump said, “America is the country that started the AI race. And as President of the United States, I’m here today to declare that America is going to win it.”   How much of the AI Action Plan is about competing with China? What is in the plan and what’s missing? What could or sh...

Before he even took office for his second term, President Trump began pushing for what became known as the 'Big Beautiful Bill' (BBB). Rather than taking a piecemeal approach to legislation, he wanted to take Republicans’ majority in Congress and push for one piece of sweeping legislation. On the 4th of July 2025, he signed the One Big Beautiful Bill into law.   What is (and isn’t) in the BBB? How...

When President Trump’s war on international trade barriers kicked-off, the sweeping scale and scope of his tariffs were staggering. But even after Liberation Day, there’s one proposed tariff that seems to have caught many by surprise – the 100% tariff on any US films produced in different countries.   From The Matrix to The Fall Guy , Australia has been a destination of choice for many US films, s...

Economic security is becoming increasingly important amidst growing geopolitical tensions. In light of China's 2010 rare earth mineral export restrictions and the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on supply chains, Japan has prioritised not only strengthening supply chain resilience and market competitiveness but also building up Japan's geo-economic influence to counteract foreign economic pressure thro...

Initial results of Elbridge Colby’s AUKUS review are expected soon, but this feeds into broader conversations around increasing defence spending and even the role Australia can play in Trump’s “Golden Dome” project.   Where have we seen shifts and continuity from Biden to Trump in defence policy? How can Australia thread the needle to negotiate best outcomes for AUKUS by looking at Golden Dome and...

In the third episode in our series on Unpacking Trump 2.0 we sat down with USSC Senior Economic Adviser Dr John Kunkel to talk about tariffs under President Trump. Where did President Trump’s love of tariffs come from? Are they effective? And how can US trading partners respond? For more on this topic, check out Dr Kunkel’s write-up for Unpacking Trump 2.0, Tariffs: Uncertainty abounds . Subscribe...

This year’s NATO Summit is held in The Hague with the backdrop of strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites and significant changes in the US relationship with Ukraine. How is this year’s summit different from last year? How will the United States engage with the forum? What outcomes might we see from the summit this year?   USSC’s Non-Resident Senior Fellow Jane Hardy and Senior Lecturer in US Politics and...

Dealmaking is one of the defining characteristics of the Trump 2.0 presidency. And this is perhaps most obvious in critical minerals. From the critical minerals deal with Ukraine to the ongoing trade dispute between the US and China, critical minerals are front of mind for this administration. Why are critical minerals so important to President Trump and is this different to the Biden administrati...

In his first few months in office, President Trump has followed a markedly different course in his second term compared to his first. How far can Trump’s “move fast and break things” approach to governing get him? What is happening behind the headlines? What can Australia and other US allies do in response? To answer these questions, USSC is releasing Unpacking Trump 2.0 , a guide for US allies an...

When Democrats lost the 2024 election, questions immediately swirled around President Biden and his decision to run again. Just as a new book critical of Biden was about to launch, a spokesperson for the former president announced he had just been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.   What role did Biden’s decision to first run and then withdraw from the 2024 presidential race pl...

In December 2024, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law and had military troops surround the National Assembly before reversing that decision following an immediate backlash and widespread protests. On 4 April 2025, South Korea’s Constitutional Court announced its verdict to uphold the impeachment of President Yoon, ending 18 weeks of political uncertainty in Seoul. With Presid...