USSC Live

A panel of experts unpacked Japan’s National Security Strategy and explored the opportunities and challenges for Australia-Japan-US trilateral strategic cooperation under Trump 2.0. The panel featured two prominent strategic thinkers from the US and Japan. Few countries have done more to reorganise themselves for a new era of strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific than Japan. Building on the st...

Three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the second Trump administration has made sweeping changes to US foreign policy priorities and moved to limit US support for Ukraine. In the last six months, the world has seen an explosive Oval Office meeting between President Trump and President Zelenskyy, NATO states pledging to increase their defence spending to as much as 5% of GDP, and continued...

The transition to a new US Administration has sharpened Washington’s focus on the Indo-Pacific, while also exposing deep strategic and political tensions shaping the future of American foreign and defence policy. Competing pressures — between isolationism and interventionism, reassurance and burden-sharing with allies, and fiscal restraint versus demands for force modernisation and advanced capabi...

For more than five decades following the 1972 rapprochement between the United States and China, the two countries seemed to be steadily building a sound relationship, even accounting for periodic setbacks like the Tiananmen Square massacre. The last decade, though, has seen a sharp increase in tensions and a complete reorientation of US policies toward China — from “engagement” to “competition.”...

The future of the global economic order is in flux. Beijing's coercive economic policies, President Trump’s unprecedented tariffs, and the embrace of industrial policies around the world have cast doubt on the future of international economic rules. Globally, countries like Australia are being forced to contend with a more fragmented economic landscape that is affecting trade and technology flows,...

To launch USSC senior lecturer Dr Kathryn Schumaker 's new book, Tangled Fortunes: The Hidden History of Interracial Marriage in the Jim Crow South (Basic Books, 2025), Dr Schumaker was joined by scholars Dr Michael Green , Associate Professor Frances Clarke , and Dr Aaron Nyerges to discuss the themes of the book. Prior to the US Supreme Court’s 1967 ruling in Loving v. Virginia, most American st...

Out of sight, out of mind. Low Earth Orbit has undeniably become busier, with upwards of 10,000 satellites and millions of pieces of space debris currently in orbit. With vital services—ranging from communications to climate monitoring, national defence, and financial services—increasingly reliant on space, the proliferation of space assets and debris, and the associated risks of collisions, explo...

As space technologies proliferate and international political competition heats up, space has become a hotly contested strategic and operational domain. The rise of space-related threats, from increased orbital congestion to the proliferation of anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons now threatens to upend the international balance of power and drive crisis instability and arms racing between the world’s m...

The United States Studies Centre hosted an exclusive event in partnership with The Sydney Morning Herald . April 30 marked 100 days of the second Trump administration. While many expected the return of an unconventional administration, the speed and degree of actions thus far have surprised even the most seasoned of analysts. What do the first 100 days tell us about the next four years? Is this an...

Export controls and investment screening are taking centre stage in the United States as Washington attempts to protect military and industrial advantages against China while simultaneously exploiting commercial opportunities for its high-tech industries and expanding technological cooperation with allies and partners. Within this complex policy context, the United States, the United Kingdom, and...

As US-China technology competition intensifies, governments across the world are keeping a tighter grip on the advanced semiconductor chips, AI models, and investments that underpin AI. This is complicated by the fact that the private sector — not government — is at the cutting edge of AI and associated technology innovations. With emerging technology now considered central to national security, b...

On Monday, 20 January 2025, President-elect Donald Trump was sworn in as 47th President of the United States. He has said he’ll end the war in Ukraine before he takes office and war continues to escalate in the Middle East. Australia itself will host a federal election in 2025 which may shift international relationships. What sort of impact would Trump’s economic, trade, and technology policies ha...

In 2017, the first Donald Trump administration revived the Quad partnership between Australia, India, Japan and the United States after years of inactivity. Now, as the second Trump administration begins to take shape, the Quad continues to enjoy bipartisan support in all four countries and it seems the grouping is here to stay. The partnership has become a key pillar of diplomatic architecture in...

The Indian Ocean Region brims with economic promise, yet it faces growing challenges — from inadequate infrastructure to fierce geoeconomic competition. As China deepens its presence through the Belt and Road Initiative, Australia and India are poised to offer a resilient and strategic alternative. This event featured inaugural Maitri Fellow Riya Sinha in conversation with USSC Economic Security D...

The 2024 presidential race is already emerging as one of the most important elections of our generation, and could shape Australia’s foreign policy for years to come. So what can we expect?  On 24 October 2024, the United States Studies Centre hosted an exclusive event in partnership with The Sydney Morning Herald. SMH editor Bevan Shields, political and international editor Peter Hartcher and col...

We are increasingly living our lives in cyberspace — from global banking and financial transactions, to managing critical infrastructure and supply chains, to social media. With more government, business and public interactions happening online, coupled with concentrated strategic competition, there are more nefarious state-backed and rogue cyber actors seeking to take advantage of this. What coul...

An eye-opening exploration of the intersection between folk music and political activism, writer and historian Aaron J. Leonard dived into the lives of some of the 20th century’s most influential folk singers—Woody Guthrie, ‘Sis Cunningham, Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, and Burl Ives—and their contentious relationship with the US government. These artists weren’t just cultural icons, but also outspoken p...

The United States Studies Centre held a discussion hosted by Lecturer in American Studies and political scientist, Dr Kathryn Robison . This webinar featured a panel of leading experts who shared their knowledge and perspectives on critical aspects of the US election for use in the classroom and beyond. Topics discussed: How the Electoral College works Featuring: Dr Kathryn Robison and Professor B...

On 19 and 20 June 2024, the United States Studies Centre hosted a major international conference in Sydney spotlighting the search for “economic security in a turbulent world”. Over a day and a half, the conference brought together leading policymakers, business executives and independent experts from around the world to discuss arguably the defining economic policy debate of our age – how to reco...

On 19 and 20 June 2024, the United States Studies Centre hosted a major international conference in Sydney spotlighting the search for “economic security in a turbulent world”. Over a day and a half, the conference brought together leading policymakers, business executives and independent experts from around the world to discuss arguably the defining economic policy debate of our age – how to reco...

On 19 and 20 June 2024, the United States Studies Centre hosted a major international conference in Sydney spotlighting the search for “economic security in a turbulent world”. Over a day and a half, the conference brought together leading policymakers, business executives, and independent experts from around the world to discuss arguably the defining economic policy debate of our age – how to rec...

On 19 and 20 June 2024, the United States Studies Centre hosted a major international conference in Sydney spotlighting the search for “economic security in a turbulent world”. Over a day and a half, the conference brought together leading policymakers, business executives and independent experts from around the world to discuss arguably the defining economic policy debate of our age – how to reco...

On 19 and 20 June 2024, the United States Studies Centre hosted a major international conference in Sydney spotlighting the search for “economic security in a turbulent world”. Over a day and a half, the conference brought together leading policymakers, business executives and independent experts from around the world to discuss arguably the defining economic policy debate of our age – how to reco...

On 19 and 20 June 2024, the United States Studies Centre hosted a major international conference in Sydney spotlighting the search for “economic security in a turbulent world”. Over a day and a half, the conference brought together leading policymakers, business executives and independent experts from around the world to discuss arguably the defining economic policy debate of our age – how to reco...

On 19 and 20 June 2024, the United States Studies Centre hosted a major international conference in Sydney spotlighting the search for “economic security in a turbulent world”. Over a day and a half, the conference brought together leading policymakers, business executives and independent experts from around the world to discuss arguably the defining economic policy debate of our age – how to reco...