No images? Click here 30 JUNEThe Atlantic Alliance Down UnderLess than two weeks after the icy Geneva summit between Presidents Biden and Putin, NATO is making clear that it sees Australia continuing to play a pivotal role in the Atlantic military alliance. In the United States Studies Centre’s latest NATO Expert Talks webinar, USSC Lecturer in US Politics and Foreign Policy Dr Gorana Grgic and NATO’s Director of Security Policy and Partnerships in the Political Affairs and Security Policy Division James Mackey discussed this month’s NATO Summit in Brussels. Reflecting on the summit, Mackey said “It's no secret that we had a difficult past couple of years with the previous US administration," but conceded if there were "one overarching theme to the summit" then it was about "re-establishing ties." Director Mackey also made clear that "Australia brings real capabilities and insight to the table and Australia benefits from the capabilities and insights of NATO” highlighting how, after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, “one of the first countries to come out with a statement against this was Australia; one of the first countries that actually contacted NATO to talk about this was Australia." NEWS WRAPInfrastructure week(s)
DID YOU USSC?THE LATEST FROM USSC EXPERTSINTERVIEWUS defence spending to match China leading to intense policy debates Professor Simon Jackman interviewed on Sky News Australia IN THE NEWSSecret notes claim Bob Hawke ‘informed’ for US government Stephen Loosley quoted in The Australian ONLINE EVENT | 2 JULYUS Politics and Policy Series: July editionWith special guests Victoria Farrar-Myers and Valerie Hudson The United States Studies Centre and Perth USAsia Centre host a monthly web series reviewing the latest in US politics and policy and what this means for Australia. This month we look forward to being joined by guests Dr Victoria A. Farrar-Myers, a dedicated civic leader, an award-winning educator, and a distinguished scholar; and Professor Valerie Hudson, the George H.W. Bush Chair in the Department of International Affairs at The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. They will join hosts Professor Simon Jackman and Professor Gordon Flake to discuss the latest in US politics and policy. WHEN: COST: I’ve been President about 150 days. I think we’ve done fairly well so far. ANALYSISLessons from the United StatesIdentifying and acknowledging the threat of far-right extremism in AustraliaLilly Gibson-Dougall The image of the Australian flag being flown in the midst of the Capitol Riot confused Australians, adding to the shock of the most significant attack on the Capitol Building in modern US history. How could the growing momentum of the far-right extremist movement in the United States, from the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville to the plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, be tied to Australia? Although Australia has not seen these high-profile and at times violent events, there has been a significant rise in far-right extremist activity. Based on data from the Global Terrorism Index (GTI), far-right violence in the West increased from 14 per cent of all attacks between 2002-2014 to 46 per cent in 2019. The United States recorded the highest number of deaths from far-right terrorism of any Western state since 2002 and it is the only country to have experienced multiple far-right attacks resulting in more than 10 deaths. This dataset does not extend beyond 2019, but the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Counterterrorism Handbook predicts this trend will continue to increase, worsened by factors such as COVID-19 and economic instability. This is an excerpt from an article by Lilly Gibson-Dougall, published as part of her postgraduate internship experience with the United States Studies Centre. Click below to read the full write-up or click here to learn more about internships at the USSC. BY THE NUMBERSHow do other vaccination rates compare?Sarah Hamilton Australia has the lowest full vaccination rate for COVID-19 of the 38 countries in the OECD and is currently well behind the United States, where nearly 50 per cent are fully vaccinated. But how do rates compare for other vaccines? Just under 60 per cent of Americans received a flu jab during their last flu season which is about 10 per cent less than the number of flu shots distributed last year during Australia’s flu season. Similarly, both the United States and Australia maintain high rates of one-year-olds receiving all three of their DTP vaccines which prevent diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus, which 14 per cent of infants globally do not receive. VIDEOClimate and energy in the
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