MARCH 2024

Super Week and super publishing

March kicked-off with a major week for the 2024 US presidential election with both Super Tuesday and President Biden’s State of the Union speech in the same week. To break down these significant developments, the United States Studies Centre (USSC) hosted a special Election Watch event with Planet America’s Chas Licciardello and USSC’s politics experts, Associate Prof. David Smith, Jared Mondschein and Victoria Cooper.

It was a banner month for publishing with six reports and four briefs covering everything from AUKUS to undersea cables. The first reports in our Indo-Pacific Strategic Futures series explored multipolarity from different perspectives across the region, including the views from South Korea and Japan. We also launched Unlocking economic security: A strategic playbook for Australia by Non-Resident Fellow Helen Mitchell – a first-of-its-kind guide to enable Australian policymakers to create economic security policies using a ‘Scan-Share-Shape’ approach. If you want to be the first to know when a new USSC report is published, make sure to sign up to our research alerts here.

Finally, we want to mention that it is the last few days for the early bird discount for USSC’s economic security conference in June. Confirmed speakers include Senior Trade Writer at the Financial Times Alan Beattie, former Senior Advisor to the US Commerce Secretary and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution Dr Elizabeth Economy and Chairman of the Board for the Japan Bank for International Cooperation Tadashi Maeda among other leading experts in finance, energy, risk and foreign policy. Make sure to register by 31 March to receive the discounted price.

Election watch 2024

221 days to the US presidential election

With presumptive nominees in place for both parties, we are effectively in the general election. USSC analysis looks at the two candidates head-to-head and the foreign policy implications of both candidates.

Publications

• COMMENTARY | Biden or Trump, we can still shape the agenda ahead by Dr Michael Green
• TRACKER | Trump’s VP shortlist: What Australians should know by Ava Kalinauskas and Samuel Garrett
• COMMENTARY | Donald Trump’s third presidential nomination has never been in doubt. He’s made an art of political survival by Jared Mondschein
• USSC Insights | Reactions to Super Tuesday
• INTERVIEW | Biden's approval rating unchanged since State of the Union address with Bruce Wolpe

Key dates

• 4 June: Last Republican primaries
• 15-18 July: Republican National Convention in Milwaukee
• 19-22 August: Democratic National Convention in Chicago
• 16 September: First presidential debate
• 25 September: VP debate
• 1 October: Second presidential debate
• 9 October: Third presidential debate
• 5 November: Election Day

Looking for a US election expert? Contact us on ussc.media@sydney.edu.au.

NEWS

New economic security playbook

Unlocking economic security: A strategic playbook for Australia, a new report by Non-Resident Fellow Helen Mitchell, considers the current economic security structures employed by Australia, the United States and Japan and provides recommendations to help Australia navigate its economic future.

The report explores economic security policies across time and place to identify features and lessons in economic security policymaking from the United States and Japan. Weaving these lessons from the past into a playbook built for modern realities, Mitchell then recommends a practical ‘Scan–Share–Shape’ approach to guide and enhance Australia’s economic statecraft:

• Scan paths towards desired geopolitical outcomes and off-ramps away from undesired or dangerous futures;
• Share strategic economic security expertise and ideas across existing public and private sectors;
• Shape the decisions of individuals, firms and states using economic incentives that advance Australia’s multidimensional global interests.

Watch an introduction to the report from author Helen Mitchell here or download a copy here.

Four reports released in new multipolarity initiative

USSC’s new research initiative, Indo-Pacific strategic futures: Multipolarity, alignment dynamics and collective defence, examines how a range of regional powers are contributing and responding to an increasingly multipolar strategic environment in the Indo-Pacific, and how these trends might play out in coming years. It offers a variety of regional perspectives on current and future strategic challenges in the Indo-Pacific, including Japan, South Korea and the United States – three of Australia’s most important allies and partners.

The first four reports are:

• Multipolarity in the Indo-Pacific: Lessons for Australia from the past and present by Dr Michael Green
• South Korean power in a multipolar Indo-Pacific by Dr Peter Lee
• Networked deterrence in a multipolar Indo-Pacific by Becca Wasser
• Japan and multipolarity in the Indo-Pacific: National mobilisation and resilience by Dr Thomas Wilkins

Super Week with Chas Licciardello

In the first week in March Super Tuesday primary contests played out in 15 states and President Biden delivered what could be his final State of the Union address. To unpack the results of the contests and what this Super Week means for the 2024 election USSC hosted a live panel discussion featuring Chas Licciardello, co-host of popular television show “Planet America” on ABC TV, in conversation with Associate Professor in American Politics and Foreign Policy David Smith and USSC Research Editor Victoria Cooper, moderated by USSC Director of Research Jared Mondschein.

One hundred people turned up to hear the latest on the US election and we’re still 7 months away. If you can’t get enough of US politics, make sure to visit our US politics hub for the latest from USSC researchers.

Times Higher Education Summit outcomes report

From September to October, the University of Sydney partnered with the Times Higher Education World Academic Summit to explore how regional, national and global collaboration can strengthen the role of universities as drivers of change within society. As part of the summit, USSC hosted two major roundtables focused on the education sector’s value proposition for AUKUS and prospects for trilateral university cooperation.

This month, the Foreign Policy and Defence Program published a report summarising 15 key findings as a result of the discussions and surveys. From the challenges of workforce to the criticality of universities to drive essential research and development, the report examines the current state of play and next steps to leverage the university sector in realising AUKUS.

Deep dive into undersea cables

With 95 per cent of the world’s communications are carried via undersea cables, including data and financial transactions. This critical infrastructure is becoming an increasingly contested space. In her brief, Linking up with business on undersea cables: How Australia, the United States and Japan can better cooperate with the private sector on cables in a more contested Indo-Pacific, Director of Economic Security Hayley Channer examines how to improve public-private partnerships on undersea cables.

Last days for early bird tickets

Early bird tickets for the Economic security in a turbulent world conference end on Sunday. Join USSC and international experts for this 1.5 day conference exploring US-China economic competition, technology dynamics, Indo-Pacific energy security and more.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Alan Beattie | Senior Trade Writer at the Financial Times
• Dr Elizabeth Economy | Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University
• Tadashi Maeda | Chairman of the Board for the Japan Bank for International Cooperation
• Ziad Haider | Partner and Global Director of Geopolitical Risk at McKinsey and Company
• The Hon. Mathias Cormann (virtual) | Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

When: 19-20 June 2024
Where: Fullerton Hotel, Martin Place, Sydney
Cost: Early bird $1,150 | Full price (from 1 April) $1,320

Study at UCLA this winter

USSC’s popular study abroad program at UCLA is back again this year. Open to University of Sydney students who have completed (or will complete by the end of Semester 1 2024) 48 credit points of study, the program offers an opportunity to study at UCLA over the winter break. Students will complete two UCLA subjects (equivalent to 6 credit points) and can choose from hundreds of courses.

Applications close 22 April 2024

USSC perspectives

While the US election continued to dominate headlines in Australia, AUKUS and the proposed TikTok ban were also a significant focus of the public discourse on the United States. USSC experts covered the range of impactful issues for the US and the region.

• Anti-AUKUS coalition is splintered and confused about progress of submarines and industrial base by Prof. Peter Dean. First published in The Australian.
• Why women will swing the US election by Ava Kalinauskas. First published in the Australian Financial Review.
• US declares virtual war on China, and 175 million Americans, with TikTok ban by Bruce Wolpe. First published in the Sydney Morning Herald.
• Delivering the Quad's tech agenda by Jennifer Jackett. First published in The Strategist.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Videos and podcasts

The latest recordings from our webinars are available on our YouTube channel and USSC Live podcast. Find all of the Centre’s podcast recordings here. You can now listen to USSC Briefing Room on YouTube.

• PODCAST | USSC Briefing Room | AUKUS: One year since the 'optimal pathway' with Prof. Peter Dean, Alice Nason and Mari Koeck
• PODCAST | The Asia Chessboard | A Journalist’s Take on the U.S.-China Relationship with Demetri Sevastopulo, Dr Michael Green and Jude Blanchette.
• VIDEO | Unlocking economic security: A strategic playbook for Australia – Introduction by Helen Mitchell
• PODCAST | USSC Briefing Room | Indo-Pacific Strategy Simulation 2023: The view from Japan with Dr Michael Green and Nobukatsu Kanehara.
• PODCAST | USSC Briefing Room | Indo-Pacific Strategy Simulation 2023: The view from the United States with Prof. Peter Dean and Zack Cooper.
• PODCAST | USSC Briefing Room | Indo-Pacific Strategy Simulation 2023: The view from Australia with Prof. Peter Dean and Jacqueline Borsboom.

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University of Sydney NSW 2006

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