30 JUNE

The Atlantic Alliance Down Under

Less 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."

Click here to listen to the audio of the conversation.

NEWS WRAP

Infrastructure week(s)

“We have a deal” | After a period of tense negotiation, President Biden touted a massive $1.2 trillion bipartisan deal on infrastructure. The long-fought deal already weathered an episode of turbulence mere hours after the announcement, as Biden upset Republicans by letting slip he would not sign the deal without it being accompanied by a Democratic package. He later withdrew the threat, though the passing of the bipartisan legislation remains uncertain. READ MORE HERE
Tragedy in Miami | On Friday 25 June, the Champlain Towers – an oceanfront apartment building in Miami-Dade, Florida – collapsed, causing the deaths of 11 with 150 people still unaccounted for. READ MORE HERE
22 and a half years | Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin received a 22-and-a-half-year prison sentence after being found guilty for the murder of George Floyd. It marks one of the longest sentences ever for the use of unlawful deadly force by a police officer, as the successful prosecution of police brutality remains uncommon in the United States. READ MORE HERE
Middle Eastern intermeddling | After meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the White House on Friday last week, Biden's promising de-prioritisation of Middle East foreign policy faced yet another challenge. US forces came under retaliatory fire in northeast Syria this week after US airstrikes against Iran-backed militia in Iraq and Syria. READ MORE HERE

DID YOU USSC?

THE LATEST FROM USSC EXPERTS

INTERVIEW

US defence spending to match China leading to intense policy debates

Professor Simon Jackman interviewed on Sky News Australia

TUNE IN

IN THE NEWS

Secret notes claim Bob Hawke ‘informed’ for US government

Stephen Loosley quoted in The Australian

VIEW HERE

ANALYSIS

‘It’s like letting the fox into the henhouse’

Dr John Lee published by The Australian

ONLINE EVENT | 2 JULY

US Politics and Policy Series: July edition

With 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:
Friday 2 July, 1pm AEST (Sydney) 11am AWST (Perth)
Thursday 1 July, 11pm EDT (Washington, DC)

COST:
Free but registration is essential.

You can also subscribe to have event invitations and reminders sent straight to your inbox, so you never have to miss an event!

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I’ve been President about 150 days. I think we’ve done fairly well so far.

President Joe Biden
Remarks by President Biden on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal | 24 June 2021

ANALYSIS

Lessons from the United States

Identifying and acknowledging the threat of far-right extremism in Australia

Lilly Gibson-Dougall
Intern, USSC Internship Program 2021

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 NUMBERS

How do other vaccination rates compare?

Sarah Hamilton
Research Associate for Data Insights

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.

VIDEO

Climate and energy in the
United States and Australia

Did you miss our event on the politics, policies, and implications of climate and energy in the United States and Australia? The webinar featured the University of Queensland Chair in Sustainable Energy Futures Professor Peta Ashworth and POLITICO Global Translations Editor Ryan Heath, moderated by USSC CEO Professor Simon Jackman.

The full event replay is now available to stream. Tune in HERE.

Catch this and other recent webinars on the USSC YouTube channel!