August 2023

Women in the Alliance launches in Sydney

Last night, the United States Studies Centre (USSC) had the immense pleasure of launching the Women in the Alliance initiative. Spearheaded by Alice Nason, Sophie Mayo and Victoria Cooper, the Women in the Alliance initiative will facilitate cross-border and cross-sectoral dialogue on key alliance issues including trade and investment, diplomacy and development, defence, space and critical technologies, and climate resilience.

At the launch event at The Mint in Sydney, former Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said, “To reflect the words of Eleanor Roosevelt as she told The Age, ‘The viewpoint of women must be taken into account; the perspective of women must be heard in order to create the kind of world in which we all wish to live.”

US Consul-General in Sydney Christine Elder also spoke at the event and Aurora Education Foundation CEO and American Australian Association Ltd in Australia Chair Leila Smith, Representative for Lindsay Melissa McIntosh MP and ABC journalist and broadcaster Geraldine Doogue participated in a panel discussion on “making the alliance a ‘whole of nation’ effort”.

Expressions of interest are now open for the first cohort to join the Women in the Alliance initiative. Learn more here.

NEWS

New USSC website

Yesterday, USSC launched its new website. USSC is always working to find solutions to complex challenges. The new website allows the USSC to reach our full potential through presenting our work in innovative and compelling ways. We invite you to take a look around the new site. In particular, we recommend exploring by topic, looking through the study section and discovering our selection of podcasts.

Women in the Alliance network: Expressions of interest now open

USSC is seeking expressions of interest to participate in its inaugural Women in the Alliance network. The network will bring together a highly accomplished group of female professionals working across industries related to the Australia-US relationship. These individuals will receive exclusive opportunities designed to advance and accelerate their careers, amplify their expertise and expand their professional network.

Throughout their year-long term, network members will be offered functional professional development in skills including leadership development; presenting with confidence; policy design and creativity; and effective stakeholder engagement.

If you or someone you know may be interested, apply now. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through 30 September 2023.

New brief tackles nuclear deterrence and de-escalation

From AUKUS and the Quad to ever-expanding joint military exercises, Australia and the United States have arguably never been so strategically aligned in their seven decades as allies.

In Full knowledge and concurrence: Key questions for US-Australia extended deterrence and escalation management consultations, USSC guest author Kelsey Hartigan looks at how Australia and the United States can prepare to manage the risks of nuclear escalation with nuclear-armed adversaries in the Indo-Pacific. This brief outlines a pathway for managing nuclear threats in the region and includes policy recommendations for decision makers in Canberra and Washington.

Two new USSC scholarships

The USSC has created two new undergraduate scholarships for American Studies students. Each scholarship is for $10,000 and is tenable for up to one year.

USSC Undergraduate Indigenous Scholarship in American Studies | This Scholarship was established to assist Aboriginal and Torres Islander students undertaking American Studies at the University of Sydney. APPLY HERE

USSC Undergraduate Equity Scholarship in American Studies | This Scholarship was established to provide support to students majoring in American Studies at the University of Sydney who are experiencing financial hardship. APPLY HERE

Countering a Taiwan crisis with economics with Adam Smith

The past few years have seen an unprecedented use of economic coercion as a tool of international relations, from sanctions placed on Russia, Iran, and North Korea to the ongoing export control battle between China and the United States. To look at these complex relationships and how they apply to a potential Taiwan crisis, USSC hosted an event with Adam Smith, a world-leading international trade compliance lawyer and former advisor to President Obama, in conversation with USSC Director of Economic Security Hayley Channer. WATCH HERE

USSC hosts two congressional staff delegations

The USSC hosted two congressional staff delegations (StaffDels) this month. First, the Centre hosted a StaffDel with representatives from the offices of Rep. Steve Scalise, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and several congressional committees including the Energy and Commerce Committee, Appropriations Committee and Armed Services Committee. The following week, the Centre held a roundtable with a StaffDel from the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

Actualising AUKUS continues to be a major focus of the Australia-US discussions and the third pillar of the alliance on technology and clean energy opens a new range of possibilities for closer and faster collaboration between our two countries.

First GOP debate recap

The 2024 US presidential election campaign is already making daily headlines in Australia. The first GOP candidate debate this month was a major milestone in the move toward determining the eventual Republican nominee. USSC hosted a live event with US politics experts Associate Prof. David Smith, Dr Gorana Grgic and Victoria Cooper in conversation with Jared Mondschein to break down what happened at the debate and, critically, if any of it was enough to shift the polls, which heavily favour former president Trump. WATCH HERE

Welcome to semester 2

The American Studies program welcomed both undergraduate and postgraduate students to semester 2 with a series of events. USSC had a bustling booth at the two-day Welcome Fest for undergraduates. This was followed by a Postgraduate Welcome where Dr Rodney Taveira and Madelyne Cummings joined other representatives of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

A look at the Australia-US defence space relationship

This month, we released The space between alliance and self-reliance: The evolution of the Australia-US defence space relationship. This new report from guest author Dr Tristan Moss examines the rich history in the Australia-US space relationship, it’s role in defence and what this means for the future. With the recent establishment of an Australian Defence Space Command and this year’s AUSMIN consultations announcing ‘Enhanced Space Cooperation’ as a new Australia-US Force Posture Initiative, defence space cooperation is poised to become a key priority for the alliance in the 2020s and beyond.

USSC perspectives

The US presidential election heated up in August with the first GOP candidate debate, but major developments continued on defence innovation and alliances. USSC experts published on the gamut of Australia-US topics across the month.

• Defence needs to harness the power of private capital by Hayley Channer, first published in the Australian Financial Review.
• With Donald Trump the Republican talisman again, should America’s allies plan for the worst? by Bruce Wolpe, first published in The Guardian.
• The Quad is edging closer to collective maritime defence by Tom Corben, first published in Nikkei Asia.
• Why it still pays to chase the US religious vote by Associate Prof. David Smith, first published by 360 Info.
• The social licence for AUKUS has not yet been earned by Dr Peter Lee, Sophie Mayo and Alice Nason, first published in The Strategist.

EVENTS

Sydney International Strategy Forum: The United States, Australia and a contested Indo-Pacific

Support for alliances is strong in Washington, as the ambitious AUKUS pact charts new territory in critical technologies and sovereign capabilities and diverse Indo-Pacific networks of bilateral, trilateral, and quadrilateral cooperation shape the regional balance of power. At the same time, US allies and partners are expressing concerns about the Biden administration’s industrial policy agenda and US-China trade and technology wars, underscoring the complexities of “friend shoring” and “de-risking” critical supply chains. On the US domestic front, a looming 2024 presidential race and the prospect of another Trump presidency also raises questions about the future of sustained US engagement in the world. 

The United States Studies Centre invites you to the launch of its flagship conference, the Sydney International Strategy Forum, where these issues, and the enormous risks and opportunities associated with each, will be tackled by prominent experts and thought leaders. Confirmed speakers include Michèle Flournoy, Admiral Phil Davidson, Dr Evan Medeiros, Ryan Lizza and Olivia Nuzzi.

TYPE
Conference

WHERE
Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, 199 George Street, The Rocks NSW

WHEN
SYDNEY | Wednesday, 1 November 2023, 8.30am-4.30pm AEDT

COST
Early bird: A$499 (ends 31 July 2023)
Student: A$180
Full price: A$560
Book your tickets here

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.

• EVENT | Countering a Taiwan crisis with economics: Would Russia-style sanctions work on China? with Adam Smith and Hayley Channer. WATCH HERE
• PODCAST | Technology and Security (TS) podcast | Digital ID, leadership and innovation with the Hon Victor Dominello and Dr Miah Hammond-Errey. LISTEN HERE
• PODCAST | USSC Briefing Room | The latest in Australia-US maritime security with Prof. Peter Dean, Blake Herzinger and Victoria Cooper. LISTEN
• EVENT | The GOP debate breakdown: What just happened? with Associate Prof. David Smith, Dr Gorana Grgic, Victoria Cooper and Jared Mondschein. WATCH HERE
• PODCAST | The Asia Chessboard | Multipolarity in Southeast Asia with Thomas Parks, Dr Michael Green and Jude Blanchette. LISTEN HERE
• PODCAST | USSC Briefing Room | 2024 GOP presidential candidates primer with Associate Prof. David Smith, Victoria Cooper and Jared Mondschein. LISTEN HERE
• PODCAST | USSC Briefing Room | Deterrence dialogue returns to DC with Prof. Peter Dean, Alice Nason and Mari Koeck. LISTEN HERE

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United States Studies Centre
Institute Building H03
University of Sydney NSW 2006

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