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October 2023
Convening at home and abroad
As the United States Studies Centre (USSC) gears up for the inaugural Sydney International Strategy Forum, it has been anything but quiet at the Centre. The month was bookended by two major events. Firstly the UPSCALE report launch featuring Director of Economic Security Hayley Channer and Senior Economic Adviser Dr John Kunkel. This was the culmination of many lines of effort across the year including workshops with government and the private sector with representatives from both Australia and the United States and extensive discussions with the various stakeholders in the defence tech innovation ecosystem. The result was a ground-breaking report that shared their findings and provided practical solutions to some of the biggest roadblocks to defence innovation.
On the last two days of the month, the Centre hosted an international Strategy Simulation to test how political thresholds, perceptions of risk, and national strategic assumptions might affect collective responses to a multi-faceted contingency in the Indo-Pacific. It convened former government ministers and senior military officials, industry leaders, and subject matter experts from Australia, the United States and Japan to participate in a team-based role-playing exercise.
In between these major events, we hosted numerous roundtables, including an AUKUS roundtable in London, and on topics from democracy to US Middle East policy. But now, all eyes are on tomorrow’s Sydney International Strategy Forum featuring Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia Madeleine King, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Birmingham and Co-Founder of WestExec Advisors Michèle Flournoy amongst many others. If you are unable to join us on the day, you will be able to watch video recordings on our YouTube channel in coming days. Our 2023 polling will also be launched tomorrow. Be sure to subscribe to our research alerts to receive a link.
NEWS
AUKUS roundtable in London
On 18 October, USSC Director of Foreign Policy and Defence Prof. Peter Dean co-hosted a trilateral 1.5 track dialogue along with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) at the Australian High Commission in London. Attendees included 50 experts, officials and industry leaders from Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The workshop aimed to produce insights about how to progress the greatest long-term challenges to AUKUS Pillar I implementation.
Key takeaways from this first 1.5 track dialogue include:
- On Pillar I writ large, there has been significant progress in the last six months to operationalise the optimal pathway. A "business as usual" approach won't meet the timelines required.
- AUKUS is multigenerational. It will need to become part of the lifeblood of the three countries to succeed.
- Securing social license for the partnership and recruiting workers to staff the project are inextricably interdependent.
- There is a need to show progress – to build the confidence of the public, and to build trust in each other. A steady drumbeat of action will offer those assurances.
- A full outcomes report from the dialogue is forthcoming.
UPSCALE report launch
Over 2023, the Centre’s Economic Security Program hosted three UPSCALE: Using Private Sector Capital for the Alliance workshops with leaders in defence innovation, tech companies and private sector finance in Australia and the United States to look at how to leverage private sector investment to drive Australian defence capability and innovation.
Following the workshops, Director of Economic Security Hayley Channer and Senior Economic Adviser Dr John Kunkel published a report sharing their findings along with key recommendations to bridge the private sector investment gap.
The UPSCALE report was launched at an event in Sydney this month featuring Doug Beck, Director of the Defense Innovation Unit in the US Department of Defense. The ABC’s defence correspondent Andrew Greene moderated a discussion with the report authors.
US Middle East policy with Elliott Abrams
As the war in Israel began, USSC hosted an exclusive event with Elliott Abrams, a foreign affairs expert who has worked in the Reagan, Bush and Trump administrations and was nominated by President Biden to the US Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. The event took a closer look at US Middle East policy including the points of continuity between the Trump and Biden administrations and the impact the current war with Hamas will have on US policy.
New report explores Australia-South Korea middle powers relationship
Research Fellow Tom Corben’s latest report, Before the window closes: Australia-South Korea defence cooperation in a new strategic era looks at the shifting and strengthening ties between Australia and South Korea as middle powers in the region. It maps specific opportunities from the Yoon administration’s 2022 National Defense White Paper, National Security Strategy and Indo-Pacific Strategy in light of Australia’s 2020 Defence Strategic Update and 2023 Defence Strategic Review. The report was shared widely within the Korean Government.
Democracy roundtable with Charles Dunst
On 16 October, USSC hosted Charles Dunst, Senior Associate and Deputy Director of Research and Analytics at The Asia Group for a lunchtime roundtable looking at democracy in the age of the strongman. From lessons for Australia and the United States about the heavy domestic spending of autocratic states to steps to rebuild public confidence, the discussion explored both current challenges to and pathways forward for democracies in light of ‘strongman’ politics.
Georgetown postgraduate information session
The student team hosted an information session with Robert Lyons. Robert Lyons is the current Director of Academic Programs & Operations at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He oversees multiple graduate and undergraduate programs at Georgetown and met with prospective students to discuss studying at one of the most prestigious universities in the United States.
USSC perspectives
As war broke out in Israel and a US House speaker was ousted for the first time, USSC experts provided a deeper analysis of the stories making the news.
- The Gaza war and the Korean Peninsula by Dr Michael Green, first published in Korea JoongAng Daily
- As Albanese heads to Washington, what can he hope to bring home? by Victoria Cooper, first published in The Conversation
- Is Australia's defence force, and the public service, too conservative? by Dr Miah Hammond-Errey, first published in The Canberra Times
- Ranked choice voting is a solution to congressional chaos by Prof. Ben Reilly & Rachel Hutchinson, first published in RealClearPolitics
- Trump vs Haley vs DeSantis: inside the real battle for the 2024 Republican nomination by Lester Munson, first published in The Conversation
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.
- PODCAST | USSC Briefing Room | Behind the scenes of a US state visit with Dr Michael Green, Dr John Kunkel and Mari Koeck. LISTEN HERE
- PODCAST | Technology and Security (TS) podcast | Nanomaterials, international standards, AI and data ethics with Dr Kobi Leins and Dr Miah Hammond-Errey. LISTEN HERE
- PODCAST | USSC Briefing Room | UPSCALE and how to actualise AUKUS through private sector finance with Hayley Channer and Dr John Kunkel. LISTEN HERE
- PODCAST | USSC Briefing Room | Republican state of play: House speaker race, Trump trials and conflict in Israel with Associate Prof. David Smith and Mari Koeck. LISTEN HERE
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United States Studies
Centre
Institute Building H03
University of Sydney NSW 2006
