Australian strategy in an age of coyness (Rod Lyon, ASPI The Strategist)

Readers of Australia’s DWP 2016 might well think themselves sold short in relation to one key concept: Australian strategy. The White Paper’s awash with money and equipment, but somewhat less clear about why power and force matter in the modern world. Kim Beazleyand Hugh White have already bemoaned the sharp turn away from the idea of self-reliance in the defence of Australia, a priority that previously helped to determine force structure and strategic focus. But readers are also misled about Australia’s interests in broader global power balances by the constant over-selling of a relatively soft strategic concept: ‘the rules-based global order’.

http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/australian-strategy-in-an-age-of-coyness/