Global Forum
Past events
US Election 2024: What will it mean for Global Security?
- 1 November 2024
Moderated by Stan Grant, featuring CISS experts in a discussion on the implications of the US election for international, regional, environmental and human security.
Can Albanese Fix AUKUS?
- 25 July 2022
Newly elected Labor Party PM Anthony Albanese faces a dilemma on nuclear submarines. During the campaign, when he received only a single day’s notice, he felt compelled to endorse the AUKUS deal to buy nuclear-powered US or UK attack submarines, so he could avoid looking weak on China. However, Albanese knows that purchasing such submarines fueled with tons of highly enriched uranium (HEU) – enough for hundreds of nuclear weapons – would wreck the nonproliferation regime that his party helped build. Iran already has cited AUKUS as justification for its own production of HEU, and international inspectors cannot prevent diversion of this material for atom bombs. The webinar explores three ways that Albanese might extract Australia from this quandary.
Click here to watch the webinar on YouTube.
Information Operations and Foreign Interferences in the Asia Pacific
- 17 May 2022
Information operations and foreign interferences are among the greatest threats facing nation states today as information warfare has intensified around the world. Yet, there are serious gaps in our knowledge and understanding of the working and impacts of information operations and foreign interferences in the Asia Pacific region. This roundtable brings together representatives from government, academia, think-tanks and industry to share their knowledge and perspectives on these issues and discuss implications for the Australian Defence Force.
What does the Russo-Ukrainian war mean for Indo-Pacific security?
- 27 April 2022
What are the implications of the Russo-Ukraine war for Indo-Pacific security? As the conflict continues, countries in the Indo-Pacific are being pressured to take a ‘side’ even as many, coming out of post-colonial pasts, have approached foreign policy from a tradition of non-alignment. What lessons are Indo-Pacific countries likely to draw from the conflict? The conflict is likely to have implications for the Indo-Pacific in terms of the feasibility of military efforts to resolve disagreements, as well as the fallout from economic sanctions. It is also likely to reshape the alliance structures of the Indo-Pacific, and force countries to think about where they stand.
The Russo-Ukrainian Conflict and the Future of Warfare
- 1 March 2022
Ukraine is once again at the epicentre of news due to an unwarranted full-scale military aggression from Russia. After years of influence operations, active measures, and ceasefire violations, followed by failed diplomacy and ineffective sanctions, missiles are once again flying and more boots are on the ground. With hybrid war expanding into the realms of communication and perception, new analytical tools are needed to understand what happened and what is likely to come next. The CISS Global Forum gathers international experts for a critical analysis of the Russian-Ukrainian war and what it represents for the future of warfare.
Friends, Enemies and Interests: Critical Perspectives on AUKUS
- 27 September 2021
Through a series of curated webcasts CISS explores the national, regional and global security implications of the new strategic partnership between the US, United Kingdom and Australia (AUKUS). Drawing on the popularised insight of Lord Palmerston - ‘There are no permanent friends or enemies, only interests’ - the Global Forum offers historical depth, political analysis and technological expertise to better address key questions:
- Will AUKUS make Australia safe(r)?
- What’s ‘special’ about the Anglophone relationship?
- How is AUKUS likely to affect Australia’s relations with other countries in the Indo-Pacific? Europe?
- What is an ‘enhanced strategic partnership’? And how does it differ from an arms deal, force agreement or alliance?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines? Of new long-range air, sea and land missiles included in the agreement?
- What are the ‘real’ costs of AUKUS? The ‘opportunity’ costs?
- What is in the fine print of the agreement, starting with the intent to ‘expand our edge in military capabilities and critical technologies, such as cyber, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and undersea domains’?
- Is AUKUS the right/wrong solution for the right/wrong problem?
The COVID Crisis: Lessons Learned, What Next?
- May - September 2020
In 2020, the Global Forum will explore the unprecedented challenges and changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Bringing together our research program leaders and international experts, the Global Forum will discuss the security implications of the the COVID crisis and explore how it impacts biosecurity, ecosecurity, gender, geopolitics, infosecurity and regional security.
- Is this a ‘war’? If so, how does it compare to traditional notions of warfare?
- How does a pandemic strengthen or weaken security regimes?
- Is this a ‘Chinese virus’? Are we entering a ‘new cold war’?
- What is the appeal of conspiracy theories in times of crisis?
- What kind of permanent security effects will COVID leave behind?
- How does the issue of lives vs livelihood play out differently in the Global North/South?
- What other security crises are being neglected because of COVID?
Future Insecurity
- 12 February - 14 March 2019
In 2019, the Global Forum explored the theme of 'Future Insecurity' through a series of public lectures and seminars across the months of February and March. These events were linked by a special focus on how states and new global actors, seeking asymmetrical advantages through cyber, social media and other forms of digital manipulation, are producing a new precariousness in global politics. International experts included:
- Ronald J. Deibert (University of Toronto/Citizen Lab) on Tracking Digital Espionage
- David E. Sanger (New York Times) on The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage and Fear in the Cyber Age
- Kalypso Nicolaidis (University of Oxford) on Exodus, Reckoning, Sacrifice: Three Meanings of Brexit
Tracking Digital Espionage
Professor Ron Deibert, digital detective and founder of the Citizen Lab, reveals the hidden censorship and surveillance systems underpinning digital espionage campaigns against human rights organisations, journalists, activists, and opposition groups around the world.
The Perfect Weapon
New York Times national security correspondent David E. Sanger outlines why cyber is the perfect weapon. Cheap to acquire, easy to deny, and usable for a variety of malicious purposes, cyber is now the weapon of choice for democracies, dictators, and terrorists.
Peace and security under uncertainty
- 27-28 April, 2017
The first CISS Global Forum was held on Thursday 27 April 2017 with an evening public forum at the University of Sydney. The event continued on Friday 28 April with a one-day workshop at the historic Quarantine Station in Sydney Harbour.
The Forum featured a diverse group of leading international security scholars, who addressed the topic from their own unique perspectives and research areas. The event was moderated by James Der Derian (Director, Centre for International Security Studies) and featured:
- Rita Abrahamsen, University of Ottawa
- Thomas Biersteker, Graduate Institute of Geneva
- Lene Hansen, University of Copenhagen