The National Security Podcast

In this National Security Podcast, Defence Minister Mariya Didi explains what drives the Maldives to look to its democratic neighbours, India and Sri Lanka, as the nation’s security partners and most important relationships. She talks of the impact of climate change on the island nation and tells us what it is like to live on and make policy for islands whose highest elevation is less than 5 metres above sea level as oceans rise. In a very candid and personal way, Minister Didi also details the struggle for democracy in the Maldives. She reflects on her experience of being ousted by the country’s security forces, only to return to government and command those very same forces as their Defence Minister. Minister Didi also provides insight into her leadership style, the pathway to reconciliation, and the sources of her personal courage and motivation.Mariya Didi is the current Minister for Defence of the Republic of Maldives, a former Member of Parliament and a leading human rights activist in the country.Chris Farnham is the presenter of the National Security Podcast. He joined the National Security College in June 2015 as Policy and Events Officer. His career focus has been on geopolitics with experience working in and out of China for a number of years as well as operating in Australia and Southeast Asia.Show notes | These texts were referred to or used for the information discussed in this episode:Minister Didi’s personal essay after being awarded the International Women of Courage Award by the United States Secretary of State.We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or find us on Facebook. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this National Security Podcast, Zac Rogers and Katherine Mansted talk about why political leaders have long been attracted to the idea that technology is a revolutionary key to progress and power. They also discusses how ideas about technology and modernity have animated brutal political regimes, global business models, and ideologies – from Leninism to Maoism. From China’s emerging brand of 'techno-authoritarianism' to the 'technological nihilism' of some Silicon Valley companies, we ask how emerging technologies are shaping politics, power, and security.Hugely powerful digital corporations shape our daily preferences and behaviours, and potentially even our brains. Is the digital revolution on track to be an 'organ transplant the body rejects'? How can governments tame technology to serve their interests and values? And what would a whole-of-society conversation about digital democracy look like?Zac Rogers is Research Lead at the newly-established Jeff Bleich Centre for the US Alliance in Digital Technology, Security, and Governance at Flinders University. His research explores the impact of digital transformation on Australia’s security, national interests, defence planning, and strategy.Katherine Mansted is a Senior Adviser for Public Policy at the National Security College and a Non-resident Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can find us on Facebook. The National Security Podcast is available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this National Security Podcast, Nicholas Rasmussen, former director of national counter-terrorism in the United States, and Jacinta Carroll, Australian policy professional in countering violent extremism, join Chris Farnham to talk about how current policy is hampering a whole-of-government response to domestic terrorism. The panel discuss how extremism policy differs from country to country, the role of politicians, and the tech sector's responsibility to recognise the difference between freedom of expression and the encouragement of violence.Jacinta Carroll is the Director of National Security Policy at the ANU National Security College. She was previously the inaugural head of ASPI’s Counter-Terrorism Policy Centre.Nicholas Rasmussen is a national security expert with over 27 years in US government service. He is Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Visiting Fellow at The Australian National University, former Director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, and current Senior Director of the McCain Institute’s Counterterrorism Program.Chris Farnham is the presenter of the National Security Podcast. He joined the National Security College in June 2015 as Policy and Events Officer. His career focus has been on geopolitics with experience working in and out of China for a number of years as well as operating in Australia and Southeast Asia.We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can find us on Facebook. The National Security Podcast is available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What poses the greatest risk, Islamic terrorism or far-right extremism?First exploring whether right-wing extremism is a new challenge and why conspiracy theories seem to have such great influence with the ‘alt-right’ and ultra-nationalists, the panel ask if there is a counter-balance to the threat of right-wing extremism.In the second pod of the series Nick Rasmussen, the former head of US national counter-terrorism, and terrorism expert Jacinta Carroll will talk policy options to deal with this challenge.Alex Mann is a Sydney-based broadcast journalist with the ABC's flagship investigative podcast, Background Briefing. In 2017, he was recognised as South Australia’s Journalist of the Year and has won several other media awards for his reporting.Kristy Campion is a lecturer in terrorism studies at Charles Sturt University, with special focus on the history of terrorism and right-wing extremism. She holds first-class honours in terrorism history and a PhD on the same topic.Chris Farnham is the presenter of the National Security Podcast. He joined the National Security College in June 2015 and is currently Senior Outreach and Policy Officer. His career focus has been on geopolitics with experience working in and out of China for a number of years as well as operating in Australia and Southeast Asia.We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can find us on Facebook. The National Security Podcast is available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Facebook advances its plan for a new cryptocurrency – Libra – we ask what the fintech revolution means for national security. Will a major player like Facebook take crypto mainstream, and if so, how could that reshape global financial flows and economic power?In this National Security Podcast, Katherine Mansted explores what is shaping the cryptocurrency landscape - from the invisible creators of Bitcoin, to nation-states with a penchant for fintech innovation. We discuss the opportunities and pitfalls of Facebook’s proposed new cryptocurrency, Libra, as well as the other crypto actors on the scene.Chris Zappone is Digital Foreign Editor at The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, where his writing focuses on the interplay between technology, politics, economics, and the future.Elise Thomas is a Researcher working with ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre. She has previously worked as a freelance journalist, including writing for Wired, Guardian Australia, SBS, Crikey and The Interpreter.Katherine Mansted is a senior adviser at the National Security College and non-resident fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or find us on Facebook. The National Security Podcast and Policy Forum Pod are available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Too often, discussion of the 'Indo-Pacific' is heavily focused on China, the United States and India. While these nations are the biggest actors in the region, it is important to note that they are not the only nations with influence. As security policy evolves, we ask how other nations, from big economies such as Japan and Indonesia, to smaller states like Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, are internalising the concept and incorporating it into national strategy.In this week's episode, Chris Farnham goes in depth on national strategies in the Indo-Pacific region. Chatting Southeast Asia with Greta Nabbs Keller, the Pacific islands with Joanne Wallis, and then turning to Hiroyasu Akutsu for a discussion on Japan, this National Security Podcast offers insight into the shifting sands of the regions' policies.Hiroyasu Akutsu is a Senior Fellow and Professor at the National Institute for Defense Studies in Tokyo. He specializes in political and military issues on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia, Japan-Australia security cooperation, and the Japan-US alliance.Greta Nabbs-Keller is Manager of Indonesia and Southeast Asia programs at the University of Queensland’s International Development unit. Greta’s broader research interests include Indonesian civil-military relations, Indonesia-China relations, politico-security developments in Southeast Asia and the Australia-Indonesia relations.Joanne Wallis is a Senior Lecturer in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Australian National University. She completed her PhD in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge, where she was a Poynton Cambridge Australia scholar and Wolfson College Commonwealth scholar.Chris Farnham is the presenter of the National Security Podcast. He joined the National Security College in June 2015 as Policy and Events Officer. His career focus has been on geopolitics with experience working in and out of China for a number of years as well as operating in Australia and Southeast Asia.We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or find us on Facebook. The National Security Podcast and Policy Forum Pod are available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As technology alters the constraints that geography poses on nations, societies, and individuals, how will national security change? How will the fragmentation of society along lines of proximity, ethnicities, and belief systems evolve in an increasingly networked world? Is Brexit the beginning of disintegration for Europe, can Russia ever be brought in from the cold, and what role, if any, does the EU have to play in the tensions between the US and China?In this National Security Podcast, Chris Farnham talks to Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the author of The Fog of Peace, on how nations will evolve and what that means for national – or even city-based – security. In a networked world of fragmenting societies, the impact of technology and the balkanisation of the tech sector will change how we relate to each other and how we identify, collectivise, and defend ourselves. We also discuss the ‘what now’ for Europe in the face of a disruptive Russia, and whether the two will ever find common ground.Jean-Marie Guéhenno is a distinguished fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution and a member of the UN secretary-general's High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation. From 2014 to 2017, Guéhenno was president and CEO of the International Crisis Group. He is an expert in peacekeeping, global governance, and transnational security threats. As the undersecretary-general for peacekeeping operations at the UN from 2000 to 2008, Guéhenno became the longest-serving head of peacekeeping. He led the biggest expansion of peacekeeping in the history of the UN.Chris Farnham is the presenter of the National Security Podcast. He joined the National Security College in June 2015 and is currently Senior Outreach and Policy Officer. His career focus has been on geopolitics with experience working in and out of China for a number of years as well as operating in Australia and Southeast Asia.We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or find us on Facebook. The National Security Podcast and Policy Forum Pod are available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the National Security Podcast we talk to Kelly Magsamen about American national security policy - what is driving it, where it is going, and if we’re headed into a cul-de-sac of policy failure. We also find out if the Obama administration moved too slowly to counter China’s militarisation of the South China Sea or whether it was a mistake by Beijing to even build bases amongst its Southeast Asian neighbours. And we ask considering the global rules-based order, why should we care anymore and did it ever even matter?Kelly Magsamen is the vice president for National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress. Prior to joining American Progress, she served in various national security positions. Magsamen was the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs and performed the duties of assistant secretary of defense. In these positions, she was a lead adviser to the secretary of defense for U.S. defense policy and strategy across the Indo-Asia-Pacific, including in Afghanistan and Pakistan.Prior to her tenure at the Pentagon, Magsamen served on the National Security Council (NSC) staff for two presidents and four national security advisers. As special assistant to the president and senior director for strategic planning, she was responsible for long-term planning and helped craft the 2015 U.S. National Security Strategy. She also served as senior adviser for Middle East reform during the height of the Arab Spring. As NSC director for Iran, she was responsible for coordinating U.S. policy on Iran. Magsamen began her government career as a presidential management fellow at the U.S. State Department, where she worked on Iraq policy in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, at the U.S. Mission to NATO, and as special assistant and chief of staff to the counselor.Chris Farnham is the presenter of the National Security Podcast. He joined the National Security College in June 2015 and is currently Senior Outreach and Policy Officer. His career focus has been on geopolitics with experience working in and out of China for a number of years as well as operating in Australia and Southeast Asia.We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or find us on Facebook. The National Security Podcast and Policy Forum Pod are available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this National Security Podcast extra, we speak to Professor Hugh White AO about his new book, How to Defend Australia. Hugh argues for a radical shift in the way we view America’s role in Asia, and that Australia can no longer count on US support should it find itself under the threat of being attacked. The discussion includes how China’s expanding economic and military power is dominating the region and what that means for the structure of Australia’s defence forces.As the region shifts and China flexes its military and economic muscles, how should Australia structure its national defence for the coming decades?Throughout his book, Hugh suggests that Australia should abandon its current plans for 12 French submarines and building 24 submarines, sell most of its newer vessels, and double the purchase of Joint Strike Fighter aircrafts. Little has set a fire under Australia’s national security community this much since his last book, The China Choice. Join us for an in-depth conversation where we test some of Hugh’s assumptions and detail his thinking of why the country needs to completely rethink the way it defends itself.Hugh White AO is Professor of Strategic Studies at the Australian National University. His work focuses primarily on Australian strategic and defence policy, Asia-Pacific security issues, and global strategic affairs especially as they influence Australia and the Asia-Pacific. He has served as an intelligence analyst with the Office of National Assessments, as a journalist with the Sydney Morning Herald, as a senior adviser on the staffs of Defence Minister Kim Beazley and Prime Minister Bob Hawke, and as a senior official in the Department of Defence, where from 1995 to 2000 he was Deputy Secretary for Strategy and Intelligence, and as the first Director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.Chris Farnham is the presenter of the National Security Podcast. He joined the National Security College in June 2015 and is currently Senior Outreach and Policy Officer. His career focus has been on geopolitics with experience working in and out of China for a number of years as well as operating in Australia and Southeast Asia.We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or find us on Facebook. The National Security Podcast and Policy Forum Pod are available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As geopolitical competition intensifies again in the region, Southeast Asia finds itself increasingly pressured by China and the US. Whilst China aggressively pursues its claim over Southeast maritime territory, it also commits to large investment programs throughout the region. And as the US defence establishment works to convince East Asia that American commitment to the region is not waning, President Trump continues to sow uncertainty with diplomacy by Twitter.How is Southeast Asia reacting to these new regional flows, what is important to the people of the region, and how well are they being represented by their political leaders? How does the political communicate with the social? What role is the new media landscape playing in this new relationship?In this podcast, Chris Farnham speaks to three journalists from leading Southeast Asian media outlets discussing East Asian geopolitics, the influence of great powers in the ASEAN region, and how the media landscape is reacting to the Internet and social media’s influence.Sita Dewi is the Deputy Editor on the national desk at The Jakarta Post where she and her team covers politics, law and human rights, environment, public health, and education in Indonesia. In 2015, she was a recipient of an Australia Awards Scholarship and undertook a Master of Asia Pacific Studies at the ANU.Roby Alampay is editor-in-chief of Business World. He anchors the nightly newscast, ‘The Big Story’ on Bloomberg Philippines and co-anchors ‘The Chiefs’ on One News TV 5. He was the former Executive Director of SEAPA, the Southeast Asia Press Alliance, and is well known for his strong support of press freedom in the Philippines.Thana Boonlert is a journalist at Bangkok Post with experience covering international and domestic news, ASEAN, the Rohingya Crisis, and Thailand’s relations in the region.Chris Farnham is the presenter of the National Security Podcast. He joined the National Security College in June 2015 and is currently Senior Outreach and Policy Officer. His career focus has been on geopolitics with experience working in and out of China for a number of years as well as operating in Australia and Southeast Asia.We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or find us on Facebook. The National Security Podcast and Policy Forum Pod are available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.