Insight topics
John McCarthy AO
Former Australian Diplomat
27 articles found : Show all articles
Ukraine signals a return to the travails of the 20th Century
John McCarthy reviews the implications of the war in Ukraine and concludes we face a return to an era of great power conflict.
Ukraine crisis creates dilemmas close to home
As Russia takes advantage of fractured Western politics to push its claims in Ukraine, John McCarthy argues a backdown by the United States and its European allies would impose severe strategic costs. An emboldened China ready to assert its claims over Taiwan would likely be one of them.
It’s time for Australia to be a ‘smart power’ country
AUKUS shows the Morrison government’s hard power mindset. But getting the balance right with soft power assets is essential to further the national interest, writes Asialink senior adviser John McCarthy.
Australia is again snuggling up to powerful friends
The new AUKUS pact symbolises a nuclear-powered move away from being a country with the self-respect of true independence, writes John McCarthy.
The shame of Kabul
Australia’s messy exit from Kabul is likely to be recorded in history as a moment of national ignominy. John McCarthy argues that in the manner of our leaving we lost both credibility of leadership and ‘capacity to argue from the high ground’.