Extended Nuclear Deterrence and the Restraint of Non-Nuclear Allies: Material Cooperation and Strategic Dialogue. Extended nuclear deterrence is central to the security commitments offered by the US to its European and Asian allies, but little is known about why non-nuclear allies ask for the nuclear assurances they do and how they influence the assurances they ultimately receive. Using the lenses of intra-alliance bargaining, the role and composition of assurances, and domestic and internationa ....Extended Nuclear Deterrence and the Restraint of Non-Nuclear Allies: Material Cooperation and Strategic Dialogue. Extended nuclear deterrence is central to the security commitments offered by the US to its European and Asian allies, but little is known about why non-nuclear allies ask for the nuclear assurances they do and how they influence the assurances they ultimately receive. Using the lenses of intra-alliance bargaining, the role and composition of assurances, and domestic and international interactions, the project investigates why non-nuclear allies often seek modest extended nuclear deterrence guarantees when they could push for more ambitious commitments. The outcomes of the project will advance theoretical understanding of alliances, assurance and nuclear strategy, with direct relevance to foreign policy and nuclear disarmament.Read moreRead less
Expectations and commitments in the Australia-USA alliance. This project aims to investigate the gap between the high expectations of mutual support and the lack of detailed security commitments in the Australia-US Alliance. The project intends to use a focused approach that captures thematic aspects of the alliance through project frames and historical slices across time. Expected outcomes can advance understanding of how alliances operate as security institutions. The outcomes can help to prom ....Expectations and commitments in the Australia-USA alliance. This project aims to investigate the gap between the high expectations of mutual support and the lack of detailed security commitments in the Australia-US Alliance. The project intends to use a focused approach that captures thematic aspects of the alliance through project frames and historical slices across time. Expected outcomes can advance understanding of how alliances operate as security institutions. The outcomes can help to promote a more informed national conversation about the costs and benefits of Australia's security relationship with the United States of America (USA) and contribute to debates over the future of the Australia-USA Alliance during a period of strategic uncertainty.Read moreRead less
Civilian Protection and the Use of Force in UN Peacekeeping Operations. This project seeks to evaluate the use of force to protect civilians in United Nations peacekeeping. United Nations peacekeepers are on the frontline of efforts to protect civilians from violence. More than 100 were killed in 2014. Hundreds of thousands of civilians depend on peacekeepers for their safety. To date, however, there has been little systematic evaluation of the impact of the use of force for civilian protection ....Civilian Protection and the Use of Force in UN Peacekeeping Operations. This project seeks to evaluate the use of force to protect civilians in United Nations peacekeeping. United Nations peacekeepers are on the frontline of efforts to protect civilians from violence. More than 100 were killed in 2014. Hundreds of thousands of civilians depend on peacekeepers for their safety. To date, however, there has been little systematic evaluation of the impact of the use of force for civilian protection mandates on both immediate protection goals and the wider goals of peacekeeping. This project aims to assess the impact of the implementation of mandates to use force to protect civilians. Through a focused comparison of six missions, it plans to identify what works, what doesn't, and the factors which determine these outcomes in order to identify ways of improving performance in the future.Read moreRead less
Burma's Role in Shaping the Asia-Pacific Strategic Environment. Australia is an active participant in global security affairs, not only as a close ally of the United States but also as an independent middle power with its own perceived sphere of influence. Developments in the strategic environment and the way in which countries attempt to influence state behaviours are central to our national security posture and alliance relationships. Also, the diverse security challenges in the Asia-Pacific r ....Burma's Role in Shaping the Asia-Pacific Strategic Environment. Australia is an active participant in global security affairs, not only as a close ally of the United States but also as an independent middle power with its own perceived sphere of influence. Developments in the strategic environment and the way in which countries attempt to influence state behaviours are central to our national security posture and alliance relationships. Also, the diverse security challenges in the Asia-Pacific region, such as those associated with so-called 'pariah' states like Burma, and the management of related transnational threats, are critical to the formulation and implementation of Australia's foreign and defence policies.
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What is killing the honeybees? The role of RNA viruses. This project aims to determine if the Varroa mite, the most important parasite of honeybees, selects for virulent strains of RNA viruses. Before Varroa’s inevitable arrival in Australia, this project will disentangle the effect of Varroa and the bees’ immune system on the evolution of virulence of bee viruses. Australia’s honeybees are Varroa-naïve and don’t carry virulent viruses. There is a known association between Varroa and colonies dy ....What is killing the honeybees? The role of RNA viruses. This project aims to determine if the Varroa mite, the most important parasite of honeybees, selects for virulent strains of RNA viruses. Before Varroa’s inevitable arrival in Australia, this project will disentangle the effect of Varroa and the bees’ immune system on the evolution of virulence of bee viruses. Australia’s honeybees are Varroa-naïve and don’t carry virulent viruses. There is a known association between Varroa and colonies dying from viruses; however, it is not known what is cause and effect. This project will clarify Varroa’s exact role in the evolution of virulence in RNA viruses. The intended outcome is increased knowledge allowing the design of an effective treatment to prevent the death of honeybee colonies.Read moreRead less
The Regionalisation of Peace Operations: Legitimacy, Effectiveness and Stable Peace. Through its deployments in East Timor, the Solomon Islands, PNG and elsewhere, Australia has led the world in thinking about innovative ways of conducting peace operations. It is well-understood that peace operations in failed states can help to prevent terrorism by removing the conditions in which they prosper. To date, however, there has been no rigorous conceptually informed historical and contemporary resear ....The Regionalisation of Peace Operations: Legitimacy, Effectiveness and Stable Peace. Through its deployments in East Timor, the Solomon Islands, PNG and elsewhere, Australia has led the world in thinking about innovative ways of conducting peace operations. It is well-understood that peace operations in failed states can help to prevent terrorism by removing the conditions in which they prosper. To date, however, there has been no rigorous conceptually informed historical and contemporary research on precisely which types of actors are most effective. This project will add significantly to global understandings of peace operations and make an important contribution to Australian policy decisions about how best to maximise effectiveness. Read moreRead less
Improving the International Response to Regime-Induced Displacement. This project examines why governments increasingly use force to deliberately displace their own populations on a massive scale, which is termed regime-induced displacement. Through a mix of quantitative and case study research, this project aims to explain why such actions have become rational strategies for regimes to respond to ethnic groups which may be a threat to them and how these regimes try to justify their behaviour in ....Improving the International Response to Regime-Induced Displacement. This project examines why governments increasingly use force to deliberately displace their own populations on a massive scale, which is termed regime-induced displacement. Through a mix of quantitative and case study research, this project aims to explain why such actions have become rational strategies for regimes to respond to ethnic groups which may be a threat to them and how these regimes try to justify their behaviour in order to thwart or delay international action. This is a critical issue as beyond its human cost, regime-induced displacement can lead to state fragility and regional instability as cases from Darfur to Syria demonstrate. Consequently, it directly affects Australia's security interests and international responsibilities.Read moreRead less
Impediments to Security Sector Reform in Southeast Asia. This project investigates the impediments to security sector reform in Southeast Asia. It applies an original framework of analysis that identifies five types of impediment to security reform in four critically important regional case studies: Thailand, Malaysia, The Philippines and Indonesia. Because effectively implemented security sector reform will enhance regional peace and security by creating armed forces that are democratically con ....Impediments to Security Sector Reform in Southeast Asia. This project investigates the impediments to security sector reform in Southeast Asia. It applies an original framework of analysis that identifies five types of impediment to security reform in four critically important regional case studies: Thailand, Malaysia, The Philippines and Indonesia. Because effectively implemented security sector reform will enhance regional peace and security by creating armed forces that are democratically controlled, transparent and professional, understanding the impediments to reform has the potential to significantly enhance Australia's domestic and international security position. This research will provide the first theoretically informed empirical analysis of security sector reform in Southeast Asia.Read moreRead less
Fluid-structural interactions in high-speed flows. This project aims to perform experiments to measure fluid-structure interaction in hypersonic flows. The work will improve the accuracy of simulation tools that are urgently required to aid industry in the design of more structurally efficient and robust high-speed vehicles. These tools will in turn be used to reveal the underlying physics of the fluid-structure interactions and establish the relative significance of the driving parameters. Accu ....Fluid-structural interactions in high-speed flows. This project aims to perform experiments to measure fluid-structure interaction in hypersonic flows. The work will improve the accuracy of simulation tools that are urgently required to aid industry in the design of more structurally efficient and robust high-speed vehicles. These tools will in turn be used to reveal the underlying physics of the fluid-structure interactions and establish the relative significance of the driving parameters. Accurate prediction of the behaviour and lifetime of structural components subject to these fluid-structural interactions, in which the deformation of the structure induced by the local flow field, can in turn influence this flow field. This coupling can result in damage or even catastrophic structural failure and thus robust design tools must be developed to avoid this.Read moreRead less
Improving International Law Regulation of Maritime Autonomous Vessels . The use of maritime autonomous vessels (MAVs) is creating regulatory and enforcement opportunities and challenges under international law. The aim of this project is to fill a critical gap in current responses in international law in focusing on the challenges posed by MAVs to international maritime security law. MAVs are increasingly useful for states in peacetime military operations, in response to transnational crime, mar ....Improving International Law Regulation of Maritime Autonomous Vessels . The use of maritime autonomous vessels (MAVs) is creating regulatory and enforcement opportunities and challenges under international law. The aim of this project is to fill a critical gap in current responses in international law in focusing on the challenges posed by MAVs to international maritime security law. MAVs are increasingly useful for states in peacetime military operations, in response to transnational crime, maritime cybersecurity, and in promoting broader national security goals, but non-state actors may also use them for terrorist and transnational criminal activity. International law has not kept up with this technology so this project will redress that problem and propose law reform to enhance global maritime security.Read moreRead less