We seem to live in one of history’s most dangerous times and Australia as a strategic partner of the West and Middle Power has a pivotal role to play.
The Indo-Pacific as a region of strategic competition between the United States and China is at the forefront of the security focus of the US and various powers. Taiwan as a focal point of China’s foreign policy of ‘reunification’ has the potential to ignite a major regional and international conflict and informs the adoption of Indo-Pacific strategies by various actors to counter Beijing’s moves along various vectors in the spheres of economics, security, and society.
Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has entered its third year and has brought in a new ‘Cold War’ in Europe and beyond. NATO expansion saw the joining of first Finland and now Sweden as member states. Rhetoric aside the transatlantic alliance sees its biggest challenge since the end of the Cold War thirty years ago and this year’s US elections add risks and insecurities with the real potential of a second Trump administration coming into office in January 2025.
The horrific attacks by Hamas on Israel and the massacre of 1400 Israeli citizens and foreign workers on 7 October 2023 led to the current Hamas – Israel conflict in Gaza which has send shockwaves across the World and seen the emergence of new security challenges posed by Iran-supported actors such as the Houthis in Yemen which already now affects global supply chains and has the potential to ignite a regional conflict. The conflict has destabilised democracies globally in the cognitive domain of disinformation and influence operations which have not spared Australia.
Security Challenges invites scholars and practitioners to reflect upon these challenges and its impact and implications for states, non-state actors, or regional organizations.
Contributors are encouraged to write on one or two of the topics below. Both normative discussions and empirical studies are welcome. Papers are expected to have an empirical link to the wider security questions mentioned and offer policy implications and recommendations for the region and beyond.
Word length for submissions:
- Research Papers: 2,500 to 7,000 words
- Commentary: 1,500 to 3,000 words
- Book Reviews: 500 to 1,500 words
- Letters to Editor: Up to 750 words*
- Abstract: 100 words
- Author details: 50 words (100 words for joint authorship)
*Submissions seeking to provide a detailed response to a published article may be submitted as a commentary piece in terms of word length.
Deadline: 30 April 2024
Articles, Commentary and (relevant) Book Reviews, are invited and may be submitted to editor@ifrs.org.au following publication guidelines which can be accessed here.
Papers must be submitted in English, but versions may be submitted in the national language(s) of the author if the paper is accepted, and once edited.
The domain editor Professor Sascha Dov Bachmann is open for discussions of topics as well as formats and can be reached under sascha.bachmann@canberra.edu.au
Papers from young researchers may be considered for a Security Challenges prize, details of which can be found here.