If you select “virtually any date in US history, it would be possible to find the same poisonous ingredients [… that] percolated violently to the surface on January 6th, 2021,” writes journalist and historian Nick Bryant in his new book, The Forever War: America’s Unending Conflict with Itself. Over two centuries ago, in 1787, Thomas Jefferson,

There are no parallels for the first debate of the 2024 US presidential election cycle.

“The US-Australia alliance is consistently described as being based on shared democratic values.”

Today, in a surprise development likely weeks in the planning, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was able to leave the United Kingdom for the first time in more than a decade after reaching a plea deal with the US government.

With just five months until the presidential election, American democracy is under serious threat.

“This is a narrative that Trump has been running for a long time, saying that the Department of Justice is in particular, but the entire security state is completely corrupt.” “Trump has been really effective at weaponising that narrative and in galvanizing his base in particular.” – International & Security Affairs Senior Researcher Dr Emma

In the week leading up to the conviction delivered in a Manhattan courtroom on Friday, right-wing media was focused on Donald Trump’s innocence.

Who would have thought that the legal and personal travails of Julian Assange, the Australian citizen whom US authorities are invested in prosecuting and jailing for the rest of his life without deep consideration of his fundamental rights, would become a lightning rod for former President Trump’s re-election hopes?

While we could be forgiven for thinking 2024 will be all about American democracy, this year is in fact a big one for democracies across the world, writes Dr Emma Shortis.

The UK High Court decision to grant Julian Assange’s request to appeal against his extradition to the United States provides a welcome, but temporary stay and hope for the campaign to free him, while continuing his punishment-by-process at the hands of Australia’s closest ally.

Details released by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet under the Official Information Act reveal New Zealand officials have been considering involvement in AUKUS from the outset.

In April 2022, conservative American think tank the Heritage Foundation, working with a broad coalition of 50 conservative organisations, launched Project 2025: a plan for the next conservative president of the United States.

When big questions about American foreign policy collide with an election, it’s rarely good news for a sitting president.

Watch Dr Emma Shortis’ address to ‘Night Falls In The Evening Lands: The Assange Epic’ at RMIT University, Melbourne, on 9th March 2024.

Being second in line for leadership of the most powerful country in the world is not an easy job.

The Australian Government should be using its unique position to leverage our close relationship with the United States over the ongoing conflict in Gaza, writes Dr Emma Shortis.

Instead of worrying about whether Trump hates us, we should be thinking, together, about how to forge a world which remains free of his demagoguery, writes Dr Emma Shortis.

With the Iowa Republican caucus over, the starting gun on the 2024 US Election has fired, with the promise of a dramatic election year, and democracy itself on the ballot. This was recorded on Tuesday 23rd January 2024 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Dr Emma Shortis, Senior Researcher, International &

“Who in God’s name does he think he is?”

With a Trump resurgence looming, the Australian Government’s fixation on AUKUS should not come at the expense of what we are frequently assured is one of the core components of the US-Australia alliance: shared democratic values, writes Dr Emma Shortis.

As the anniversary of the Jan 6 insurrection approaches, what are the implications of the crisis of American democracy, or a more successful coup attempt, for the rest of us? With a few important exceptions, there is startlingly little written – in Australia, internationally and even within the United States – on the “what if”

In the United States, one of the men vying for the presidency faces 91 criminal charges in four concurrent criminal cases.

In a less than ideal week for the government, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has copped some criticism for how much overseas travel he’s been doing. Most PMs have been subject to criticism for travelling, so how seriously should we take it this time? This was recorded on Tuesday 21st November 2023 and things may have

In parliament last week, responding to the temporary blocking of a legislative favour to Santos, Foreign Minister Penny Wong berated the opposition. The bill – which did eventually pass – is designed to facilitate massive expansion of the gas industry.

On election night in 2020, President-elect Biden reassured the American people that despite everything they had endured for the past four years, “I believe at our best, America is a beacon for the globe.”

The Australian politicians pushing for Assange’s release represents a rare crack in the wall of bipartisan support for the sacrosanct alliance.

The Australian government’s muted response to Japan’s release of Fukushima wastewater into the Pacific raises serious questions about its commitment to the region and Australia’s history of standing against nuclear testing.