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The current political climate and the upcoming election provide us with both short-term opportunities for critical activism and long-term encouragement to rethink higher education's role in preparing citizens for participation in a democracy. This is a rare, if brief, opportunity for academics to encourage participation in the political process by writing and speaking. We face real risks of an emerging national security state limiting our freedom of speech and access to education. Long term, we must recognize our failure to produce a critical mass of graduates ready to engage public policy in a reflective and independent fashion. In large measure, education has failed the country. We need to reevaluate our mission and the undergraduate curriculum.

This article examines how elites shape debates during major contests over national security, with specific reference to a new neoconservative strand of Australia's domestic discourse. It argues that Australian neoconservatives have adopted a revisionist narrative: a direct challenge to orthodox views about the nature and purpose of foreign and security policy. I demonstrate this in four stages. First, I identify the securitisation of "Australian values" as a hallmark of Australian national security neoconservatism. Next, I identify its core themes, which bear similarities to neoconservative thinking in the United States. Third, I explore the main strategies Australia's national security neoconservatives utilise to revise domestic debates. These incorporate the inflation of threat perceptions; interpreting values as virtues; and the marginalisation of opposing viewpoints. Finally, in assessing the effect of these strategies I find that Australian neoconservatism is internally divisive, constrains Australian choices, and ultimately damages the values its proponents seek to protect.

According to the federal government, the threat of terrorism on Australian soil is real and enduring, and has become a persistent and permanent feature of Australia's security environment. The main source of international terrorism and the primary terrorist threat to Australia is considered to be from a global militant jihadist movement, including violent extremists such as al-Qa'ida. Is terrorism really a significant threat to the Australian community, or are unprecedented government intelligence and policing powers and counter-terrorism laws of greater concern? What are the risks of terroris

Die in dieser Anthologie gesammelten Reden und Aufsätze des ehemaligen amerikanischen Sicherheitsberaters stammen aus den Jahren 1983-1988. Sie gruppieren sich in ihrer Thematik um die zentrale Frage nach dem geostrategischen Gleichgewicht sowie nach den Sicherheitsinteressen, der globalen Rolle und den geopolitischen Aufgaben der USA angesichts einer sich wandelnden Weltordnung. Im einzelnen beschäftigt sich der Autor mit den Entwicklungen der amerikanischen Militär- und Geostrategie, den Entscheidungsprozessen in der amerikanischen Sicherheitspolitik, mit dem außenpolitischen Erbe der Ära Carter, den Tendenzen im Prozeß der Rüstungskontrolle und im Verhältnis der Supermächte, mit den trilateralen Beziehungen USA-Nordpazifikregion-Europa sowie mit dem Verhalten der USA im Falle regionaler Konflikte. (BIOst-Hml)

It may be concluded that Macedonia, like other multiethnic Balkan states, might in the long run secure its survival if it - based on the defence model used by Switzerland, Sweden, or Finland - protected itself with (relatively) small armed forces, neutrality, and tolerance among its ethnic groups. Such insubstantial defence would be much cheaper, which would stimulate the development of Macedonian economy, since the saved resources might be funnelled for other purposes. Otherwise, by arming itself and accepting a large number of foreign soldiers, Macedonia might turn from "an oasis of peace" into "a powder keg" with unforeseeable consequences for the security of southeast Europe. (SOI : PM: S. 105; 122f.) + Contrary to the predictions, Macedonia has managed to preserve its independence despite a plethora of internal problems and external threats. This was accomplished by means of a balanced foreign policy and the staunch US support. US recognised in Macedonia the stabilising factor for the plight of the Balkan countries. However, even after eight years of independence Macedonia has not eliminated the threats to its national security. Some of them, like the Kosovo imbroglio, have become even more dangerous. Should armed conflicts erupt in Macedonia, chances are - due to the level of its economic development, and political and military power - that Macedonia would not be able to defend itself successfully in an eventual simultaneous confrontation with its internal paramilitary units and the armies of, perhaps, several neighbouring countries. In this case, Macedonia would probably have to "choose the lesser of two evils", i.e. to side with Bulgarians and Albanians who, in case of a victory, might then partition the country, or to enter into an alliance with Greeks and Serbs who might, in case of a victory, challenge its independence. If the parties Macedonia sides with lose the war, the disappearance of Macedonia from the international scene would even be more certain. + After gaining independence in 199l Macedonia set off on the hard path of maintaining independence and territorial integrity. Fully disarmed, rife with great internal problems and conflicts, surrounded by hostile neighbours, Macedonia has been building its national security system. Due to its modest economic and security resources, it has relied on generous foreign aid primarily that of the USA, which have considered Macedonia the pillar of its politics on the Balkans. Regarding its national security system build-up and the integration into the international security organisations, Macedonia has accomplished a lot but is still faced with an array of problems, caused by the internal (primarily ethnic) strifes and the volatility of its environment, particularly in Kosovo. In case of armed conflicts that might - due to any reasons - beset Macedonia, and concerning its economic underdevelopment and military might, there is a small chance for successful defence in a probable simultaneous conflict with the internal para-military units and armies of (possibly) several neighbouring countries