National Security | Sport | Geopolitics — Author of The Sun Will Rise.

Ukraine
Joined September 2008
My book ‘The Sun Will Rise’ comes out 28 Nov. If you’ve enjoyed my reporting on Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, please buy a copy (or 5)! Buy here: thesunwillrisebook.com It is dedicated to the heroes of Ukraine fighting for their freedom. And ours. Slava Ukraini!✌🏼🦘🇺🇦
5
17
2
51
17,726
The war against Russia can be won. Putin’s hand is a losing one. The democratic world is richer, bigger and better armed than the dictators club by any measure. Europe’s alone is about eight times Russia’s. What is missing is nerve. Plain old guts. My latest for the AFR.
4
7
18
946
The war against Russia can be won. Putin’s hand is a losing one. The democratic world is richer, bigger and better armed than the dictators club by any measure. Europe’s alone is about eight times Russia’s. What is missing is nerve. Plain old guts. My latest for the AFR.
4
7
18
946
I just got back from Ukraine. It’s difficult to know what to say to people nearly five years into a war of extermination. That help is on its way? My latest for the AFR below. afr.com/world/europe/kyiv-s-…
2
6
27
1,409
Thanks mate!
I encourage everyone to read this powerful piece by @mishazelinsky in the @FinancialReview : “Kyiv’s fifth winter: Nobody is sleeping, everyone is strung out.” Understanding what Ukrainians are living through is essential to understanding why our support matters. afr.com/world/europe/kyiv-s-…
1
7
500
I encourage everyone to read this powerful piece by @mishazelinsky in the @FinancialReview : “Kyiv’s fifth winter: Nobody is sleeping, everyone is strung out.” Understanding what Ukrainians are living through is essential to understanding why our support matters. afr.com/world/europe/kyiv-s-…
8
67
3
170
3,658
I just got back from Ukraine. It’s difficult to know what to say to people nearly five years into a war of extermination. That help is on its way? My latest for the AFR below. afr.com/world/europe/kyiv-s-…
2
6
27
1,409
This was a brilliant episode with @mishazelinsky. He said what no one has been game to say about restoring sovereign capability - it's going to cost us. A brave and true statement. #auspol
How do you prepare Australians for the real cost of sovereignty? @mishazelinsky asks the hard question. @KosSamaras gives the blunt answer: governments must level with the public about the world we’re entering — where trade-offs are unavoidable. Spend a little less now … or risk something far worse. Just ask Ukranians. 🎧 Curtin’s Cast Ep 51: podcasts.apple.com/au/podcas…
1
2
3
926
Has World War Three Already Started? by @mishazelinsky open.substack.com/pub/mishaz…
3
4
12
886
In the end, the Good Guys win. What an amazing result for the Hungarian people and a big moment in halting the slide towards illiberal democracy. In one of my first episodes of Diplomates, I interviewed Gordon Bajnai — the last Hungarian PM before Orban. He said we should never give up the fight. A ray of light in a decade of darkness.
4
17
630
What is national sovereignty? It’s the ability to have the things, when you need them. Don’t go that? You don’t got much.
On our latest pod @mishazelinsky explains how the Iran war shows, in real time, how asymmetric conflict actually works. The Strait of Hormuz does not need to be permanently closed to cause global economic shock. It only takes risk — even the possibility of one in 20 ships being blown up by a speedboat packed with explosives — to send insurance costs soaring and supply chains into panic. For Australia, the lesson is stark. As Misha tells @Dyrenfurth and @KosSamaras, too many businesses have become utterly addicted to cheap inputs, cheap labour and cheap overseas imports. But the true price of “cheap” is what it costs when the world turns dangerous. We have been casual. We have been foolish. And the bill is now coming due. 🎧 Listen now to Curtin's Cast episode 51: podcasts.apple.com/au/podcas…
2
7
9
2,071
Checkout my substack to read more!
1
321
What is national sovereignty? It’s the ability to have the things, when you need them. Don’t go that? You don’t got much.
On our latest pod @mishazelinsky explains how the Iran war shows, in real time, how asymmetric conflict actually works. The Strait of Hormuz does not need to be permanently closed to cause global economic shock. It only takes risk — even the possibility of one in 20 ships being blown up by a speedboat packed with explosives — to send insurance costs soaring and supply chains into panic. For Australia, the lesson is stark. As Misha tells @Dyrenfurth and @KosSamaras, too many businesses have become utterly addicted to cheap inputs, cheap labour and cheap overseas imports. But the true price of “cheap” is what it costs when the world turns dangerous. We have been casual. We have been foolish. And the bill is now coming due. 🎧 Listen now to Curtin's Cast episode 51: podcasts.apple.com/au/podcas…
2
7
9
2,071
Check out my latest chat on the coming of WW3…👇👇👇
On Curtin's Cast Episode 51, @dyrenfurth and @KosSamaras speak with @mishazelinsky about the return of Cold War style proxy conflict — from Iran’s use of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis to Russian arms spreading across Africa and the Middle East. The goal isn’t just conventional warfare — it’s chaos, discord and the destabilisation of democracies. 🎧 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
2
476
Are we already seeing the beginning of World War III? On Curtin’s Cast, @Dyrenfurth & @KosSamaras are joined by @mishazelinsky to unpack a confronting reality: This didn’t start with a declaration — it started with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a growing alignment of authoritarian powers. But this war looks different. Not just tanks and missiles — Economic warfare. Grey-zone conflict. Information wars. China reshaping supply chains. Authoritarian regimes targeting democracy itself. As Misha puts it: society is now the battlefield. 🎧 Ep 51: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
1
4
5
1,028
Check out my chat with legends @KosSamaras and @dyrenfurth on their awesome podcast. WW3, democratic crisis, where to from here? All the good stuff. If you want to read more, check out my piece on why WW3 may have already started (link in bio).
Has World War III already begun — just without a declaration? This week on Curtin’s Cast, @Dyrenfurth & @KosSamaras are joined by @mishazelinsky to unpack a confronting idea: We may already be living through the early stages of a new global conflict. From Russia’s war in Ukraine to Middle East instability and Indo-Pacific tensions, Misha argues we’re seeing an uneven, undeclared world war — driven by a loose alignment of authoritarian powers. Ep 51 covers: • Why the 1930s, WWI & Cold War analogies fall short • The “bad guys club”: Russia, China, Iran, North Korea • How deterrence failed — slowly, then all at once • War across military, economic & cyber domains • Whether democracies are strong enough — especially at home A sobering conversation about power, geopolitics — and whether we’ve already crossed the line. 🎧 Curtin’s Cast Ep 51 — out now
5
5
804
misha retweeted
How worried should we be about Iran, Ukraine and global tension in multiple regions? 🧵 A: very. WW2 started way before Hitler invaded Poland. — Italy into Ethiopia in 1935 — Hitler into Rhineland ‘36 — Japan into China ‘37 — Stalin into Finland ‘39. Sound familiar?
3
2
3
986
Recent past: — Putin into Georgia ‘08 — Xi militarising South China Sea ‘14 — Putin takes Crimea ‘14 — Putin meddles in US/Brexit ‘16 — Iran proxy wars escalate ‘06+ — North Korea gets nukes ‘17 — Xi/Putin ‘no limits’ partnership ‘22 — Putin invades Ukraine ‘22 And so on.
1
1
1
436
Today: the Bad Guys are working together. Russian, NK and Iranian weapons and know-how are showing up in proxy fights everywhere, while Putin’s nuclear scientists have quietly assisted the weapons programs of both Kim and Iran. Meanwhile China — provides the industrial base, technology, trade and financial oxygen that keeps the whole system running, while gorging on Iran and Russian energy and materials and prepping for war in East Asia. While it’s not an alliance, it is something close to a wartime ecosystem.
1
1
2
269
What can democracy do? 1. Admit the problem, and get serious. The dictators have declared war on us already. Denying it won’t make it any less true. 2. Make democracies work. If they don’t deliver for people at home, you can forget about selling them aboard 3. Work together to resist the Bad Guys. Check out my full piece on this (link in bio).
1
229