Hugh White

Hugh White (born 1953) is an Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre of the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, long-time defence and intelligence analyst, and author who has published works on military strategy and international relations. He was Deputy Secretary for Strategy and Intelligence in the Australian Department of Defence from 1995 until 2000 and was the inaugural Director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI). His 2019 book How to Defend Australia attracted national attention after raising the proposition of re-examining the proposition of an independently nuclear-armed Australia. Education and early career (1970s–2000) White studied philosophy at the University of Melbourne and the University of Oxford in the 1970s. At Oxford he read for the B.Phil, and was awarded the John Locke Prize in Mental Philosophy in 1978. In the 1980s he was variously a journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, an intelligence analyst at the Office of National Assessments, an advisor to Minister for Defence Kim Beazley, and the International Adviser to Prime Minister Bob Hawke. In 1995 he was appointed Deputy Secretary for Strategy and Intelligence in the Department of Defence. During his tenure he was involved in the preparation of the 2000 Defence White Paper, entitled Our Future Defence Forces, published by the Howard government. Its central conclusions were that Australia must maintain a self-reliant defence force, retain control of its maritime territories and "seek to attack hostile forces as far from our shores as possible". He has since described himself as the White Paper's "principal author". Academic career (2000–present) As an academic in the area of strategic studies White has become prominent within Australia. Crikey's Power Index of influential thinkers in Australia ranked him number seven in 2012. In the early part of the 2010s, White gained significant coverage in the Australian media with regular commentary in The Australian newspaper, the Sydney Morning Herald, and numerous television appearances. Much of his intellectual work is presented in articles written for The Strategist since 2012. In 2010, White published The China Choice: Why We Should Share Power. This work gained significant national attention as well as favourable commentary globally including from journalist and strategist Robert D.