9 Dec 2019
Plus ça change – NATO summitry in the age of Trump
A septuagenarian alliance still struggles to find common voice in what it aspires to be.
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9 Dec 2019
Favourites of 2019: Slow Horses on Spook Street
What better way to understand the upside-down world of today than with fiction masquerading as fact? -
6 Dec 2019
Sistani: The (not-so) hidden hand behind Iraqi politics
The influential Shiite cleric has avoided formal participation in government, but what he does now could be critical. -
6 Dec 2019
We’ve already had Our Very Own Brexit
Instead of munching popcorn at the political theatre, citizens’ assemblies would give the community a chance to reflect. -
6 Dec 2019
For all the focus on Asia’s high achievers, the laggards are many
China led the education rankings, but an ageing population and gap with Southeast Asia might mark down the whole region. -
6 Dec 2019
How many Cold Wars does it take to make a “new” one?
In the divide between capitalist West and communist East, it was often regional politics that mattered more. -
5 Dec 2019
Chart of the week: Data, data, everywhere
Any day, every day, we leave an electronic trail. How much, you ask? Look and see. -
5 Dec 2019
Economic diplomacy: Free trade disputes, WTO appeals, DFAT on China
A shortage of judges on the WTO trade court is bringing appeals to a halt, just as trade disputes are on the rise. -
5 Dec 2019
Diego Garcia: The costs of defending an Indian Ocean outpost
Australian support for Britain’s contentious Chagos sovereignty claim risks delegitimising its South China Sea policy. -
5 Dec 2019
What I said then, what I think now: The Khmer Rouge Tribunal
Progress has been lamentably slow, but a decade on, benefits can be seen in Cambodians learning this terrible history. -
4 Dec 2019
In conversation: Malaysia’s Foreign Minister on great power rivalry
From the South China Sea to the Rohingya crisis, Saifuddin Abdullah speaks to Lowy’s Ben Bland on Asia’s big challenges. -
4 Dec 2019
Aid links: Traffic jams, conflict minerals, humanitarian tech, more
Links and stories from the aid and development sector. -
4 Dec 2019
An upbeat mood in Buka as Bougainville waits for a result
With civic joy fuelled by nothing stronger than coconuts and Coca-Cola, the independence ballot is only the first step. -
4 Dec 2019
On the trail of the Pope in Japan
The Catholic Church maintains a minimal presence in Japan, so what was Pope Francis doing there? -
3 Dec 2019
As Facebook caves to Singapore censorship, the writing is on the wall
The tech giant’s capitulation, while unsurprising, sets an ominous precedent that others would be happy to follow. -
3 Dec 2019
The Wang Liqiang case in Cold War perspective
We should encourage defectors from Chinese intelligence services, even if the bona fides in this case are not yet clear. -
3 Dec 2019
Renting influence: China in the Pacific
In Episode 15 of the Rules Based Audio podcast, we explore China’s interests, influence and intentions in the Pacific. -
3 Dec 2019
Hollowed out, but not unhinged
The scenario put forth in Sam Roggeveen’s “Our very own Brexit” runs counter to the major parties’ economic realities. -
2 Dec 2019
Reconsidering Australia’s China debate
A simplistic “pro-China”–“anti-China” division ignores complex questions and shuts down the conversation. -
2 Dec 2019
Terrorism: The recidivist risk
The London Bridge attack again shows the challenge of what to do with terrorists who have served their sentences. -
2 Dec 2019
Moon Jae-in’s foreign policy reorientation
He has spoken so favourably of Kim Jong-un that Moon has been criticised for acting as North Korea’s foreign minister. -
2 Dec 2019
Cultural heritage key to regional development in PNG and Australia
Exchanging ideas about successes on either side of the Coral Sea can lead the way to connecting people and institutions. -
29 Nov 2019
Taking the Confucius Institutes at face value
Properly examining the evidence will allow Australia to assess more credible threats of China’s foreign influence. -
29 Nov 2019
Time with Trump: Australia and Southeast Asia compared
Although the US president has yet to set foot in Australia, Australian leaders have got Trump’s attention. -
29 Nov 2019
Taiwan embraces Southeast Asian migrant workers, one book at a time
A bookstore in New Taipei aims to bring a little piece of home to new migrants and help locals connect to the region. -
28 Nov 2019
The new development banks: Paradigm shift or poor imitation?
The multilateral development banks set up by China and the BRICS countries have evolved quickly from concept to reality. -
28 Nov 2019
Chart of the week: Where countries lie abroad
Changes in the number of diplomatic posts tell a story about priorities and challenges for a country’s foreign policy. -
28 Nov 2019
Behrouz Boochani: Still in limbo
The Kurdish-Iranian journalist left Manus Island after six years, but the bureaucratic hurdles still lie before him. -
27 Nov 2019
The Nazi in your feed: Regulating social media and hate speech
A boundary-pushing comedian calls out tech giants for ignoring social responsibility as they profit off disinformation. -
27 Nov 2019
China-US trade war: For all the bark, not much bite
Yes, there has been a reduction in exports between China and the US, but there are other reasons besides tariffs. -
27 Nov 2019
Pacific links: Bougainville votes, royal region, let them eat cake
How much for a baguette in French Polynesia? Plus more stories from the Pacific Islands region. -
27 Nov 2019
World diplomacy stocktake: A shifting of the ranks
China has overtaken the US with the largest diplomatic network in the 2019 Lowy Institute Global Diplomacy Index. -
26 Nov 2019
Hong Kong: The people’s voice
The District Council election was seen as a de facto referendum on the protests – and the pro-democracy camp won. -
26 Nov 2019
In Sri Lanka, the Rajapaksas will rule ruthlessly
The election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa augurs a return to the abuses and anti-democratic tendencies of his brother’s regime. -
26 Nov 2019
Cambodia: Playing the long game against Hun Sen
European Union pressure is working, and revoking trade preferences might allow Cambodians to escape dynastic rule. -
26 Nov 2019
Shock therapy: why Australia needs a political jolt
Taking an honest look at a worst-case scenario isn’t scaremongering but could instead help avoid doing ourselves harm. -
25 Nov 2019
Stepping up in the Pacific at the expense of Pakistani women and girls
Cutting aid has a cost – and Australia should be embarrassed to take aid from other countries to give it to the Pacific. -
25 Nov 2019
Australian civil-military relations: Who guards the guardians?
Debate about responsibility to support serving and former soldiers shows some feel abandoned as cultural norms shift. -
25 Nov 2019
When our security makes the neighbours feel vulnerable
Talk of new bombers ignores one important fact about the region: Australia is not in charge anymore. -
22 Nov 2019
A verdict on justice in a land of impunity
The coming decision on the 2009 Maguindanao massacre will serve as a ruling on the Philippines’ judicial system itself. -
22 Nov 2019
Ultimate Game of Thrones in Malaysia
However the latest political scramble unfolds, Anwar Ibrahim will not get a chance to be PM and real change is in doubt. -
22 Nov 2019
Afghan elections bring no peace
Continued delays in announcing results have led to calls for an interim government, while the Taliban bide their time. -
21 Nov 2019
Economic diplomacy: Australia’s BRI, aid revamp, and integrating Asia
The now snappily rebranded Export Finance Australia is becoming the go-to agency in the era of geo-economic competition. -
21 Nov 2019
How the regime extinguishes Iran’s “Petroleum Protests”
The most damaging unrest since the 1979 revolution lacks leadership or popular support, so appears doomed to fail. -
21 Nov 2019
Chart of the week: The climate cost
Polls suggest a majority of Australians want action on global warming, even at a cost – but politics tells us otherwise. -
21 Nov 2019
Book review: China, the US, and the big break
Detailed reporting enlivens what is a substantive and important look at the world’s big economic test. -
20 Nov 2019
Bougainville referendum: Not the last word
If predictions of a vote for independence are right, figuring out the mechanics of statehood will be a struggle -
20 Nov 2019
Aid links: Timor-Leste luxury, RCT ethics, unsung Ebola doctor, more
Links and stories from the aid and development sector. -
20 Nov 2019
Erdoğan’s treachery can’t sway Trump’s affections
Despite Turkey’s glaring betrayals, the US president gave Recep Erdoğan a glowing welcome last week in Washington. -
20 Nov 2019
China, media freedom in the Pacific, and the great Australian silence
Media freedom issues bedevil the region, but it’s the dwindling number of Pacific-based journalists that carries a cost.