Lowy Institute

In this interview, the Lowy Institute's Sam Roggeveen speaks with one of Asia’s most respected and trenchant observers of modern geopolitics, Bilahari Kausikan, as he discusses his new Lowy Institute Paper, “The Myth of the Asian Century”. "The Myth of the Asian Century" is published by Penguin. It is available in bookstores and as an e-book: https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-...

Until his retirement from government this year, Nick Rasmussen has worked in counter-terrorism and countering violent extremism under successive Republican and Democratic administrations in the United States since the September 11 attacks in 2001, including under the first Trump administration.  In this conversation, the Lowy Institute’s Lydia Khalil speaks with Nick about the significa...

Join Sam Roggeveen and Interpreter Managing Editor Daniel Flitton for a conversation about what we covered this month in Australia’s best foreign affairs magazine, The Interpreter . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two of Washington, DC's most respected journalists, Susan Glasser and Peter Baker , join the Lowy Institute's Executive Director, Dr Michael Fullilove , for a special conversation at the 2025 Lowy Institute Media Award Dinner . Susan Glasser, appointed to the Lowy Institute Board in January 2025, is a staff writer at The New Yorker and has served as the top editor of several Washington publication...

Washington’s foreign policy establishment is still reluctant to internalise the fact that the United States has entered a multipolar era, says Emma Ashford, Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center. In this conversation, Ashford talks with the Lowy Institute’s Sam Roggeveen about her new book,  First Among Equals , and the urgent need for a more realistic American foreign policy. See o...

Southeast Asia is one of the most geopolitically diverse and contested regions of the world. But does China or the United States have more influence? And is it even accurate to describe the region’s geopolitics in these terms? Research Director Hervé Lemahieu talks with two of the authors of the newly launched Southeast Asia Influence Index , Susannah Patton and Rahman Yaacob. See omn...

We're in a global democratic recession. Not only is the number of democratic nations in decline, but so are democratic institutions and norms. What's going on? Sam Roggeveen talks with Lydia Khalil, co-author of the Lowy Institute's newest interactive, Understanding Democratic Erosion , about the complex dynamics and whether there is a way back. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Under new leadership, Indonesia continues to face a persistent and complex challenge: governance. As the country strives to maintain political stability and meet ambitious economic targets, governance reform has become central to meeting both domestic development goals and international commitments. Will political and economic developments in Indonesia enable it to escape the middle-income trap? H...

Bougainville has set 2027 as the deadline to declare independence from Papua New Guinea. But the economic and institutional foundations of sovereignty in the autonomous region remain fragile. In this episode of Pacific Change Makers , the Lowy Institute’s Director of the Pacific Islands Program Mihai Sora speaks with Oliver Nobetau, Director of the Aus–PNG Network Project, about the ro...

Join Lydia Khalil and  Interpreter  Managing Editor Daniel Flitton for a conversation about what we covered this month in Australia’s best foreign affairs magazine,  The Interpreter . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Trump–Putin summit in Alaska left the Russian leader smiling and the United States without concrete results, says Lowy Institute Senior Fellow for Military Studies Mick Ryan. In this conversation, Sam Roggeveen asks Mick Ryan about the battlefield situation in Ukraine and the lessons of the war for the Asia-Pacific. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2019 Christchurch terror attacks tragically highlighted how online capabilities can be exploited by bad actors. Since that time, there has been a concerted global effort by governments, tech companies and civil society to come together to mitigate these risks. But online extremism is a persistent challenge. The Institute's Lydia Khalil talks with Paul Ash, Chief Executive of the Christchurch C...

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has travelled relentlessly since his inauguration in October 2024. Yet questions remain about the direction of Indonesian foreign policy under his leadership. How will Indonesia manage its relationships with China, the United States and Russia? And what role will it play within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)? In this episode, the Institute'...

Two prominent Australian commentators from opposite sides of the defence debate meet to discuss Australia’s security, America’s role in Asia, the AUKUS partnership and more. Jennifer Parker from the National Security College, ANU, makes the case for an Australian defence policy with a maritime focus. The Lowy Institute’s Sam Roggeveen argues for a continental strategy that is les...

The Institute’s Dr Melanie Pill speaks with Professor Thomas Hale, author of Long Problems: Climate change and the challenge of governing across time , about the difficulty of addressing issues, like climate change, that have such distant consequences. They discuss the barriers to addressing and governing long problems, how to build stronger institutions, and how international nego...

US Senator Chris Coons joined the Lowy Institute's Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove at the Institute's Bligh Street headquarters for a special episode of Lowy Institute Conversations. They discussed US President Donald Trump's forthcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the first 200 days of President Trump's foreign policy, AUKUS, defence spending, and Senator Coons' optimis...

Washington says the Pacific is a critical arena for strategic competition, yet recent US actions suggest otherwise. In this episode, the Institute’s Mihai Sora talks with Dr Charles Edel, Australia Chair at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, and Kathryn Paik, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director with the Australia Chair, about America’s Pacific drawdown, what’s at s...

In 2025 Malaysia hosts the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), putting it at the centre of regional geopolitics. Its prime minister Anwar Ibrahim has an ambitious agenda to steer the group through the challenges posed by rising geopolitical tension. How will Malaysia navigate a trade war and competition between the United States and China? And how will its identity as a diverse Muslim...

As global donors retreat from development finance, Southeast Asia stands to lose billions of dollars in critical support. In this episode, we launch the Lowy Institute’s 2025 Southeast Asia Aid Map and unpack what the wave of US, UK and European aid cuts mean for the region. Roland Rajah, Director of the Institute’s Indo-Pacific Development Centre, is joined by the Map’s lea...

Listen to the highlights of a special invitation-only event to hear from The Rt Hon David Lammy MP, the UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs as he chats with Dr Michael Fullilove AM. The Foreign Secretary delivers an address on the evolving Australia-UK strategic relationship and global challenges followed by a Q&A. Watch the full length video here: h...

Traditionally, Australian governments have tried to pursue the relationships with its main trading partner and its security guarantor in parallel. Now that the dynamics are becoming increasingly intertwined, how will Australia make its way forward? Lowy Institute Program Director Sam Roggeveen and Senior Fellow for East Asia Richard McGregor discuss Australian PM Anthony Albane...

Listen to the highlights of this discussion recorded in Sydney on how Australians are grappling with seismic shifts in the global order. Drawing on the perspectives of Shadow Assistant Minister and former ambassador Dave Sharma, ABC senior journalist Isabella Higgins, Southeast Asia expert Susannah Patton, and Lowy Institute Poll author Ryan Neelam, this event explores how Australians view the cou...

Join Sam Roggeveen and Dan Flitton for a conversation about what was covered this week on Australia’s best foreign policy magazine, The Interpreter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Edward Luce, Financial Times  columnist and author of Zbig , a new biography of US President Jimmy Carter’s national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, talks with Sam Roggeveen. They discuss Zbig’s stature as a foreign policy sage, his friendship and rivalry with Henry Kissinger, and what remains of the Washington foreign policy establishment that Zbig symbolis...

Lowy Institute Senior Fellow Richard McGregor talks with American sinologist Professor David Shambaugh about his latest book, Breaking the Engagement, which charts the rise and fall of Washington’s engagement strategy with China. They discuss the original aims of the strategy, why it failed, and what lessons Australia can draw. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.