ASPI Podcast: Policy, Guns & Money

The ASPI special series ‘SBY’s tears: From managing crisis to managing process in Australia-Indonesia relations since the fall of Suharto’ has explored the changing nature of the Australian-Indonesian relationship since the fall of Suharto, as seen through the eyes and experiences of its ambassadors to Jakarta. In this final episode of the series, Dr David Engel and Hillary Mansour revisit some of...

In this episode of ASPI’s Bigger Picture series, ASPI’s Anastasia Kapetas, Daria Impiombato and Katja Theodorakis explore the nexus of climate change and gender, considering the official 2022 International Women’s Day theme, ‘Changing Climates: Equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.’ They discuss the disproportionate gendered impacts of climate change, the agency of women in climate and securi...

In this episode of ASPI’s Bigger Picture series, Brendan Nicholson speaks to the Embassy of Ukraine’s Chargé d'Affaires, Mr Volodymyr Shalkivskyi, on the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Russia’s invasion has sent shockwaves across Europe and the international community, with countries pledging humanitarian aid and military assistance to the Ukrainian government. They discuss how the c...

This week, Russia continues its assault on Ukraine despite widespread international condemnation, including a vote by 141 member states of the UN condemning the invasion. Michael Shoebridge and Dr Marcus Hellyer explore how Russia’s attack has intensified, Ukraine’s long-term war-fighting capability and the potential off-ramps for this conflict. Dr Teagan Westendorf speaks to Professor Lyria Benne...

In the penultimate episode of ASPI’s special series ‘SBY’s tears: From managing crisis to managing process in Australia-Indonesia relations since the fall of Suharto’, Dr David Engel, Head of ASPI’s Indonesia Program and Hillary Mansour, former ASPI Research Intern, speak to Greg Moriarty, who was ambassador to Indonesia from 2010 until 2014. Their conversation explores Indonesia’s foreign policy...

In this episode of ASPI’s special series ‘SBY’s tears: From managing crisis to managing process in Australia-Indonesia relations since the fall of Suharto’, Dr David Engel, Head of ASPI’s Indonesia Program and Hillary Mansour, former ASPI Research Intern, speak to Gary Quinlan AO, who was Ambassador to Indonesia from 2018 until 2021. Their conversation explores developments in the Australia-Indone...

This week, ASPI released the report ‘Taking the low road: China's influence in Australian states and territories’ which maps out the changing nature of China’s engagement with Australian states and territories, local governments, city councils, universities, research organisations and non-government organisations. Peter Jennings is joined by report editor Emeritus Professor John Fitzgerald for a c...

In episode 4 of ASPI’s special series ‘SBY’s tears: From managing crisis to managing process in Australia-Indonesia relations since the fall of Suharto’, Dr David Engel speaks to Bill Farmer AO, Ambassador to Indonesia from 2005 until 2010. They discuss the pivotal moments in the Australia-Indonesia relationship, SBY’s presidency and the Global Financial Crisis, and Indonesia’s foreign policy. The...

Fergus Ryan speaks to China expert Joanna Chiu about her new book ‘China Unbound: A new world disorder’. They discuss the changing attitudes towards China in Western countries and the importance of developing China expertise. Critical and emerging technologies are quickly becoming a key focus area of geopolitical competition. Karly Winkler speaks to Bonnie Glick about the newly established Center...

In this episode of ASPI’s Bigger Picture series, Peter Jennings speaks to Emeritus Professor Paul Dibb and Kyle Wilson from the Australian National University about the Russia-Ukraine crisis. They consider the likelihood of an invasion, Putin’s long-term strategy and whether sanctions can deter Russian military action. Guests in this episode (in order of appearance): Peter Jennings: https://www.as...

In this episode of ASPI’s Bigger Picture series, Anastasia Kapetas speaks to Dr Fiona Hill, senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings and deputy assistant to the president and senior director for European and Russian affairs on the National Security Council from 2017 to 2019. They consider the state of US democracy, rising authoritarianism, US-Russia relations and the Russia-Ukraine...

In episode 3 of ASPI’s special series ‘SBY’s tears: From managing crisis to managing process in Australia-Indonesia relations since the fall of Suharto’, Dr David Engel and Hillary Mansour speak to David Ritchie, Ambassador to Indonesia from 2002 until 2005. During his time as ambassador, David dealt with a number of crises, including the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, a terror attack on the Australian...

In this episode of ASPI’s Bigger Picture series, Peter Jennings speaks to Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Joseph Wu. They discuss Taiwan’s foreign policy priorities, Cross-Strait relations and threats to regional security, including rising authoritarianism. They also reflect on Taiwan’s relationship with Australia and the impact that recent events in Hong Kong have had on Taiwan’s thinkin...

In this episode of ASPI’s special series ‘SBY’s tears: From managing crisis to managing process in Australia-Indonesia relations since the fall of Suharto’ Dr David Engel and Hillary Mansour speak to Ric Smith AO, PSM, who was Australia’s Ambassador to Indonesia from 2001. The conversation explores economic reform after the Asian Financial Crisis, the end of Gus Dur’s presidency and the beginning...

This special series ‘SBY’s tears: From managing crisis to managing process in Australia-Indonesia relations since the fall of Suharto’ explores the history of Indonesia since the fall of Suharto and Australia’s part in it through the eyes and experience of its ambassadors to Jakarta over this period. The series will look at democracy, counterterrorism, natural disasters and economic developments,...

In September this year, the Australian Government announced it would join a new security pact with the UK and US – AUKUS – and detailed its plans to acquire nuclear-powered submarines. In this special episode, Michael Shoebridge speaks to Andrew Nicholls and Dr Marcus Hellyer about their new report ‘Implementing Australia’s nuclear submarine program’. They consider the costs and challenges of deli...

Russia’s military build-up along the country’s border with Ukraine has seen tensions rise between the two countries, leading the United States, the EU and the UK to warn Russia against invasion. Anastasia Kapetas speaks to Russia expert Professor Mark Galeotti from University College London about the likelihood of a conflict, Russia’s diplomacy approaches, Putin’s game plan and what the objective...

Brendan Nicholson, Executive Editor of The Strategist and Anastasia Kapetas, National Security Editor of The Strategist break down some of the key developments in international politics and security this year. From Covid-19, to the Capitol riots, to a coup in Myanmar and the announcement of AUKUS – it’s been a big year. This episode will take you through some of the strategic highs and lows of 202...

This week on Policy, Guns and Money’s Bigger Picture series, Michael Shoebridge speaks to Dr Tanvi Madan, senior fellow in the Project on International Order and Strategy in the Foreign Policy program, and director of The India Project at the Brookings Institution in Washington. They discuss India’s foreign policy interests, strategic partnerships including the Quad and the complexities of India’s...

This week, ASPI released the report ‘Collaborative and agile: Intelligence community collaboration insights from the United Kingdom and the United States’ which details the lessons learned for Australia’s intelligence communities from key partners, the United States and United Kingdom. Two of the report’s authors Michael Shoebridge and Dr John Coyne discuss their key findings and some of the share...

Now that COP26 has concluded, ASPI’s Dr Robert Glasser and Anastasia Kapetas break down the commitments made at the summit, where they fell short, and what needs to be done to limit warming to 1.5 degrees. As society’s reliance on technology continues to grow, regulating and securing technology becomes increasingly important. ASPI’s Dr Teagan Westendorf speaks to Professor Jeannie Paterson from th...

In this episode of Policy, Guns and Money’s ‘Bigger Picture’ series, Fergus Hanson speaks to Sir Nick Clegg, vice president of global affairs and communications for Meta on technology policy. They discuss the greatest tech challenges currently facing the international community and how governments and the private sector can better collaborate on these issues going forward, something that Sir Nick...

This week on Policy, Guns and Money’s Bigger Picture series, Peter Jennings speaks to His Excellency Shingo Yamagami, Ambassador of Japan to Australia about the Australia-Japan strategic relationship. They discuss the evolution of Australia-Japan trade, defence and people-to-people ties, and Japan’s perspective on AUKUS, the Quad and the strategic outlook in the Indo-Pacific. Guests (in order of a...

The first week of Glasgow’s COP26 summit is over, and we have seen a number of countries make landmark promises to help mitigate the effects of climate change. Dr Robert Glasser and Anastasia Kapetas discuss these commitments, Australia’s position during the conference and what’s in store for the remainder of the summit. With the government’s recent announcement that it will acquire nuclear-powere...

In this episode of Policy, Gun’s and Money’s ‘The Bigger Picture’ series, Dr. Robert Glasser speaks to Dr. Dino Patti Djalal, Founder of Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) about climate change. They consider Indonesia’s climate vulnerabilities and why climate change needs to be placed at the top of Indonesia’s national agenda. They highlight the need for governments to be bold when it co...