Lowy Institute

With Western countries consumed by domestic problems, will it be China and Russia that now define the rules of global politics? On 11 April the Lowy Institute at the National Gallery of Victoria hosted an in-conversation with International Securirty Program Director Euan Graham and Nonresident Fellow Bobo Lo on the new Lowy Institute Paper published by Penguin Random House Australia, A Wary Embrac...

How can it be that governments are wealthier than ever, yet fewer citizens enjoy the benefits that such wealth can bring? Never before have so many governments owned so much wealth in the form of financial assets amassed in state-controlled investment funds. Despite this, deficits persist, inequality worsens and the effects of the 2008 crash still reverberate. “Citizens’ wealth” – creating an addi...

Climate change accelerates instability in unexpected ways. Growing water scarcity, declining crop yields, and rising prices are catalysts for displacement and conflict, as witnessed in recent years in Syria and in the European migration crisis. The national security dimension of climate change receives little attention in Australia, but is the subject of intense focus overseas - particularly in th...

With Western countries consumed by domestic problems, will it be China and Russia that now define the rules of global politics? On 5 April the Lowy Institute hosted the Sydney launch of A Wary Embrace, a new Lowy Institute Paper published by Penguin Random House Australia with Bobo Lo. In a disorderly world, each has become increasingly assertive, and their partnership has emerged from relative ob...

The Lowy Institute's East Asia Program Director Merriden Varrall speaks to Mark 'Dashan (大山)' Rowswell, an extremely prominent Canadian Chinese-language comedian and performer, about Dashan's perspective on what constitutes 'friendship' in China, how Chinese choose to self-identify and the notion of 'identity bubbles', and the consequences of all this for China's international relationships. Das...

'Grievance against the rest of the world is not just a part of Trump’s ideology, it is at its very core.' That is the judgement of Dr Thomas Wright, a Fellow at the Brookings Institution and a Nonresident Fellow at the Lowy Institute. That sense of grievance is already affecting America’s posture in Asia, with the Trump administration’s decision to walk away from the TPP trade agreement. On 20 Mar...

On 16 March Professor Koh addressed the Lowy Institute on the future of international law under the Trump administration. Professor Koh is an international lawyer and legal scholar. From 2009 to 2012, he served as the Legal Adviser to the State Department in the Obama administration, and was the most senior legal adviser to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He also served as the Dean of Yale Law...

With protectionist sentiment growing around the world, on 7 March the Lowy Institute hosted the Shadow Treasurer the Hon. Chris Bowen MP, who reflected on the importance of growing trade pathways in our region and the continuing importance of trade for a small open economy such as Australia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

International Security Program Director Euan Graham speaks to Seiichiro Takagi, Senior Research Advisor at the Japan Institute of International Affairs, on China's upcoming 19th Party Congress, the impact of the Trump Administration on regional security, and the current state of Japan-China and Japan-Australia relations. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

International Security Program Director Euan Graham speaks to Lieutenant Colonel David Skalicky from the US Air Force on the F-22s now operating out of RAAF Base Tindal, the differences between the F-22 and other aircraft, and the Australian exchange pilot currently flying in Skalicky's squadron. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At a time of significant uncertainty about the shape of the future global order, the Australian Government is preparing its first foreign policy white paper since 2003. On 15 February, the Lowy Institute hosted the former Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Varghese AO in conversation with Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove and Director of Polling Ale...

Intelligence agencies have never been more newsworthy than they are now. Developments in digital technology have made secrets less secure and leaks more common. In this new landscape, the barriers to disinformation and interference have been lowered. On 14 February, Michael Morell, former Acting Director of the CIA, joined the Lowy Institute for an conversation on these issues. In a career spannin...

On 9 Melbourne at the National Gallery of Victoria, Lowy Institute Chief Operating Officer Louisa Fitz-Gerald chaired a panel of Dr Euan Graham, Director of the International Security Program; Mr Aaron Connelly, Research Fellow in the East Asia Program; and Dr John Edwards, Nonresident Fellow in the International Economy Program, to examine the key issues likely to dominate the international agend...

On 8 February Major General Roger Noble addressed the Lowy Institute and provided frontline insights into the war against Islamic State. In his role as Deputy Coalition Land Force Commander Iraq, he is effectively second-in-command in the international fight against IS in Iraq. Major General Noble gave a unique and contemporary overview of the state of the anti-Islamic State campaign, the performa...

On 7 February Professor Akiko Fukushima of Aoyama Gakuin University and the Tokyo Foundation addressed the Lowy Institute on the future of the Australia-Japan security partnership. Her visit comes at a moment of high anxiety and uncertainty in alliance relations and regional security for the Asia-Pacific region. Changes of leadership in Washington and Manila, as well as China’s increasing presence...

On 6 February, Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Fullilove chaired a panel of Institute experts to examine the key issues likely to dominate the international agenda in Asia, the United States and the international economy in 2017. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Lowy Institute's International Security Program Director Euan Graham speaks to Prof Kim Woo-sang, former South Korean Ambassador to Australia and Professor in Political Science and International Studies at Yonsei University, about the future of the bilateral relationship, the stability of the region, Australia and South Korea as middle powers, and North Korea. Prof Kim Woo-sang is co-chairing...

There is no question that Donald Trump's particular brand of populism has upended American politics, but we are only now beginning to understand what it might mean for Australia and our region. On 31 January the Lowy Institute convened a panel to discuss the implications this most improbable event for Australia, Asia, and US politics. Panellists: Michael Fullilove, Executive Director of the Lowy I...

The Interpreter's Managing Editor Emma Connors speaks to the Council on Foreign Relation Senior Fellow for Southeast Asia Josh Kurlantzick about his new book, 'A Great Place to Have a War: America in Laos and the Birth of a Military CIA'. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Interpreter Managing Editor Emma Connors speaks to Matthew Dal Santo, a Danish Research Council post-doctoral fellow at the Saxo Institute at the University of Copenhagen, about the assassination of Andrei Karlov, Russia's Ambassador to Turkey, and the general state of the Turkey-Russia relationship. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Admiral Harris visits Australia at an important juncture in alliance relations and regional security, as a new administration prepares to take over the reins in Washington. This year has seen a number of key regional developments, from the Arbitral Tribunal case in the South China Sea, to presidential elections in the Philippines and the United States. There were also a number of other key develop...

Australia has long been a proponent of international efforts to advance the cause of human rights. This is all the more important at a time when democracy and human rights have suffered serious setbacks in many parts of the world. On 12 December Australia's Foreign Minister the Hon. Julie Bishop MP visited the Lowy Institute for World Human Rights Day, which commemorates the date that the United N...

On 6 December, Natasha Stott Despoja AM, Australia’s Ambassador for Women and Girls, looked at destinations reached and travels still to be undertaken in the global journey towards gender equality. At the conclusion of her three year term as one of Australia’s key international advocates for gender equality, Ms Stott Despoja reflected on the progress on the global goal of gender equality. Drawing...

Interpreter Managing Editor Emma Connors speaks to Lowy Institute Research Fellow Rodger Shanahan about Neil Prakash and the likely consequences of extraditing him to Australia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whatever form the resolution to the Syrian civil war takes, one of the by-products will be thousands of experienced, ideologically motivated foreign fighters who will remain an international security threat for years, if not decades, to come. On 29 November the Lowy Institute convened a panel in Melbourne of the Lowy Institute's Dr Rodger Shanahan and Dr Lydia Khalil (chaired by Anthony Bubalo) to...