Lowy Institute

Later this week Australia is due to host a regional summit on countering violent extremism. In this podcast Anthony Bubalo talks to Dr Anne Aly about this summit and a previous summit on the topic held by the US in February 2015. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What makes a young man or woman want to travel to Iraq to join Islamic State? What motivates so-called 'lone wolves' to plan acts of terrorist violence in Australia? The Lowy Institute was pleased to host distinguished Australian academic Dr Anne Aly to explore these and other questions as she examined why some individuals and groups transition from radical thought to violent extremism. See omnyst...

Enacted in 1980, the one child policy was designed to allow China's development to forge ahead. Demographers estimate that at between 100 and 400 million births were averted as a direct result of this policy, and some Chinese argue that this has helped China achieve the momentous task of lifting over 550 million people out of poverty. However, the policy has been controversial, with accusations of...

For Australia, China's foreign policy, particularly in the Asian region, is of critical importance. To respond effectively to China's activities in a way that protects Australia's interests, we need to know not only what China is doing, but why. There appears to be a contradiction in Chinese foreign policy that Xi Jinping is prioritising good relations with countries on the periphery, however at t...

On 20-21 May 2015 the G20 Studies Centre at the Lowy Institute for International Policy hosted a conference on international economic governance. This introductory session featured Reserve Bank Deputy Governer Philip Lowe and Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Fullilove. The session outlined the state of international governance in 2015, with an overview of the G20's history, tracing its de...

Energy and climate change have been hotly contested on the G20 agenda. The 2015 Leaders’ Summit will be two weeks before the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP21 meeting in December 2015. This session of the G20 Studies Centre international economic governance conference delved into questions of how to transform the international energy architecture and what the G20 could ac...

On the 8 May, the Lowy Institute hosted its twelfth annual New Voices conference on the theme “Is Geopolitics Returning to Asia?” After the conference, convenor Ashley Townshend caught up with New Voices panellists Dr Cui Lei, Research Fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, and Michael Mazza, Research Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, to discuss Chinese and U.S. views o...

The intentions behind China's activities in the South China Sea and East China Sea are the source of considerable debate in Australia, in the region, and around the world. China asserts it is peacefully protecting its historic sovereignty. Many Western analysts fear that China is aggressively attempting to become the predominant power in the region. However, despite heated discussion, it is diffic...

On Thursday 14 May the Lowy Institute hosted the Hon Peter O’Neill, MP CMG, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea 2015 is a defining year for Papua New Guinea. The country will record the highest GDP growth rate in the world this year. Papua New Guinea faces serious development challenges but is making progress with the introduction of free education and healthcare and the expected completion of majo...

We talk to the editor of one of Papua New Guinea's major newspapers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 29 April, Hayden Cooper, winner of the 2014 Lowy Institute Media Award, discussed his time reporting for the ABC on the Middle East, including some of the big stories he covered, from the Peter Greste trial in Egypt to the 2014 war in Gaza. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian Foreign Julie Bishop is about to visit Tehran. Middle East expert Rodger Shanahan discusses her agenda. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australians and Indonesians learn much of what they know about each other through the media. Yet polling shows neither side has a deep understanding of the other. On Monday 13 April, Lowy Institute Indonesia expert Aaron Connelly moderated a panel discussion with Andini Effendi, Senior International Correspondent of Metro TV, based in Jakarta, and ABC Senior reporter and former Jakarta corresponde...

On 2 April the United States and Iran announced that they had agreed parameters for a comprehensive nuclear agreement to be concluded by the end of June 2015. On 9 April the Lowy Institute convened a distinguished panel chaired by Lowy Institute Executive Director, Dr Michael Fullilove, to discuss the outcome of these high-stakes negotiations. Anthony Bubalo, Research Director at the Lowy Institut...

Professor Cheng Li from the Brookings Institution speaks with the Lowy Institute's Dr Merriden Varrall regarding China's foreign policy under Xi Jinping. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China's role in international affairs is growing rapidly, but how much do we really understand about who is making decisions in China, and why? In the Lowy Institute's annual China lecture, Professor Cheng Li, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, examined how the current Chinese leadership under Xi Jinping sees the connection between the international and China's domestic situation, and ana...

Distinguished historian of Southeast Asia Milton Osborne discusses the achievements of Lee Kuan Yew, who died earlier this week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The new head of ANU’s National Security College and Lowy Institute Nonresident Fellow, Professor Rory Medcalf, discusses his views that Australia needs to rethink how it approaches and considers national security and defence. The interviewer is Lowy Institute Research Director Anthony Bubalo. Professor Medcalf outlines what new security risks Australia faces, and why he believes this security reth...

Prof Bernard Haykel says the threat of returning fighters has been overstated. Most go to Syria and Iraq with no ambition of returning. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To commemorate International Women’s Day 2015, the Lowy Institute for International Policy hosted a special ‘Women in Foreign Policy’ panel. Jenny Hayward-Jones, Lauren Williams, Elaine Pearson and Geraldine Doogue discussed the gender challenges faced by women in Melanesia, Asia Pacific and the Middle East, as well as their personal experiences perusing careers that research, report and advocate...

Few countries around the world have been untouched by the rise of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and Indonesia is no exception. Extremists groups in Indonesia have pledged allegiance to Islamic State and a small but significant number of Indonesians have joined the ranks of foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq. On 10 March, the Lowy Institute was pleased to host a conversation with one of the worl...

On Thursday 5 March new AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin outlined his vision for the AFP’s future, in particular highlighting how a new approach to the AFP's longstanding engagement with international and national partners will help Australia’s law enforcement agencies protect Australia from a range of criminal and other threats. He also addressed questions from the audience regarding the prospect o...

Dr Philippa Brant's first-of-its-kind research tracks all China's foreign aid in the Pacific Islands region. In this interview she discusses her findings. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The slowdown in China's economic growth is making headlines around the world, raising a number of important questions. Given that the Chinese Party-state’s political legitimacy is to some extent based on improving economic well-being, to what extent will the slowdown in GDP affect political and social stability in China? What ramifications will it have for the Australian and global economies? At a...

Greece has bought itself four more months. What needs to happen in that time? Lowy Institute economist Leon Berkelmans explains. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.