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 obscurity to acquire a new prominence. Yet appearances are deceptive. Beijing and Moscow have shown no...
Apr 05, 2017•57 min
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. Dashan will in Australia performing in Mandarin at the Melbourne Comedy Festival from 13 April to 16 Apri...
Apr 04, 2017•46 min
'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 March in Melbourne, Dr Thomas Wright addressed the Lowy Institute on what the Trump Administration mean...
Mar 22, 2017•1 hr
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 School, and returned there as a professor in international law following his departure from the Sta...
Mar 16, 2017•58 min
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.
Mar 07, 2017•59 min
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.
Feb 27, 2017•12 min
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.
Feb 24, 2017•17 min
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 Alex Oliver for a timely discussion about the White Paper process and how Australia should position its...
Feb 15, 2017•57 min
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 spanning over thirty years, Michael Morell rose to the rank of Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence ...
Feb 14, 2017•1 hr 2 min
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 agenda in Asia, the United States and the international economy in 2017. See omnystudio.com/listener for ...
Feb 13, 2017•57 min
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 performance of the Iraqi forces, and likely challenges for the post-conflict future of Iraq. Based on the ex...
Feb 09, 2017•55 min
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 in the South China Sea, are motivating US allies to consider new axes of stability to promote stead...
Feb 07, 2017•54 min
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.
Feb 07, 2017•1 hr
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 the inaugural Australia-Korea Emerging Leaders in International Security Forum this week, sponsored ...
Feb 02, 2017•18 min
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 Institute, Alex Oliver, Director of the Polling Program, Aaron Connelly, East Asia Research Fellow an...
Jan 31, 2017•1 hr 2 min
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.
Jan 25, 2017•19 min
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.
Dec 20, 2016•8 min
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 developments in Australia’s defence, including a new White Paper, a decision on future submarines, and agre...
Dec 14, 2016•46 min
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 Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The Minister disc...
Dec 12, 2016•54 min
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 from her visits to 31 countries to promote Australia’s programs and policies to advance women’s empo...
Dec 06, 2016•1 hr 2 min
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.
Dec 01, 2016•8 min
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 examine the ways in which the foreign fighter threat may develop, and how Australia and the rest of...
Dec 01, 2016•59 min
Lowy Institute Research Fellow Rodger Shanahan updates Interpreter Managing Editor Emma Connors on the advances made by the Syrian government in the city of Aleppo. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 29, 2016•8 min
Associate Editor at the Interpreter John Gooding speaks with Dr Sam Geall, research fellow at the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex, associate fellow at Chatham House, and executive editor of China Dialogue, about Trump's and China's approach to international climate change negotiations, China's environment and energy policies, and grassroots environmentalism in China. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 23, 2016•9 min
On 15 November, a panel of Alex Oliver, director of the Lowy Institute’s Polling Program, Daniel Flitton, senior correspondent for The Age, and Aaron Connelly, East Asia Research Fellow and an American who has watched the Washington foreign policy scene from inside the beltway, discussed the results of the US election, the likely foreign policy direction of the new administration and its ramifications for Australia during an event at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. See omnystudio....
Nov 16, 2016•1 hr 5 min
The Interpreter's Managing Editor Emma Connors speaks to Peter Feaver, professor of political science and public policy at Duke University and former National Security Council advisor under George W Bush, about what to expect during the transition of the US presidency from Barack Obama to Donald Trump. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 15, 2016•17 min
Shortly after the presidential race was called in favour of Donald Trump on 9 November, Interpreter Associate Editor John Gooding spoke with James Curran, professor of history at the University of Sydney and author of the upcoming Lowy Institute Paper 'Fighting with America', about the future of middle power coalitions in the Asia-Pacific and of NATO in Europe under a President Trump. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 09, 2016•8 min
On Wednesday, 9 November, a panel of Michael Fullilove, Executive Director of the Lowy Institute, Alex Oliver, Director of the Polling Program, Aaron Connelly, East Asia Research Fellow and James Curran, Professor in the Department of History at the University of Sydney, discussed the results of the US election, the likely foreign policy direction of the new administration and its ramifications for Australia at the Lowy Institute in Sydney. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Nov 09, 2016•54 min
On 27 October, the Lowy Institute hosted a lecture by The Hon Michael Keenan MP, Minister for Justice and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Counter-Terrorism on the evolving terrorist threat to Australia. Mr Keenan’s role within the government is to lead the Commonwealth’s efforts to counter violent extremism and to ensure effective and integrated implementation of Australia’s counterterrorism strategy. He is the primary contact for the Prime Minister for both day-to-day counterterrorism...
Oct 26, 2016•55 min
Against the background of growing public discussion in Australia over the nature of our relationship with China, on 17 October Lowy Institute Executive Director, Dr Michael Fullilove chaired a panel of Lowy Institute experts to explore the future of Australia-China ties. East Asia Program Director Dr Merriden Varrall, International Security Program Director Dr Euan Graham, and Research Fellow Peter Cai debated some of the key issues that will shape the relationship, from China’s regional ambitio...
Oct 17, 2016•59 min
