With Australia's security focus now firmly on the Pacific, it is easy to dismiss Australia's twenty-year military involvement in the Middle East as an aberration, or simply as a legacy function of our alliance with the United States. Yet Australia's direct connections and interests in the Middle East are much greater now than they were before the country committed military forces to the region. Canberra has a greater diplomatic presence, a military base, deeper economic interests and more signif...
Aug 24, 2022•1 hr 6 min
Ben Scott talks to Maria Rost Rublee, an Associate Professor of Politics & International Relations at Monash University, and Alan Kuperman, an Associate Professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin, about Australia's plan to acquire nuclear powered submarines, and what that means for nuclear non-proliferation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 23, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 8
In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, Research Fellow Jennifer Hsu talks with Zhiqun Zhu to explore and assess some of China’s major foreign policy initiatives and priorities over the last five years. They discuss the driving forces behind these initiatives, including President Xi Jinping himself, and the major institutions that shape China’s foreign policy, namely the Chinese state, the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people. Zhiqun Zhu is Professor of Political Science and I...
Aug 18, 2022•38 min
In this episode of Conversations, Susannah Patton talks to Greg Poling, Director of the Southeast Asia Program and Director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) about his new book, On Dangerous Ground: America’s Century in the South China Sea. The United States has strong interests in the South China Sea, including maintaining the freedom of the seas and supporting its regional allies and partners, especially the Philippines. H...
Aug 16, 2022•32 min
Xi Jinping is one of the world’s most powerful leaders and will remain so for many more years if, as expected, he secures a third term as Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at the forthcoming 20th National Congress of the CCP. Despite being in power for close to a decade, he is also a man that remains a mystery to much of the world. Dr Joseph Torigian, one of the premier scholars of the Chinese leader and elite politics, discusses Xi’s early years and rise to power and what that revea...
Aug 15, 2022•42 min
Half of all Australians were born overseas or have a parent who was born overseas, and Australia is home to more than 250 ancestries and 350 languages. The new Labor government has invoked Australia’s multiculturalism as a part of our national identity in its recent engagement with the region. But what is the role of Australia’s multiculturalism in foreign policy? Are diversity and diasporas a source of soft power and engagement? Our panel examined how Australia’s multiculturalism can inform for...
Aug 10, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Lowy Institute researchers unpacked the findings of the 2022 Lowy Institute Poll in Canberra. How has Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed Australian attitudes? What do the public think about China and the new Australian government? How are Australians responding to the contested nature of our region? The annual Lowy Institute Poll has tracked Australian attitudes to the world for 18 years and uncovered fascinating shifts in public opinion on Australia’s place in the world. Australians have dive...
Jul 28, 2022•1 hr 2 min
There has been increasing concern that Russia and China are using state-owned media companies, social media campaigns and proxy actors to manipulate public discourse in the global south. In this episode, Sasha Fegan discusses the influence of disinformation in the media landscape in Africa. Her guests will talk about how Russia and China calibrate their messaging to different nation states, and how Chinese state-owned media in Africa is replicating and reinforcing Russian narratives around Russi...
Jul 27, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 7
On 21 July 2022, the Lowy Institute hosted the launch of 'The Consul', written by Nonresident Fellow Ian Kemish. The book was launched by Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Hon Tim Watts MP, with a conversation afterwards between Ian Kemish and Natasha Kassam, Director of the Institute's Public Opinion and Foreign Policy program. How have world events shaped the way we travel now and what does future travel look like? What should we expect of our government when we are overseas? Where does p...
Jul 25, 2022•46 min
In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, Research Fellow Jennifer Hsu speaks with Jessica Teets about policy experimentation and diffusion at the local level in China, and the consequences for civil society. Jennifer and Jessica discuss local-level policy innovations that have taken place in the past five years, and also where space for experimentation has shrunk. They talk about what the Communist Party’s upcoming National Congress might mean for understanding long-term trends in policy...
Jul 21, 2022•33 min
Aus-PNG Network Leadership Series: Music in PNG In this episode, Mihai Sora is joined by Allen Kedea, also known by his stage name AKay47, to discuss the music scene in Papua New Guinea, and the role that music can play in empowering young people and building stronger connections between Papua New Guinea and Australia. Papua New Guinea has lot of natural resources, but there is growing recognition from government leaders and in the community that the creative economy also needs to be developed. ...
Jul 20, 2022•42 min
In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, Natasha Kassam, Director of Public Opinion and Foreign Policy, discusses Taiwan-Australia relations with Dr Chen Jie, Dr Sophie McIntyre and Dr Roger Huang. They discuss the emphasis on democracy for both Taiwan and Australia, the potential for more cultural and indigenous diplomacy, and the role that United States and China play in shaping Australia-Taiwan relations. Dr Chen Jie is an Associate Professor in Political Science and International Rel...
Jul 15, 2022•34 min
Aus-PNG Network Leadership Series: Music in PNG In this episode, Mihai Sora is joined by Allen Kedea, also known by his stage name AKay47, to discuss the music scene in Papua New Guinea, and the role that music can play in empowering young people and building stronger connections between Papua New Guinea and Australia. Papua New Guinea has lot of natural resources, but there is growing recognition from government leaders and in the community that the creative economy also needs to be developed. ...
Jul 12, 2022•42 min
On 7 July 2022, the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, gave an address at the Lowy Institute in Sydney titled A Pacific Springboard to Engage the World: New Zealand's Independent Foreign Policy. Video of event available here - https://youtu.be/gK785x4jEDk See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 11, 2022•1 hr 3 min
Join the Lowy Institute’s Director of Research, Hervé Lemahieu, as he talks to the Institute’s head of polling, Natasha Kassam, about the 2022 Lowy Institute Poll and what Australians think about Russia, China and the threat of conflict in the Taiwan Strait. Natasha shares the process of developing the flagship Lowy Institute Poll over the past 18 years, why Australians are feeling unsafe and their thoughts about democratic systems of government in an election year. See omnystudio.com/listener f...
Jul 05, 2022•32 min
Join the Director of the Lowy Institute’s International Security Program, Sam Roggeveen, as he talks with economist and political scientist Chris Blattman about his latest book, Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace. Chis talks about the human propensity to violence, whether certain types of governments are more likely to go to war, and the unique perspective that an economist can bring to this subject. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jun 30, 2022•32 min
In this episode of Rules Based Audio, Sasha Fegan talks to Carl Miller about online manipulation, disinformation, misinformation and inauthentic behaviour. We know it is proliferating, and we know it has a corrosive impact on trust and democratic institutions. But are liberal democracies responding in the right ways? Is the solution technical? Educational? Or is it legislative? Carl Miller is the Research Director at the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at UK think tank Demos. Sasha Fegan...
Jun 21, 2022•38 min•Season 2Ep. 6
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is becoming increasingly important to Indian, Japanese, Australian and American efforts to balance Chinese power and extend the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific. Its strategic importance to Australia was underscored this May when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made the Quad leaders’ meeting in Tokyo his first foreign engagement as Prime Minister. At this special event, the Lowy Institute’s Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove discussed the Quad’s evol...
Jun 19, 2022•1 hr 5 min
Moscow’s escalating confrontation with the West means that Russia is now more reliant on China, geopolitically and economically, than at any time in the two countries’ history. What are the implications arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — the most serious conflict in Europe since the end of the Second World War? What impact will the war in Ukraine’s have on the evolution of the Sino-Russian partnership, which has assumed pivotal importance — not just for the outcome of the war, but for t...
Jun 07, 2022•1 hr 5 min
This is a special Women in Politics series for the Australia-PNG Network, in which the Lowy Institute's Jessica Collins sits down with prominent women from Papua New Guinea (PNG) to discuss the deep-seated challenge of women’s political representation in PNG. In this fifth and final episode of the series, Jessica speaks with Dame Carol Kidu, about the discrimination and disadvantage experienced by indigenous Papua New Guinean women as they seek to get elected. Carol is one of seven women who ser...
Jun 07, 2022•41 min
In this episode of Conversations, Lowy Institute Research Director Hervé Lemahieu talks to Gabriele Visentin, EU Special Envoy for the Indo-Pacific, and Susannah Patton, Research Fellow in the Lowy Institute’s Power and Diplomacy Program, about the European Union's Indo-Pacific Strategy. How will Canberra’s burgeoning regional collaboration with Brussels and individual European capitals change in the wake of AUKUS, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a change of government in Australia? More detail...
May 27, 2022•35 min
Moscow’s escalating confrontation with the West means that Russia is now more reliant on China, geopolitically and economically, than at any time in the two countries’ history. What are the implications arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — the most serious conflict in Europe since the end of the Second World War? What impact will the war in Ukraine’s have on the evolution of the Sino-Russian partnership, which has assumed pivotal importance — not just for the outcome of the war, but for t...
May 26, 2022•1 hr 4 min
This is a special Women in Politics series for the Australia–PNG Network in which the Lowy Institute's Jessica Collins sits down with prominent women from Papua New Guinea (PNG) to discuss the deep-seated challenge of women’s political representation in PNG. In this fourth episode of the series, Jessica speaks with Tania Bale, an urban candidate seeking election to PNG’s National Parliament. Tania shares her views on the challenges of standing for election, including the difficulties of campaign...
May 20, 2022•49 min
In this episode of Conversations, Susannah Patton talks to Charmaine Willoughby, Assistant Professor at De La Salle University in Manila, about the foreign policy implications of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr’s election as president of the Philippines. The Philippines is a US treaty ally in Asia, but under the outgoing President Duterte, these ties were put to the test, with his administration keen to attract Chinese investment and downplay the South China Sea dispute. How will an incoming Marc...
May 19, 2022•29 min
US National Cyber Director Chris Inglis addressed the Lowy Institute on the role of cyber in US strategy and the outlook for international cyber cooperation to build resilience and counter threats. Afterwards, he spoke in conversation with Research Fellow Ben Scott, the Director of the Australia's Security and the Rules Based Order Project at the Institute. Recorded on Wednesday 11 May 2022 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
May 11, 2022•57 min
To mark the 70th anniversary of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, ASIS Director-General Paul Symon addressed the Lowy Institute on the past, present and future of foreign espionage from an Australian perspective. After the speech, Mr Symon spoke in conversation with Dr Michael Fullilove, Executive Director of the Lowy Institute. Paul Symon’s military career spanned 35 years and culminated in the rank of Major General. He served as the Deputy Chief of the Australian Army from late 2008 ...
May 10, 2022•1 hr 5 min
This is a special Women in Politics series for the Australia-PNG Network, in which the Lowy Institute's Jessica Collins sits down with prominent women from Papua New Guinea (PNG) to discuss the deep-seated challenge of women’s political representation in the country. In this third episode, Jessica speaks with Damarise Bonga, a female candidate in the upcoming 2022 national election. Damarise shares her experience of running unsuccessfully in a prior election, and talks about the broader challeng...
May 06, 2022•37 min
The Solomon Islands – China security pact has sent shockwaves across the Western world, with analysts from Australia to the United States arguing that the deal represents a fundamental shift in geopolitical dynamics in Australia’s immediate region. But what does the agreement mean for Solomon Islands and the Pacific? What impact will it have on Australia’s interests in Solomon Islands? And what does it signal for the future and stability of the Pacific region? Jonathan Pryke, Director of the Low...
May 05, 2022•58 min
The May 21 election has been branded by some commentators as a ‘khaki election’, one in which national security and foreign policy issues will be pivotal in deciding the result. The Coalition government has questioned the ability of the Labor Party to manage increasingly tense relations with China, and its commitment to higher defence spending. But do national security issues sway votes in Australia, and in what circumstances? And how do voters see the relative strengths of the two parties on na...
May 05, 2022•48 min
In this episode of Conversations, Jennifer Hsu talks with Natasha Kassam and Richard McGregor about the results of the Being Chinese in Australia survey report. The second Lowy Institute’s Being Chinese in Australia poll, published in April 2022, finds a diverse range of experiences and perspectives across Chinese-Australian communities on topics such as political participation, security and foreign policy and Australia-China relations. How has the deterioration in bilateral ties affected Chines...
May 03, 2022•38 min
