Publications

A focused force: Australia's defence priorities in the Asian Century

Professor Hugh White

Summary

In this new Lowy Institute Paper, Visiting Fellow Hugh White calls for Australia to abandon the 'Balanced Force' concept and refocus its military on managing strategic risks related to the rise of China. Professor White argues that Chinese power will challenge US primacy, undercutting the basic assumptions of Australian defence policy. He poses questions about the risks Australia faces over coming decades, how armed force can help manage those risks, whether current forces are up to the job, and whether the country can afford forces that are. This paper, with its controversial force-structure recommendations, is a major contribution to the Australian security debate on the eve of the 2009 Defence White Paper.

Executive Summary

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China and the world: public opinion and foreign policy

The Lowy Institute has just released its first China Poll, a wide-ranging survey of Chinese public opinion towards a number of important international policy issues. By what do the Chinese people feel threatened? How do they feel about foreign investment from Australia, Canada and the United States? Which country do the Chinese people regard as the best place to be educated and what do they think of Australia - is it a good place to visit, a country with attractive values or is it suspicious of China?

The 2009 Lowy Institute China Poll asked a broad sample of the Chinese population these questions and others. The Poll was partly funded with the generous assistance of the MacArthur Foundation as part of the Lowy Institute’s MacArthur Foundation Asia Security Project.

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The 2009 Lowy Institute Poll

The fifth annual Lowy Institute Poll surveys Australian public opinion on a broad range of foreign policy issues. New questions this year cover the priority given to action on climate change, public attitudes towards relations with the US and China, foreign investment, asylum seekers, how to deal with Iran and perceptions about nuclear threats.

The Poll also repeated a number of questions asked in previous years, revealing important trends in Australian public opinion over the last five years.

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