Publications

Voters' guide to international policy

Lowy Institute for International Policy

Summary

The Australian general election was held on 24th November. International policy issues didn't dominate the campaign but the next Australian government has to make important decisions about matters ranging from the global environment, through the future of the world trading system to the way we handle our relations with our allies and neighbours. These will shape the country's future more significantly than some of the higher profile questions that will be debated over the next few weeks. The Lowy Institute believes that the engaged attention of an informed Australian public is essential to the development of successful Australian international policy. Our research staff have prepared this guide for Australian voters who share that view and want to know what sort of questions we should be putting to our political leaders. It can be downloaded in its entirety or in individual sections.

The Voters' Guide is available for download as a complete document or in individual sections:

Complete document - (385KB PDF)

Introduction. Allan Gyngell - (82KB PDF)

The global outlook. Owen Harries - (75KB PDF)

The international economy. Mark Thirlwell - (100KB PDF)

Defence and security. Rory Medcalf - (68KB PDF)

Iraq and Afghanistan. Anthony Bubalo - (66KB PDF)

Non-proliferation and arms control. Martine Letts - (80KB PDF)

The Australia-US alliance. Michael Fullilove - (74KB PDF)

East Asia and China. Malcolm Cook - (65KB PDF)

Global environmental policy. Warwick McKibbin - (65KB PDF)

The Pacific Islands. Malcolm Cook - (66KB PDF)

Peace with illusions
It would be dull to join the already large chorus of commentators predicting failure for the latest round of Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, launched this week in Washington. Assuming that...Read more

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The 2010 Lowy Institute Poll

The sixth annual Lowy Institute Poll surveys Australian public opinion on a range of foreign policy issues. New questions this year cover the Rudd Government’s handling of foreign policy issues during its first term in office, whether Australia should develop nuclear weapons, attitudes towards Indonesia and US power, sanctions against Fiji and the morality of Australia’s foreign policy.

The Poll also repeated questions asked in previous years, revealing trends in public opinion on topics such as climate change, Australia’s military involvement in Afghanistan, and attitudes towards the United States and China.

A panel discussion about the poll can be heard here:
The 2010 Lowy Institute Poll - MP3 (23MB)Download item (1.3MB)

Power and choice: Asian security futures

Recent events in the seas off South Korea and Japan emphasise the fragility of Asia’s security order and the strains the region’s changing power distribution are placing on it. A new major Lowy Institute Asia Security Project report, 'Power and Choice: Asian Security Futures', analyses the likely security futures for Asia and Australia and recommends steps countries should take to ensure growing regional competition does not lead to conflict. This report was made possible by the generous support for the Project by the MacArthur Foundation.

A copy of the report, launched by Dennis Richardson, AO, the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on 1 June, can be downloaded here.Download item (6.5MB)