Publications

Australia's political relationship with China is far less developed than its economic relationship. This is detrimental to Australia's interests because China is not merely an economic power but also a crucial political and security actor in the region. Underdeveloped political and strategic

Final submissions in Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Inquiry into Australia's overseas representation were published by the Committee on 8 May 2012.  In their final submissions, Alex Oliver and Fergus Hanson answer further questions from

Whilst headline output numbers show China’s economy gliding – more or less – towards a soft landing, several indicators suggest the distinct possibility of a sharper-than-expected slowdown

The emergence of substantial fiscal deficits and a large build-up of government debt in major advanced economies will inevitably lead to a period of fiscal consolidation in coming years.  

The 2012 general elections in Papua New Guinea are likely to be marred by violence. The increased financial bounty at stake, the enhanced value of political office, the proliferation of weapons, and pressures on PNG’s Electoral Commission, Defence Force and police combine to highlight security

The Lowy Institute Indonesia Poll reports the results of the Institute’s second opinion poll in Indonesia. The findings challenge many assumptions about Indonesia on issues like attitudes towards Australia and the United States, openness to foreign investment, democracy, trust in other countries,

Is a dangerous nuclear competition emerging between the two most populous nations? In this Lowy Institute Analysis, Fiona Cunningham and Rory Medcalf warn of nuclear dangers as China and India rise. The authors call for a strategic stability dialogue embedded in mutual respect, to ensure possible

In this Lowy Institute paper Dr Steven Casey explores the Obama administration’s approach to alliances as the United States experiences relative economic and military decline in the context of a changing security environment in the Asia-Pacific region

Long-term threats to Australia’s dormant claim to 42 per cent of Antarctica include growing interest in the continent’s resource potential from such major powers as China and Russia. The paper recommends policy changes and capability investments to protect Australia’s interests.   

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) commits developed countries to provide climate financing to developing nations, to address climate impacts on food security, water supply, agriculture and public health. But despite recent commitments of 'fast start' climate funding

The seventh annual Lowy Poll surveys the Australian public on new questions covering attitudes towards the US alliance and the war in Afghanistan, opinions on basing US forces in Australia, WikiLeaks, foreign aid, and the intervention in Libya. The nationally representative poll also repeated

In this Policy Brief, Lowy Institute Non-resident Senior Fellow, Professor Alan Dupont argues that Australia has failed to grasp the full implications of China’s meteoric rise or the risk of conflict in the Western Pacific. He calls for a coherent, national approach to China, one that is informed

One important outcome of the Great Recession has been the rapid accumulation of government debt in many of the world’s developed economies. This growing debt burden represents a potential threat to economic stability, and as a result, the focus of fiscal policy is now shifting from stimulus to

In this Policy Brief, Jenny Hayward-Jones, Director of The Myer Foundation Melanesia Program at the Lowy Institute, argues that Australia should redefine its relationship with Fiji to focus more sharply on Australia’s long-term interests

In a new Lowy Institute Analysis, Non-resident Fellow Dr Rodger Shanahan explores what the outcomes of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, will mean for both key domestic actors in Lebanese politics, most notably Hizbullah, and

In this obituary essay in Foreign Policy magazine, Lowy Institute International Security Program Director Rory Medcalf pays tribute to K Subrahmanyam, independent India’s leading strategic thinker, who passed away on 2 February 2011. Subrahmanyam strongly influenced India’s decision both to

With boat arrivals featuring prominently on the Australian political agenda, 2010-2011 saw a flurry of policy proposals focused on mitigating this trend. This report situates recent developments in Australian asylum policy within an international context and considers the efficacy of restrictive

On Friday 5 November, two leading commentators on US politics and foreign policy, Dr Michael Fullilove and Daniel Flitton, provided some immediate analysis of the mid-term results as part of the Lowy Institute’s ‘Food for Thought’ program in Melbourne

This Lowy Institute Analysis by Julienne McKay and Dr Katherine Lepani, exploring the role of demand-responsive mechanisms in health services delivery in Papua New Guinea, accompanies the Policy Brief, 'Revitalising Papua New Guinea's health system

Australia’s military forces have often acted as effective agents of international policy. But while defence diplomacy has complemented Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade efforts, this has often been due to ad hoc coordination and personal initiative

Does Australia understand the leaders of our region? Is our $1.4bn in scholarship funding reaching the right people? There is good reason to believe that leaders matter, and that they are particularly important in developing countries. This 2010 Lowy Institute Analysis presents the results of the

While Chinese foreign investment into Australia has been the subject of a great deal of controversy, investment flows moving in the other direction have received much less attention. In a new Lowy Institute Analysis, John Larum reviews Australian foreign direct investment into China and discusses

Australia’s aid program has been in the news lately, with calls for a wider public debate on the role of overseas aid. But public debate is being shaped by starkly contradictory arguments

New questions in the sixth annual Lowy Poll of Australian public opinion cover the Rudd Government’s handling of foreign policy, whether Australia should develop nuclear weapons, attitudes towards Indonesia and US power, sanctions against Fiji, and the morality of Australia’s foreign policy.