Publications

The 'carry trade', in which capital shifts from countries with low interest rates to countries with significantly higher rates, has become an important element of international capital flows over the past decade

In a new Lowy Institute Policy Brief, West Asia Program Director Anthony Bubalo considers the implications of President Obama’s decision to send additional US troops to Afghanistan

The Lowy Institute’s first China Poll is 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

Dr Milton Osborne evaluates the potentially huge social and environmental risks for the Mekong River and the millions who depend on it for their livelihood of planned dam projects in Laos and Cambodia

Comprehending Copenhagen by Dr Greg Picker and Fergus Green examines the 2009 climate negotiations in Copenhagen and sets out the key issues they believed would define the negotiations. The authors highlight the conflicting positions taken by developing and developed countries and paint a picture of

This Working Paper, by Warwick McKibbin and Andrew Stoeckel, models the global financial crisis as a combination of shocks to global housing markets and sharp increases in risk premia of firms, households and international investors in an intertemporal (or DSGE) global model. The model has six

As a democratic middle power that chooses to wage counterinsurgency conflicts, Australia needs improved strategic policy approaches and capabilities to overcome a complex and many-headed threat

In September 2009, the Pittsburgh Summit designated the G-20 as the world’s premier forum for international cooperation. The G-20 gives East Asia a significant presence at the top table of the world economy: six regional economies, including Australia, are members

Last month marked the first anniversary of the 2008 power-sharing accord that resulted in the creation of a new unity government in Zimbabwe. Joel Negin and Jolyon Ford assess what Australia can do to assist the country’s re-emergence. 

The United States faces major challenges in engaging China, Japan and the Korean Peninsula in its quest for nuclear disarmament. Rory Medcalf explores the ‘wicked’ nature of the region’s nuclear insecurity: how fixing one part of the problem risks aggravating others. He recommends ways forward

In a new Policy Brief, Stephen Grenville argues that the Global Financial Crisis has changed the form of the external imbalances problem, but not removed it.   

In this new Lowy Institute Policy Brief, Executive Director Michael Wesley analyses the multi-faceted international student debate. It canvasses the dynamics of the international student industry and the social, economic and criminal issues faced by international students during their time in

As the Federal Government prepares to develop the successor document to its inaugural 2008 National Security Statement, this new Lowy Institute Analysis considers what needs to be done to improve the oft-quoted whole-of-government approach to national security, and where Government can draw

Khalid Koser, Director of the New Threats and Human Security Programme at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, examines the impact of the global financial crisis on international migration, the challenges to Australia of these effects, and how national policy should most appropriately respond.&

In a new Lowy Institute Analysis, Iranian researcher Mahmoud Alinejad looks ahead to the Iranian presidential election on 12 June. He assesses the four candidates’ prospects and analyses the potential impact of the election on key aspects of Iran’s foreign policy, in particular the nuclear

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

In a new Lowy Institute Analysis, Lydia Khalil explores the growing confidence of Iraq's government under Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki. 

In this Policy Brief, Fergus Hanson looks at the Australian government's current approach to suspected war criminals living here

As part of its commitment to increase spending on overseas development assistance, the Australian government has announced a substantial re-engagement with Africa

In a new Lowy Institute Analysis entitled 'Ambition: the emerging foreign policy of the Rudd Government', Lowy Institute Executive Director Allan Gyngell explores what we have learned about the Rudd Government's emerging foreign policy, about the Prime Minister's own contributions to it and what

Climate change is not only affecting where people live and prosper but also where mosquitoes do. This is bad news for northern Australia and Australia's northern neighbours. In a new policy brief, Dr Sarah Potter, a malaria research scientist, analyses how climate change will likely affect the

What is at stake in a US presidential election in terms of American foreign policy? How might the temperament and world-views of the respective candidates be interpreted? In this paper Dr Michael Fullilove compares and contrasts the foreign policies of Barack Obama and John McCain in the 2008

The fourth annual Lowy Institute Poll surveys a nationally representative sample of Australians on a range of foreign policy issues and contains a number of new questions. These cover attitudes towards Japanese whaling, foreign investment in Australia, China, the US presidential election, climate

Accusations that a Shi'a crescent is emerging in the Arab world following the rise of a Shi'a government in Iraq and the actions of Hizbullah in Lebanon, have provoked much discussion and highlighted fears of Iran's co-religionists gaining political power at the expense of the traditional Sunni