Global Issues

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Migration and Border Policy Links: Haiti, Rakhine, the EU moves to stop exodus from Africa and more

By Rachael Buckland, an intern with the Lowy Institute's Migration and Border Policy project In Haiti more than 1.4 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and more than 61,000 are displaced in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, according to the International Organization for Migration.

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US election puts TPP in doubt

Originally published in the Nikkei Asian Review. Hillary Clinton has been forced into explicit disavowal of the TPP. She was a supporter of the TPP's "gold standard" when she was President Barack Obama's secretary of state

By Stephen Grenville

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The G20 Studies Centre draws to a close

Today marks the drawing down of the G20 Studies Centre at the Lowy Institute. The Centre was established to provide high quality public analysis of international economic governance. The government supported this work over the most intense period of the G20 for Australia, in the lead-up and the

By Michael Fullilove

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Scaling the migration summit

Originally published in the Australian Financial Review

By Khalid Koser

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Trans-Pacific Partnership in doubt, but does it matter?

The Peterson Institute in Washington has published a report on the international trade policies enunciated by the two US presidential candidates during their campaigns. Its conclusion: Clinton's proposed trade and international economic policies would damage American well-being, primarily but not

By Stephen Grenville

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If you want my opinion...

G20 summits are a busy time for scholars of global economic governance. There is a surprisingly small pool of us around the world who look at these issues day in, day out, and there are literally thousands of journalists whose minds are either turning to the G20 for the first time, or for the first

By Tristram Sainsbury

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Documentary: Chuck Norris vs Communism

This film, about the impact of contraband American VHS tapes on communist-era Romania, was released last year. The version below, available free on Vimeo and YouTube, runs to 55-odd minutes, but IMDB lists the film as having a running time of 78 minutes, so this may not be the whole thing, but it is

By Sam Roggeveen

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Innovation doesn't begin at a G-20 summit meeting

Originally published in the Wall Street Journal

By Leon Berkelmans

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Hangzhou G20 summit: Big on spectacle, low on substance

China’s first G20 Summit was, as promised, a big show. But, right down to the unanticipated delay in releasing a communique for several hours, it will not go down as a smooth one. For many, the event will also cement the G20’s reputation as a modern-day talk shop, and a forum unable to

By Tristram Sainsbury

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Australian leadership needed to scale the refugee summit

On 19 September, a UN high-level meeting to address large movements of refugees and migrants is expected to endorse an outcome document that commits states to negotiating a 'Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework' and separately a 'Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration', for

By Khalid Koser

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G20 Monitor: Towards Hangzhou and Hamburg

The 21st edition of the G20 Monitor highlights considerations for the G20 ahead of the 4–5 September 2016 G20 Leaders’ Summit in Hangzhou, China. It also canvasses three topics that are possibly of interest to the 2017 German G20 Presidency: cyber rule-setting, global migration governance, and

By Ye Yu, David Gruen , Sam Bide, Fergus Hanson, Hugh Jorgensen, John Kirton, James Hospedales, Anne Fulwood , Tristram Sainsbury

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Asian central banks should 'keep calm and carry on'

Originally published in the Nikkei Report.

By Stephen Grenville

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Green power has a long way to go

One factor driving energy policies across the world is repeated claims by activists that green energy is gaining substantial market share over its despised fossil fuel competitors. These claims, made for the likes of the Danish, German, Californian and even Chinese grids, are distorting the energy

By Mark Lawson

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Will Smith is right, everything is not getting worse

I don't expect to hear political wisdom from Hollywood movie stars, but I loved this quote from Will Smith on yesterday's The Late Show, about US race relations (from 5:23): 'When I hear people say "it's worse than it's ever been", I really disagree completely. It's clearly not as bad as it was in

By Sam Roggeveen

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Rudd as Secretary-General: UN should have decided, not Turnbull

Kevin Rudd's bid to nominate as a candidate for the next UN secretary general (SG) has been vetoed by the Turnbull Government. This is more than a little embarrassing for everyone concerned. In a few hours, many UN observers will wake to the news of Rudd's thwarted campaign and shake their heads

By Peter Nadin

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Making the most of the G20

In this Lowy Institute Analysis, G20 Studies Centre Research Fellow and Project Director Tristram Sainsbury and Research Associate Hannah Wurf argue that the G20 should be at the centre of Australia’s approach to international economic engagement in the years ahead. Photo: Getty Images/VCG

By Hannah Wurf, Tristram Sainsbury

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The migration-security nexus in Asia and Australia (part 4)

There are clear signs that policy circles now consider migration to be an emerging security issue. For the first time this year’s Shangri-la Dialogue had a session on migration, during which Chinese and Indonesian delegations presented their respective policies on the security challenges of

By Jay Song

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Checking in on China's G20 presidency

China has its first big opportunity to demonstrate global economic leadership when it hosts this year’s G20 meetings. The G20 leaders’ summit will be held in Hangzhou on 4 and 5 September. So far, China looks to be taking the job seriously. When I was in Beijing in March, I was assured that

By Hannah Wurf

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G20 Monitor: New considerations for China’s 2016 G20 Presidency

The 20th issue of the G20 Monitor discusses the economic leadership China can display in 2016 by opening its services sector; the successes and structural gaps in the G20 financial regulatory agenda; the merits of G20 target-setting; and how the G20 can respond to the new Green Finance Study Group.&

By David Dollar, Nicolas Véron, Hannah Wurf, Tristram Sainsbury

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Why the G20's growth pledges have foundered

This piece was originally published in the Australian Financial Review

By Leon Berkelmans, Tristram Sainsbury

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Capital controls: Australia still needs an Iceland option

I was happy to see Acting Deputy Secretary Justin Brown elaborate on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's thinking in regard to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) last week on The Interpreter. To recap, back in February I discussed one of my TPP misgivings: I think the TPP does not

By Leon Berkelmans

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The Middle East in 2016 (part 2): The old order will continue to decay

Part 1 of this seven-part series is here. One of the enduring myths of the Arab uprisings is that it was primarily a brave, noble but ultimately vain attempt by young liberals to overthrow the old authoritarian order in the Middle East. Many observers now dismiss the uprisings as a passing episode

By Anthony Bubalo

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The Lowy Institute Global Diplomacy Index

The Global Diplomacy Index is an interactive web tool which maps and ranks the diplomatic networks of all G20 and OECD nations: 42 countries in total

By Alex Oliver

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G20 update: Finance ministers disappoint but China's leadership shows promise

G20 discussions were back in international media headlines during the last week, as Shanghai hosted the first major meeting of China's 2016 G20 Presidency. The concluding statement issued by finance ministers and central bank governors on Saturday was strong on rhetoric, and Chinese leadership

By Tristram Sainsbury

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G20 Monitor: The Chinese 2016 G20 host year

The 19th issue of the G20 Monitor focuses on the state of the G20 in the initial months of the Chinese G20 Presidency and examines policies that could contribute to the G20’s core goal of improving global economic growth. Photo: Getty Images/ChinaFotoPress

By Zhang Haibing, Wang Yuzhu, Bill Brummitt, Laura Walsh, Mike Callaghan, Adam Triggs, Tristram Sainsbury

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Fed rate hike: time now for central banks to go back to basics on monetary policy

Ever since the 'taper tantrum' in May 2013, global financial markets have been on tenterhooks, anxiously anticipating the first increase in US interest rates in almost a decade. Now it's happened and the sky hasn't fallen in. Perhaps, as one market observer has suggested, we can start obsessing

By Stephen Grenville

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IMF reforms pass Congress but too late to salvage US leadership credentials

The US Congress has finally passed long awaited IMF governance reforms. President Obama claimed it as a victory for the White House that will strengthen 'America's leadership of the IMF'. USA Today reported 'Congress finally preserves US leadership in global finance'. Some leadership. With the US

By Mike Callaghan

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Paris agreement: signaling change for decades to come

Years from now, the Paris climate conference may be seen as the point where ambitious long term global climate policy was finally enshrined in an international agreement, and where the world found a formula that enables consistent action. True, there is a massive gap between present policy ambition

By Frank Jotzo

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The Paris agreement: a global turning point requires domestic realignment

It's done: for the first time, the world has a truly universal agreement on climate change. It's not perfect, but the agreement will boost the momentum to modernise and clean up economies. Clean energy in the global power sector, already outstripping fossil fuel investments, is now set to become the

By John Connor

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What's happening on the lower reaches of the Mekong River?

I have posted previously on The Interpreter about the Don Sahong dam, the very controversial project that the Lao government seems determined to build on the Mekong in southern Laos just before it flows into Cambodia. The Lao parliament has approved the project, and various officials have repeatedly

By Milton Osborne

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Australia's global role will change as power shifts to China

Australia's global role will change as power shifts to China Michael Fullilove The Australian 26 September 2015 Click here for online text

By Michael Fullilove

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Australia's policy on America and China needs no big changes

Australia's policy on America and China needs no big changes Michael Fullilove The Australian 3 October 2015 Click here for online text.

By Michael Fullilove

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Australian political dysfunction hurts our reputation abroad

Australian political dysfunction hurts our reputation abroad Michael Fullilove The Australian 10 October 2015 Click here for the online text

By Michael Fullilove

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Think big and act big globally for a larger Australia

Think big and act big globally for a larger Australia Michael Fullilove The Australian 17 October 2015 Click here for online text

By Michael Fullilove

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Wanted: An authoritative and encompassing information source on climate change

Last week, Lowy Institute non-resident fellow and international security professor Alan Dupont wrote an article in The Australian calling for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to provide an authoritative pronouncement on climate change as a national security issue. Doing so, Dupont stated, would help

By Bronwyn Lo

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Australia and the US: good friends can sometimes differ in global economic diplomacy

It's not often that Canberra's senior bureaucrats provide a sustained critique of the functioning of global economic diplomacy. But Martin Parkinson did just that a week ago in the 5th Warren Hogan Memorial Lecture, using the extra freedom he had while 'between jobs', after he was dismissed in

By Stephen Grenville

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Plenty of challenges await Joe Hockey as Australia's new ambassador to the US

So Mr Hockey goes to Washington. The former treasurer will take up his post at the Australian chancery on Massachusetts Avenue early in the new year. Hockey's appointment, percolating through Canberra circles for months now, has drawn fire from several quarters. Conservative columnist Janet

By James Curran

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The finishing straight in Paris: Why the ratchet mechanism is (almost) everything

People often ask me what I think a successful Paris climate agreement would entail. I’ve said there is a handful of key elements, each tough but possible to get global agreement on, without which it would be difficult to credibly claim success. While I still think all the elements in that handful

By Fergus Green

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COP21, China's role and developed nations' obligations as reported in Chinese media

By Marie-Alice McLean-Dreyfus, an intern with the Lowy Institute's East Asia program Coverage of the Paris climate conference by China's media has been largely positive, with reports portraying China as a driving force in climate negotiations, willing to work with the international community to

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COP21 Paris update: Tough and uneven progress

The pace in Paris is picking up. Delegates are moving from meeting to meeting, negotiating on the elements of the agreement. Even big delegations are struggling to keep up. We will not get a good sense of what will have been accomplished this week for a day or so but it is fair to say that

By Erwin Jackson

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COP21: Where style is as important as substance

The Paris Climate Conference is underway. This is the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to which 195 states are signatories and, like previous COPs, it has been hailed as the most important climate conference in history. This is

By Tim Stephens

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Paris update: Anticipation and hyperbole

The delegates have arrived and the behind the scenes discussions in Paris are well underway. Negotiators are meeting to discuss strategy and informally coordinate positions. The aim is to ensure formal negotiations proceed smoothly after the fanfare of the leaders' statements tomorrow. Canada

By Erwin Jackson

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Getting serious about climate change means putting a price on carbon

The Paris climate change talks will dominate the political debate over the coming week. The focus will be on whether the Australian prime minister joins over 140 other leaders to shepherd in a deal to cut greenhouse gasses and tackle climate change. There are expectations Prime Minister Turnbull may

By Mike Callaghan

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Decoding China's GOOD approach to the G20

With this year's summit season coming to an end, Turkey will officially hand over the G20 hosting baton to China on 1 December 2015. The Hangzhou Leaders' Summit has already been announced for 4 and 5 September 2016, slightly earlier than previous years to avoid clashing with the US presidential

By Hannah Wurf

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Turkey shootdown: Russian air power has chinks, but campaign has been decisive

News that a Russian strike aircraft has been shot down by Turkey has again focused attention on Russia's air campaign in Syria, which began in late September. The Russians deployed a small but decisive air and naval force to side with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to protect his regime and,

By Geoff Brown

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Lowy Institute Poll: Most Australians would back tougher target to win agreement in Paris

As Paris prepares for the arrival of delegates from 196 countries who will take part in international climate negotiations next week, Lowy Institute Polling suggests the majority of adult Australians (62%) have given the Turnbull Government the green light to strengthen its commitment on emission

By Emma Connors

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2015 Lowy Institute polling: Views on climate action ahead of United Nations climate negotiations in Paris

As the world begins negotiations at the Paris international climate negotiations next week, the majority of adult Australians (62%) say the Government should be prepared to make stronger commitments on emissions reductions in the interests of reaching a global agreement, according to Lowy Institute

By Alex Oliver

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Winning the coal endgame: Why a moratorium on new mines makes economic sense

This is the second in a two part series by Fergus Green, climate policy consultant and researcher, London School of Economics and Political Science and Richard Denniss, chief economist, The Australia Institute. Part one examined trends in coal demand; now the authors turn their attention to supply

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Syria: The ugly truth behind those calls for 'pragmatism'

In Manila this week Prime Minister Turnbull, echoing the language of other Western leaders of late, spoke of the need for pragmatism when it comes to Syria: ...what we need there is a political settlement. And it is clear that the principal determinants of, the people that will decide who can be

By Anthony Bubalo

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Witness a global tipping point: The beginning of the end of coal

This is the first in a two part series by Fergus Green, climate policy consultant and researcher, London School of Economics and Political Science and Richard Denniss, chief economist, The Australia Institute. This post examines trends in coal demand. Part two will focus on proposals to regulate

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