Uncategorised and other

China, Russia and North Korea: the wars that never end
China, Russia and North Korea: the wars that never end
Book review: Dancing on Bones: History and Power in China, Russia and North Korea, by Katie Stallard (OUP, 2022) In Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery, in north-east Saint…
Space, sustainability and security: the intersection of domains
Space, sustainability and security: the intersection of domains
With the global space industry set to potentially grow to in excess of US$1 trillion by 2040, Australia already has ambitious plans to carve out a slice. Until recently,…
Wrong balance of power in Pacific
Wrong balance of power in Pacific
With the attention largely on the great power race to gain influence in the region, another balance of power is going unnoticed, if not ignored – the gender imbalance of political…
Development finance in Asia: a memoir
Development finance in Asia: a memoir
Book review: Takehiko Nakao, The Rise of Asia: Perspectives and Beyond. Memoir of the President of the Asian Development Bank 2013–2020 (Asian Development Bank, 2022) In April…
US abortion bans unleash state-sanctioned violence against women
US abortion bans unleash state-sanctioned violence against women
The US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs Wade has unleashed a frenzy of misogynistic lawmaking, with abortion bans now enacted or soon to be enacted in more than half US…
If you had 30 minutes with the PM, what would you ask?
If you had 30 minutes with the PM, what would you ask?
“Right. So I’m going to pretend that you are the recently voted upon Prime Minister?” Exactly, I reply, smiling across the screen to Dorcas Makgato, High Commissioner for…
Semut: Australia’s secret war against the Japanese in Borneo
Semut: Australia’s secret war against the Japanese in Borneo
Book review: Christine Helliwell, Semut: The Untold Story of a Secret Australian Operation in WWII Borneo (Michael Joseph: Penguin Random House, 2021) Few in Australia…
The future is female, but women in diplomacy still under-represented
The future is female, but women in diplomacy still under-represented
Gains for women in diplomacy in recent years indicate we have much to celebrate. Yet, with increasing pressures on diplomats operating in a complex (post-)Covid global environment…
Gender equality in the Pacific: less talk and more action
Gender equality in the Pacific: less talk and more action
Last year, Hilda Heine, former president of the Marshall Islands, congratulated Fiame Naomi Mata’afa on her election as Prime Minister of Samoa. Heine noted that Fiame Mata’afa’s…
Insights from Africa as China stumbles in the Pacific
Insights from Africa as China stumbles in the Pacific
Earlier this month, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi concluded a 10-day tour of the Pacific, touching down in Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New…