Only a resilient democracy could have survived the mob violence
Originally published in The Australian
By Alan Dupont
Tuesday 26 Jan 2021 | 07:52 | SYDNEY
What's happening on 
The Director’s Chair: Dr Robert Dallek on the U.S. presidency and the 2020 election
In this episode of The Director’s Chair, Michael Fullilove speaks with Dr Robert Dallek, the distinguished presidential historian.
The New Biden Administration: A Lowy Institute Collection
On this page, we have curated the best publications, conversations and event recordings to help you understand the foreign policy implications of Joe Biden's presidency
The Director’s Chair: Joe Biden's senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan, on Russia, China, climate diplomacy and Australia
In this episode of The Director’s Chair, Michael Fullilove speaks with Jake Sullivan, the senior policy adviser to Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Joe Biden
The US, not China, is Australia's most difficult relationship
All the talk of “mateship” and ever “deepening ties” in relation to our alliance with the US tends to obscure the competitive nature of foreign policy. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review
A dysfunctional America helps China – but hurts Australia and our region
It doesn’t matter to Beijing who wins the presidential election. But a divided America may translate into an isolated Australia. Originally published in The Guardian
From Australia, it's hard to comprehend the depredations on display at the US election
The Republican party has been playing dirty electoral politics for decades. The Democrats are just not on the same playing field. Originally published in The Guardian
The Point of No Return: The 2020 Election and the Crisis of American Foreign Policy
November's election puts the fundamental principles of US leadership to the test
Is our love affair with America over?
Most Australians would greet a Biden victory with relief. But that may not be enough to remedy the fear that the United States has changed for the worse. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review
The Director’s Chair: Ambassador Nicholas Burns on diplomacy, presidents and American power
In this episode of The Director’s Chair, Michael Fullilove speaks with Ambassador Nicholas Burns, Professor at Harvard University, Executive Director of the Aspen Strategy Group, and one of the leading American diplomats of his generation.
The Director’s Chair: Jake Sullivan on Donald Trump, Joe Biden and America’s role in the world
In this episode of The Director’s Chair, Michael Fullilove speaks with Jake Sullivan, the senior policy adviser to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
Why the American public has tuned out of politics
The American political class are fighting their private culture wars that have sidelined the concerns that ordinary citizens have. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review
COVIDcast: America’s economy at the crossroad, with Adam Posen
In this episode of COVIDcast, Roland Rajah, Lowy Institute lead economist, speaks with Dr Adam Posen, President of the Peterson Institute for International Economics
By Roland Rajah
America’s very unusual conventions
As with so many events in America this year, public expectations around the 2020 political conventions were muted. And yet, both parties approached their conventions with outsize ambition.
Last week’s all-virtual Democratic convention was generally well received. The event showcased a
By Erin Hurley
In conversation: Michael Fullilove and Richard McGregor discuss Kamala Harris
Was Kamala Harris the right choice for presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden?
Contemplating Kamala Harris
Was Kamala Harris the right choice for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden? Is she a policy radical or a centrist? What are her foreign policy views, and will they be influential in a Biden administration, or will the president set his own agenda?
These and other questions are
In US election, no surprise, no mystery
It’s August and most Americans are hot and sticky and impatient with the ongoing failure to manage the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite 160,000 Covid-19 deaths and one out of every five American workers claiming unemployment insurance, the US Congress remains deadlocked over a fifth pandemic relief
By Erin Hurley
Writing off Trump
A weekend Fox News interview with US President Donald Trump has won plenty of attention – mostly, it seems fair to assume, from people who don’t spend a lot of time watching Fox News.
Which apparently now includes Trump himself.
“I’m not a big fan of Fox, I’ll be honest with you. They
Disruption or demands? US post-election foreign policy in Asia
Looking ahead to the US presidential election in November, abnormally, the re-election of the incumbent president may be more disruptive to the US international position and engagement than a change of administration.
Re-election would affirm that Trump’s 2016 victory was not the anomalous
By Malcolm Cook
Who would Beijing prefer wins in November?
The 2020 US presidential election may well go down in history as the “China election”. Indeed, if the past month has been any indication, the narratives around this race for the White House will heavily feature how each candidate plans to manage the rapidly deteriorating relationship between the
Joe Biden and the ghosts of elections past
Back in 2008, the Democrats were excited about Senator Barack Obama’s run for US President, but he was also perceived as a newcomer and a change agent. When Senator Joe Biden – who first ran for President in 1988 – agreed to sign on as Obama’s nominee for Vice President, he provided a
By Erin Hurley
Democrats on trade, and North Korea: “No hot dish for the dictator”
This is the third of a three-part series of articles examining the Democrats’ and America’s place in the world in the lead-up to the US presidential election. The first article can be read here, and the second here.
CPTPP: The trade agreement America loves to hate
The fate of the
The Democrats and China: “Our values are not a bargaining chip”
This is the second in a three-part series of articles examining the Democrats’ and America’s place in the world in the lead-up to the US presidential election. The first article can be read here and the third here.
Throughout the Democratic Party primaries, the candidates have been
The Democrats and America’s place in the world: “A rescue mission”
This is the first in a three-part series of articles examining the Democrats’ and America’s place in the world in the lead-up to the US presidential election. The second article can be read here and the third here.
The Democratic presidential contest unfolding in America presents the
Joe Biden's victory for normal
History is against a win for the former vice president in November. But you can't blame allies for hoping that yet another shock awaits. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review
Projecting strength and staying power heading into Super Tuesday
After a lacklustre start to the Democratic primary season in the race to select a candidate for the November presidential election, the results from the demographically diverse states of Nevada and South Carolina introduced some excitement with two dominant performances.
In Nevada, Senator Bernie
By Erin Hurley
In Democratic debate, big distinctions but little difference
Last Tuesday night, six of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates met on a debate stage in Des Moines, Iowa. This meeting was the final debate before the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses on 3 February.
While Americans generally prioritise domestic policy concerns when choosing a candidate,
By Erin Hurley
Bizarro World has taken over global politics
Originally published in the Financial Times.
From Trump to Duterte, old assumptions are being overturned, writes Michael Fullilove.
Once Upon a Time, Another Tycoon Stole the GOP
Originally published in Foreign Policy
How will the United States manage the new challenge to the old status quo?
Originally published in the Australian Financial Review
Trump is long past laughing off
Originally published in The Australian Financial Review
By Emma Connors
Congress and Asia-Pacific policy: Dysfunction and neglect
In this Analysis, Lowy Institute Research Fellow Aaron L. Connelly examines the role of the US Congress in policy toward the Asia-Pacific region