Human rights
The killings in the Philippines grow more brazen
Earlier this month, days after Manila went back into a hard lockdown due to a sharp rise in Covid-19 infections, unidentified assailants slipped past the Philippine capital’s…
The Beirut explosion and the plight of Syrian refugees
When you have the privilege of working in international relations, there are some experiences that stay with you for life. There are the places you go and the people you meet…
Podcasts
COVIDcast: Looking at China from the grassroots, with Dexter Roberts
In this episode of COVIDcast, Lowy Institute senior fellow Richard McGregor sat down with Dexter Roberts to discuss his new book, The Myth of Chinese Capitalism: The Worker, The…
UN report on US killing of Iranian commander misses the mark
In the early hours of 3 January 2020, missiles fired from US drones killed ten people near Baghdad airport. Drone strikes by the US are almost commonplace these days, but what…
Southeast Asian democracies in declining health amid Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic is affecting democracies in the Asia-Pacific region in ways that demand Australian attention.
The ability to weather a crisis of this magnitude depends…
Culture, constitution and controversy in Samoa
Fifty-eight years after Samoa became an independent state, it has been promised a new court giving Samoan customs a rightful place in law. It is worth considering why has this has…
ASEAN Summit: A chance to engage on the Rohingya crisis
On 26 June, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will meet virtually for their 36th semi-annual summit. The meeting is expected to include a focus on the…
Thailand: Another dissenter disappears
On 4 June, Wanchalearm Satsaksit – a self-exiled Thai political activist living in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh – vanished. He was almost certainly abducted. CCTV footage shows…
In Yemen, a deadly concoction of arms sales, conflict and Covid-19
In April, the UN Security Council issued a statement endorsing the UN Secretary-General’s call for a ceasefire in Yemen to better enable a response to Covid-19. The Council…
In the US, a week of protests and a tidal wave of history
In reaction to the death of a black man in police custody in Minneapolis – its brutality captured on video – mass demonstrations arose across 140 American cities and around the…