International Relations
Australia makes another tilt at the UN Security Council
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has just announced that Australia will bid for a seat on the UN Security Council in 2029-30.
That's 15 years from the end of our last Security…
Xi in America: China's poor grasp of public diplomacy on full display
Having a Catholic Pope and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China descend on Washington at almost exactly the same time helped illustrate something important about…
Australia's prime ministerial shuffle is hurting its diplomacy
When the rest of the world dealt with Australia in the past, it was familiar figures that emerged from the VIP planes and who stretched out their experienced hands. For over a…
Australia's foreign policy and refugee resettlement
Following a community outcry over the plight of asylum seekers in Europe, the Australian Government has announced that it will resettle 12,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees. This will…
Passive-aggressive rivalry deepens China-Japan tensions
By Yanmei Xie, International Crisis Group’s Senior China Analyst, and Rachel Vandenbrink, graduate student at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University.
China’s…
To combat ISIS, refocus international attention on Assad and revive the Geneva process
In March 2011, the Syrian people started their national uprising, motivated by the Arab Spring and following decades of oppression under the dynastic Assad regime.
The peaceful…
Iran nuclear deal opens door for Syria diplomacy
The US and Russia are reportedly promoting a concert-of-powers approach to new negotiations over Syria.
Although any movement toward a political solution will be limited by the…
This week in Jakarta: Diplomacy, deals and the death penalty
Indonesia's President Jokowi will welcome Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Jakarta today, making it his third meeting with an international leader this week. Jokowi…
Indonesia: engagement through communication and culture has barely begun
In a new Lowy Institute Paper, former ONA analyst Ken Ward makes the case for 'more realistic' expectations for the Australia-Indonesia relationship.
He writes that despite years…
Syria: World dithers as new refugee crisis looms
It remains too early to predict the collapse of the Assad regime, or the way in which it might end, although the possibility of 'catastrophic success' on the part of the jihadist…