United Kingdom
Muddled messages as Britain seeks to stay alert
After the seven weeks of lockdown, which had managed to suppress the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the British people on the evening of Sunday…
Podcasts
The Director’s Chair Ep2: Lord Mervyn King on COVID-19, radical uncertainty and economic forecasting
In the second episode of The Director's Chair, Michael Fullilove speaks with Lord Mervyn King about COVID-19, global economic downturn, the UK's response to the virus, Brexit, and…
Scotland: False note to cry freedom
The Scottish National Party (SNP) was founded in 1934, and for most of the 20th century was a gathering of eccentrics, writers and Anglophobes (characteristics often combined in…
Brexit and the Pacific: Sink or swim?
After 47 years of a chaotic marriage, and more than three years of debates and negotiations that have cost two prime ministers, the United Kingdom has finally separated from the…
Favourites of 2019: Babylon Berlin
As 2019 winds up, Lowy Institute staff and Interpreter contributors offer their favourite books, articles, films, or TV programs this year.
There are perks to being unfashionably…
Diego Garcia: Unnerving neighbours and raising ghosts
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a non-binding decision in February 2019 supporting Mauritius’s claim to the UK-administered Chagos Archipelago, which includes…
Australia’s stance on Diego Garcia dispute is increasingly untenable
The US base on the island of Diego Garcia, in the middle of the Indian Ocean, is among the most important US military facilities in the world, and is the foundation stone of the…
Diego Garcia: The costs of defending an Indian Ocean outpost
On 22 November, the United Kingdom failed to comply with UN Resolution 73/295 passed in May, which demanded the UK “withdraw its colonial administration from the Chagos…
In conversation: Weak parties, hollow politics, and democratic danger
This is an edited and abridged transcript of the launch of Sam Roggeveen’s new Lowy Institute Paper Our Very Own Brexit, held last week at the National Gallery of Victoria in…
Brexit: “Do or die”
Over the past few weeks, breathless British journalists have published verbatim the private words and long missives of a person known as “No. 10 Source”, who on close inspection…