Programs & Projects
The West Asia Program
The West Asia program provides original research on developments in the Middle East and Central and Southwest Asia, including as they impact on Australia. Central research issues include relations between West Asia and East Asia, the Arab uprisings and geo-political change in the Middle East and Australia’s relations with the Gulf.
Experts
Latest publications
News and media
Tony Blair's Gulf delusion
The Middle East can be a policy graveyard for principled leaders because nowhere is there a more marked tension between, on the one hand, Western notions of tolerance and…
Tunisians say 'no' to Sharia and set an example for the region
The constitution of the second Tunisian Republic, adopted on 27 January, three years after the Tunisian Revolution, is considered almost a miracle: this Arab Muslim country…
Syria: There's method in Assad's election madness
The Syrian Government's successful effort to re-take the Qalamoun area from opposition forces was designed with two aims in mind: to reassert government control over an area…
Skin-tight jeans and triangle ladies: A look inside Iran
Imam mosque, on the southern edge of Naqsh-e-Jahan Square, Esfahan. Photo by the author.
On the edge of Iran's Dasht e Kavir desert, a young Iranian guy sits by the edge of an…
The mood in Jenin as Israeli-Palestinian peace talks set to fail
Barring a miraculous turnaround, the latest round of US-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, scheduled to end on 29 April, look set to fail. Few thought they had much…
India links: Election special
Voting for India's Lok Sabha (lower house) elections kicked off on Monday. In place of my regular India Links, here is the best election-related reading of the week:
The…
Human rights: After the spring in Libya and Egypt
Last week, the Lowy Institute hosted a roundtable examining human rights in the Middle East, which featured human rights defender Hassan al-Amin and Tirana Hassan from Human…
The rise of jihadism in Syria and Egypt
Launched last week, Anthony Bubalo's Next –gen Jihad in the Middle East has attracted much media attention for its argument that current conditions in the Middle East are worse…
What would Modi mean for Indian foreign policy?
Polling booths for the world's biggest election open in India this week, with signs pointing towards likely victory for a BJP-led coalition with Narendra Modi at the helm. But…
India links: Nancy Powell, dynasties, Gujarat's growth, criminal politicians and more
Pew Research's Global Attitudes Project has released a report on Indian reflections on their country and the world. Many of the results reinforce the findings of the Lowy…