Programs & Projects

The International Security Program

The International Security Program

The International Security Program looks at strategic dynamics and security risks globally, with an emphasis on Australia's region of Indo-Pacific Asia. Its research spans strategic competition and the risks of conflict in Asia, security implications of the rise of China and India, maritime security, nuclear arms control, Australian defence policy and the changing character of conflict. The Program draws on a network of experts in Australia, Asia and globally, and is supported by diverse funding sources including grants from the MacArthur Foundation and the Nuclear Threat Initiative. It convenes international policy dialogues such as the 2017 Australia-ROK Emerging Leaders International Security Forum and has a record of producing leading-edge, influential reports.

Experts
Latest publications
News and media
What needs to happen before the 2018 ASEAN-Australia leaders summit
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's pledge to hold an ASEAN-Australia leaders' summit in 2018 is a sign that Australia intends to take a more proactive and public role in shaping…
Dastyari shows foreign political donation ban needed
Commentary
Dastyari shows foreign political donation ban needed
Originally published in The Australian Financial Review.Rory Medcalf
The Hague Tribunal's South China Sea ruling: empty provocation or slow-burning influence?
Commentary
The Hague Tribunal's South China Sea ruling: empty provocation or slow-burning influence?
Last month’s ruling by a tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on the dispute brought by the Philippines against China has earned its place in maritime legal…
We must not be bullied out of South China Sea
Commentary
We must not be bullied out of South China Sea
Originally published in The Australian.Euan Graham
Ruling says no state is an island
Commentary
Ruling says no state is an island
Originally published in The Australian Financial Review.Euan Graham
An inevitable precedent: Where states stand on the South China Sea ruling
By Nicholas Welsh, an intern in the Lowy Institute's International Security Program. As the dust begins to settle after the Permanent Court of Arbitration's landmark ruling…
Greens defence policy would leave us exposed in a perilous world
Commentary
Greens defence policy would leave us exposed in a perilous world
This article was originally published in The Australian.Alan Dupont
The lion and the kangaroo
Commentary
The lion and the kangaroo
This opinion piece was originally published in the Straits Times.Euan Graham
The lion and the kangaroo: Australia’s strategic partnership with Singapore
Analyses
The lion and the kangaroo: Australia’s strategic partnership with Singapore
While Canberra is enhancing its economic access to Southeast Asia in return for granting Singapore greater access to military training areas in Australia, Singapore’s strategic…
US Navy carries out third FONOP in South China Sea
The US Navy has carried out another freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea. According to defence sources, it was conducted, on the morning of 10 May, by the…