Commentary

Opinion pieces by Lowy Institute experts

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Avoiding the wrong lessons on aid and corruption

Is development aid an effective solution to lifting countries out of poverty? Roland Rajah, Director of the International Economy Program, and Research Fellow Alexandre Dayant write on aid and corruption. Originally published in the Devpolicy Blog

By Roland Rajah, Alexandre Dayant

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How the virus could stagger Asia's giants

COVID-19 looks set to hit the emerging world hard. For Australia, what happens in India and Indonesia could be most consequential. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review

By Roland Rajah

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Coronavirus has shown Australian travellers have too high expectations of how the Government can help

Lowy Institute Director of Research Alex Oliver writes that the coronavirus has revealed some disturbing conflicts and unpleasant traits in the national Australian character as Australians find themselves under pressure at home and abroad. Originally published in ABC News

By Alex Oliver

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Coronavirus: Global giants stumble while agile nations inspire

Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Fullilove writes on the ways COVID-19 will alter some of the patterns of international life. Originally published in The Australian

By Michael Fullilove

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The balance between medicine and economics

Lowy Institute Nonresident Fellow Stephen Grenville asks if the policy response to Covid-19 strikes the right balance in the debate between epidemiologists and economists, moderated by the public-relations experts. Originally published in The Australian

By Stephen Grenville

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The government's bazooka is biggest, not the RBA's

Lowy Institute Nonresident Fellow Stephen Grenville evaluates the RBA's response to COVID-19. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review

By Stephen Grenville

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China is rewriting coronavirus history and nobody will stop it

In an opinion piece published in the Nikkei Asian Review, Natasha Kassam argues that China has leapt on the opportunity to shape the global narrative about its response to the coronavirus as other countries grapple to manage the crisis

By Natasha Kassam

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West must face its viral demons

It may be the global politics of the pandemic, rather than COVID-19 itself, that proves our undoing. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review

By Hervé Lemahieu

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Central bank reputations at risk from impossible targets

Central banks around the world are caught in the same bind: inflation is below their target. Originally published in The Australian

By Stephen Grenville

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Vital to focus on fiscal policy as recession inevitable

It goes without saying that the medical response to the pandemic should have the highest policy priority ... On the economics of the pandemic, initial reactions have been quickly outdated. Originally published in The Australian

By Stephen Grenville

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The RBA's job is to back banks, not bail out gamblers

It’s quite a while since I was at the Reserve Bank, but one of my tasks there was to draft replies to letters received. So let me try my hand at responding to Christopher Joye’s "Virus gets upper hand in battle against central banks" (AFR, March 13). Originally published in the Australian

By Stephen Grenville

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Paranoid leaders hoping repression can lead to stability

This is an edited extract from the Lowy Institute Analysis ‘The Path of Least Resilience: Autocratic Rule and External Powers In The Middle East’ by Anthony Bubalo. The extract first appeared in The Australian

By Anthony Bubalo

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The New Wave of Middle-East Media Repression

In an opinion piece published in Project Syndicate, Lydia Khalil describes how the governments of Egypt and Saudi Arabia have suppressed unfavorable information to hold on to power. But the experiences of Iraq and Lebanon suggest that this approach has limits in political systems that depend on

By Lydia Khalil

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Middle Powers Will Determine the Future of the Asian Order

In Asia, power is shifting. The changing balance of power is setting the stage for prolonged great power competition. As the US-led rules-based order decays, the question is what regional order – if any – will replace it

By Hervé Lemahieu

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The coronavirus outbreak has exposed the deep flaws of Xi’s autocracy

China’s political system was meant to be all-powerful, capable of dealing with any crisis. The death of one doctor has shaken that claim. Originally published in The Guardian.

By Richard McGregor

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Politics comes first in China's agony

In an opinion piece originally published in the Financial Review, Natasha Kassam argues that China's biggest concern in dealing with the new coronavirus is maintaining stability and keeping its grip on information

By Natasha Kassam

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How I Lost My Faith in America

The world still wants to believe in the US. But it needs some help. Originally published in The Atlantic

By Michael Fullilove

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How the coronavirus crisis has brewed a ‘revolt of the professionals’ in China

Doctors, scientists, lawyers and journalists are pushing back against Communist Party structures in a rare backlash against suppression of information. If Beijing can learn to leave them to do their jobs, that would be real reform, akin to a mini-revolution. Originally published in South China

By Richard McGregor

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How Beijing's silence helped spread the virus

Beijing's blaming of local officials and signs on a clampdown on information about the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak has tragic echoes of the mishandling of the SARs virus more than a decade ago, writes Richard McGregor. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review

By Richard McGregor

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Soft power goes up in smoke

A unique connection to nature is at the heart of our international appeal. Foot-dragging on climate is squandering it. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review

By Hervé Lemahieu

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As Wuhan virus spreads, Taiwan has no say at WHO

Chinese pressure keeps Taipei out of international organizations—putting everyone at more risk. Originally published in Foreign Policy

By Natasha Kassam

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US killing of Soleimani hands Iran a new opportunity to expand power

Originally published in ABC Online

By Lydia Khalil

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A vital cog in the leader's great plan

Originally published in The Sunday Times

By Richard McGregor

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PNG must respect voters and help form world’s newest nation

Originally published in The Australian

By Shane McLeod, Jonathan Pryke

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2020 Will Be a Watershed Year for the Global Economy

Originally published in the Council of Councils' Global Outlook 2020: The Economy

By Roland Rajah

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Why the day of the party is done

Originally published in the Australian Financial Review

By Sam Roggeveen

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Australia's PNG step-up in a tumultuous year

Originally published in The Australian Financial Review

By Shane McLeod, Jonathan Pryke

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Japan can teach Australia how to carefully handle China

Scott Morrison needs to study Shinzo Abe's resolve. Originally published in Nikkei Asian Review

By Richard McGregor

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China has lost Taiwan, and it knows it

So it is attacking democracy on the island from within. Orignally published in the New York Times

By Natasha Kassam

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Are our politicians a security risk?

Should spooks vet the reliability of parliamentarians? It is not clear that doing so would benefit our democracy. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review

By Daniel Flitton

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Pacific islands avoid China's 'debt-trap' diplomacy for now

Beijing's interest in the region sparks fears it is making unsustainable loans. Originally published in Nikkei Asian Review

By Alexandre Dayant

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The new geography of global diplomacy

China advances as the US retreats. Originally published in Foreign Affairs

By Bonnie Bley

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2019 Global Diplomacy Index

Visualising the diplomatic networks of 61 G20, OECD and Asian countries and territories

By Bonnie Bley

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Australia’s Brexit?

Loss of confidence in political parties could translate into disengagement from our region. Originally published in Inside Story

By Sam Roggeveen

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Touted as ‘next Hong Kong’ Taiwan lives on the edge

Originally published in The Australian

By Natasha Kassam, Richard McGregor

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When is mental illness an excuse for terrorism?

Originally published in The Australian

By Rodger Shanahan

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Beijing's tactics are driving spiral of violence in Hong Kong

If China is trying to drive wedges between the protest movement and mainstream citizens, it seems to be failing. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review

By Ben Bland

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Is Australia's Asian dream fading?

In our rush to step up in the Pacific, we must not make the mistake of stepping down in south-east Asia. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review

By Hervé Lemahieu

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Debt-trap diplomacy not happening yet, but cause for concern

Originally published in The Australian

By Roland Rajah

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Trump hands Syria an easy win

The Kurds will have to make their peace with Bashar al-Assad. Western governments will worry about ISIS fighters becoming bargaining chips. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review

By Rodger Shanahan

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Trump wants China to help him win. China wants nothing to do with him.

What Xi Jinping and his top Communist Party deputies think of the U.S. president. Originally published in the Washington Post

By Richard McGregor

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Now we must set sights on the G7

Australia has a strong case to join the top democratic table. The PM should ask Donald Trump for help to do so. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review

By Michael Fullilove, Thomas Wright

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Are Trumpians or Boltonians in charge?

The US alliance is the great totem of Australia's foreign policy, before which our major parties kneel. But they should look up once in a while, lest the tectonic plates shift again and the totem topples. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review

By Sam Roggeveen

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Size vs statecraft: How India and Japan play the major power game

Japan and India’s differences might just be what makes this unlikely partnership effective. Originally published in The Diplomat

By Bonnie Bley

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Middle-power bonding has major advantages for ‘overachievers’

Originally published in The Australian

By Bonnie Bley

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Australia must perfect the art of sizing up China

Neither the US nor China can dominate the other. That leaves an opening for smart middle powers that know their own strengths. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review

By Hervé Lemahieu

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China's capture of Hong Kong's elite has failed to win popular favor

Western business and political leaders now reject Beijing's enticements. Originally published in Nikkei Asian Review

By Richard McGregor

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PM must fill China policy vacuum

Dealing with the Chinese is an art that Australia is still struggling to emulate. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review

By Richard McGregor

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China’s Demands for Loyalty Are Bad for Business

Beijing has successfully muscled foreign companies in Hong Kong, but at what cost? Originally published in Bloomberg

By Ben Bland

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Party Man: Xi Jinping’s Quest to Dominate China

Originally published in Foreign Affairs

By Richard McGregor

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