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In conjunction with the launch of the Lowy Institute's West Asia program, Anthony Bubalo, Director of the new program, argues why the Middle East and South Asia increasingly comprise one strategically coherent region, 'West Asia', and explores the policy significance of this for Australia.
About the author
Anthony Bubalo
Anthony Bubalo is a former Nonresident Fellow of the Lowy Institute, and was Deputy Director of the Institute between 2015 and 2018 and Research Director from 2012 to 2018.
Australia's economic, political and strategic interests in the Middle East and South Asia are growing and policymakers are gradually reassessing the place of these regions in Australia's overall strategic calculus.
There is a risk, however, that in this reassessment, the two regions will continue to be viewed distinctly - a distinction that is increasingly artificial in strategic terms.
As it incorporates the Middle East and South Asia into its overall strategic picture, Australia should view the two as a single strategic entity, ensuring that the links between the two regions are understood and factored into its strategic, political and economic analysis and policy development.