Articles | Lowy Institute

5 hours ago
Sri Lanka

Global Issues
Asia’s scam centre problem is moving on, not shutting down

Johann Rebert , Nicola Nixon

The capacity to reconstitute – often quickly and in new jurisdictions – is a core feature of how these operations function.
18 hours ago
Energy

Pacific Islands
Pacific islands face a connectivity shock as oil prices surge

Jake Hamstra

The Pacific’s energy crisis isn’t just economic – it’s a geopolitical opening that outside powers will be competing to fill.
18 hours ago
Global Issues

Diplomacy
Acting together? The myth of middle power fix

Sanchari Ghosh

If states are trying to become less dependent on one another, they’re unlikely to bind themselves into tight collective arrangements.
22 hours ago
Global Issues
The analyst’s escape hatch that says everything and nothing

Daniel Flitton

Reaching for a caveat doesn’t guide readers as much as it protects authors.
1 day ago
Asean

Energy
From oil shock to nuclear surge in Asia

Julius Cesar Trajano

Nuclear power promises long-term benefits to many Asian countries, but some lack the necessary regulatory authorities
1 day ago
Asia

Indonesia

Malaysia

Australia

Australian trade, investment & economy

AUKUS

Maritime Security

International law
What the Hormuz crisis reveals about Australia’s Indonesian sea lanes

Aristyo Rizka Darmawan

Laws alone will not keep Australia’s vital trading routes open when it matters.
1 day ago
Climate change

Pacific Islands
The Pacific is where climate leadership will be made – or lost

Larelle Bossi

The question is no longer simply whether environmental ambition can be agreed, but whether it can be sustained.
1 day ago
China

Australia

Global Issues

Public Opinion
The blind spot in Australia’s approach to Chinese platforms

Wilfred Yang Wang , Jian Lin , Sophie Ping Sun

An uneven approach to Asian social media apps reflects limitations in how Australia understands its region
2 days ago
Philippines

South Korea

Taiwan

Defence & Security
Marcos’s overture to China masks anxiety about US reliability

Richard Javad Heydarian

The Iran war has prompted US allies in Asia, like the Philippines, to reassess their military reliance on Washington
2 days ago
Asean

Energy

Iran
ASEAN’s energy crisis is not about energy

Aniello Iannone

The security architecture that was supposed to protect the flow of energy to Asia has become the source of its interruption.
2 days ago
Space exploration
After Artemis II, the real lunar race is just getting started

Cassandra Steer

The geopolitics of who controls the Moon and controls the coming century.
2 days ago
Climate change
An IPCC funding crisis threatens the Asia-Pacific

Mohd. Yunus

The IPCC is running out of money, but Australia is well placed to push for reforms to protect climate-vulnerable nations
2 days ago
Australia

Defence & Security

Antarctica
Is the security narrative itself a threat to Antarctic stability?

Jeffrey McGee , Tony Press

After more than six decades of peace on the continent, Australia must flex its diplomatic muscle to maintain the status quo.
10 Apr 2026
Space exploration
Moon governance in the spotlight after Artemis II

Jing Ge

The Artemis Accords represent an opportunity for middle powers, including Australia, to establish a role in lunar governance.
10 Apr 2026
Indonesia

Maritime Security

International law
No flag, no crew, no rights – what Indonesia can legally do about the Lombok drone

Dita Liliansa

A torpedo-like object found off Lombok may not qualify as a “ship”, challenging categories that weren’t designed for unmanned vessels.
10 Apr 2026
Debt

Energy

G20

Multilateral Development Banks
High rates and expensive oil create a global debt trap

Nischal Dhungel

While advanced economies debate the nuances of “soft landings”, low- and middle-income countries are caught in a pincer.
10 Apr 2026
Indonesia

Australia

Defence & Security

Maritime Security

South China Sea

Russia
There’s a bear in there: Russia in the Indo-Pacific

Paul Pelczar

A Russian naval visit to Jakarta barely rated a mention in Australia.
9 Apr 2026
China

United Nations

Iran
Iran crisis puts China’s UN diplomacy to the test

Courtney J Fung , Andrea Ghiselli

China’s UN veto on a Strait of Hormuz resolution was a calculation driven by domestic pressure and pragmatism.
9 Apr 2026
South Korea

Defence & Security

Ukraine
Mutual benefits in a Ukraine–South Korea partnership

Anton Ponomarenko

A closer relationship with Kyiv would offer Seoul both military and economic benefits, including battle-tested drone technology.
9 Apr 2026
Australia

Defence & Security

Diplomacy
Be informed, not just alert

Tom Barber

Australia’s crisis-driven communication is a symptom of the deeper problem: a failure to treat statecraft as conversation.
9 Apr 2026
Defence & Security

New Zealand
New Zealand’s defence reckoning: From shelter to stormfront

Suzannah Jessep

A pivot to spending 2% of GDP and combat-capable rhetoric signals a deeper shift in how NZ sees the world.
8 Apr 2026
China

Taiwan
Same old formula, bigger stakes: Beijing and Taiwan’s opposition

Jade Guan

The KMT visit shows Beijing is using Taiwan's democracy as an arena of competition – not just symbolism.
8 Apr 2026
India

Australia

Energy

Climate change

Sustainability
India’s clean energy goals set challenges and bring opportunities

Shanthie Mariet D’Souza

India’s new Nationally Determined Contribution for 2031 to 2035 set high targets and could reshape trade ties with partners and rivals
8 Apr 2026
Europe

European Union
Europe holds its breath ahead of Hungary’s election

Lisa Martin

The European Union will have to play hardball if Viktor Orbán is re-elected.
8 Apr 2026
Asylum seekers and refugees

Human rights
In a high stakes environment, AI is failing asylum seekers

Lucy Haley

As governments automate security processing, AI mistranslation is quietly eroding rights and accountability.
7 Apr 2026
Iran

United States
The TACO fallacy

Srijan Shukla

Every Trump climb-down looks like normalcy restored. But US power is being rewired, not just redirected.
7 Apr 2026
Ukraine

War Crimes

Iran

United States
Trump’s “Bridge and Power Day” is damning for America

Mick Ryan

The US once called strikes on civilian energy infrastructure a war crime, now Trump just threatened exactly that.
7 Apr 2026
Indonesia

Energy
Indonesia believes in cheap fuel

Hilman Palaon

Six decades of history explain why Jakarta keeps fuel cheap – and why any reform must work with that logic.
7 Apr 2026
Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Arms Control and Disarmament
Ten years after the Nuclear Security Summits, what now?

Sitara Noor

Nuclear security risks are growing – from war zones to cyberspace – but political attention has not kept pace.
2 Apr 2026
Australia

Global Economy
The sovereign citizen challenge

Lydia Khalil

One outlaw fugitive draws attention to a bigger problem.
2 Apr 2026
WTO

Technology
Digital trade rules in the Indo-Pacific are multiplying

Jing Ge

The WTO's new e-commerce baseline is just one layer in a fracturing digital trade order.
2 Apr 2026
India

Australia

Diplomacy
Soft power and the politics of sari diplomacy

Aarti Betigeri

For politicians who reach for South Asia’s traditional garb, cultural literacy matters far more than a perfect drape.
2 Apr 2026
China

Philippines

Energy
The perils of a Philippines–China energy deal in disputed waters

Don McLain Gill

Joint exploration with China in the West Philippine Sea would reward bad behaviour and set a dangerous precedent.
1 Apr 2026
Intelligence and security

Technology
When confidence becomes policy

Henry Yep

Fiction is more than entertainment – it’s an analytical device for the cascading failures that automation bias makes possible in real crises.
1 Apr 2026
G20

Multilateral Institutions

Africa
Blocking South Africa from the G7 and G20 carries a wider message to the world

Jana de Kluiver

Non-alignment is becoming harder – and costlier – to sustain.
1 Apr 2026
Pakistan

Iran

United States
Beware Pakistan’s general bearing peace talks

Charles Lyons-Jones

Pakistan wants to broker peace with Iran – but at what price for America?
1 Apr 2026
China

Japan

South Korea

Defence & Security

Nuclear Weapons

Russia

United States
America’s nuclear umbrella is fraying in the Indo-Pacific

Marigold Black , Iain MacGillivray

With Washington’s Cold War deterrence logic no longer adequate, the region’s states are seeking alternatives.
31 Mar 2026
BRICS

Iran
BRICS promised a new world order. The Iran war shows it can’t deliver

Francis Shin

The Iran conflict has again shown unity isn’t a strong suit for the grouping.
31 Mar 2026
The Americas

United States
Is Cuba next?

Izabela Pereira Watts

An oil blockade has brought Cuba to its knees, but coercion alone can’t produce the stable transition the US claims to want.
31 Mar 2026
Defence & Security

Iran

United States
Iran: A land war illusion

Mick Ryan

Deploying ground forces without defined political objectives leads to failure.
31 Mar 2026
Africa
The spillover from Sudan

Samir Bhattacharya

Sudan’s civil war has drawn in Gulf states, Russia and the US – but the deeper fault line runs through the Nile.
30 Mar 2026
Indonesia

Japan
As Prabowo arrives in Tokyo, Japan and Indonesia are building faster than they are thinking

Ayu Rachman

The Tokyo–Jakarta partnership looks impressive but whether it holds is another question.
30 Mar 2026
Defence & Security

Russia

Ukraine

Technology
In Ukraine, ground robots are increasingly going on the offensive

David Kirichenko

The drone war has moved to the ground, and the results are already reshaping frontline tactics.
30 Mar 2026
India

Maldives

Mauritius
Chagos, Maldives, Mauritius: A headache India cannot ignore

Aditya Gowdara Shivamurthy

A small-island sovereignty spat is becoming a test of India’s ambitions as the Indian Ocean steward.
30 Mar 2026
Asean

Brunei

Cambodia

Indonesia

Laos

Malaysia

Myanmar

Philippines

Singapore

Taiwan

Thailand

Timor-Leste

Vietnam

Defence & Security
After America: How Southeast Asia can defend itself

Tommy Chai

A Taiwan contingency won’t leave Southeast Asia untouched. The region needs a defence strategy built on its own terms.
27 Mar 2026
India

Trade

WTO
What is India’s game at the WTO?

Shanthie Mariet D’Souza

By blocking an investment deal, New Delhi might be playing for leverage in other disputes.
27 Mar 2026
India

Diplomacy
What Raisina 2026 revealed about a world pulling apart

Jack Sato

Europe is searching for a lifeline while the Indian mood on the United States has truly soured.
27 Mar 2026
Philippines
The Philippines fuel emergency is a textbook case of a warning hiding in official statistics

Prateek Dhabhai

The data was there. Manila just didn’t act on it.
27 Mar 2026
Asean

Bangladesh

Indonesia

Maritime Security

Asylum seekers and refugees
Harnessing Islamic philanthropy to save lives in the Andaman Sea

Yogi Febriandi

Islamic charitable networks raised US$2.8 billion in Indonesia last year, offering a chance to fund search and rescue of Rohingya refugees at sea.
26 Mar 2026
Australia

European Union

Energy

Trade

Sustainability

Technology
The EU–Australia FTA plays the long game on critical minerals with no short cuts

Brent Jackson

Australia's minerals sector is world-class at extraction, but refining lags decades behind China – and no trade deal changes that overnight.