The swooning over McCain is more about Trump
He gave in to the worst of the American right, but in media memory, John McCain represents an earlier Republican party.
Belt and Road: China’s biggest brand
The Belt and Road Initiative is foremost a marketing tool, often applied retrospectively, and aimed at a home audience.
Aid links: political change and adjustment, more
Julie Bishop’s foreign aid legacy, UK realignment, statistics in a changing world and links from the development sector.
Why is India building the world’s tallest statue?
Ballooning costs amid global competition for bragging rights should prompt India to invest more in existing attractions.
Julie Bishop: buffeted by headwinds
Bishop struggled at times to find the right tone in response to an inward-looking America and a muscular China.
Kofi Annan: great expectations
Annan would sometimes wryly joke the abbreviation used within the United Nations for his position stood for “scapegoat”.
No, Australia has not caught the Trump bug
Rather than an outsider, Peter Dutton is a party loyalist who tried to rescue his party against a wealthy outsider.
Indonesia: running mates spark controversy
As the election race heats up, the economy is Jokowi’s likely vulnerability; meanwhile Prabowo boosts campaign coffers.
India: the north-south disparity
Engaging India means recognising vast differences between culturally diverse states and varied governance standards.
Julie Bishop and her place in the history books
Her achievements lie in the goals she chose to pursue, which she then pursued with determination and rigour.
John McCain: death of a hero
A solid Republican with a maverick streak, McCain was a tireless advocate of strong alliances, including with Australia.
Weekend catch-up: Yes, Prime Minister (again)
Political upheaval in Australia, sports diplomacy gone wrong, remembering Kofi Annan: the week on The Interpreter.
The world won’t wait for Scott Morrison
After an extraordinary week at home, the new PM will need to contend with a pressing international calendar.
Huawei in Australia: the 5G fear
Blocking Chinese telecommunications firms from the new mobile network again exposes a wider trust problem.
Soft power and reviewing Australia’s global appeal
A challenge for a new review is to agree what we mean by soft power, how to measure it, and to put it into practice.
What did the 2008 crisis cost America?
A new study attempts to put a number on the ongoing cost of an enormously costly episode of misguided policies.
How Peter Dutton changes Australian foreign policy
He could soon be leading the country in volatile times but what does Peter Dutton think of the world beyond the border?
New faces and absent friends in Pacific diplomacy
The agenda of the recent Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting in Apia was marked as much by those attending as those missing.
Geoeconomics isn’t back – it never went away
We can no longer simply assume that what’s good for America is good for the world.
The dark side of the Asian Games
A costly gloss of glitz and glamour for Jakarta’s sports diplomacy cannot disguise some ugly challenges Indonesia faces.
Dollars for Syria
Given that all signs point to Bashar al-Assad staying in power, who pays for reconstruction becomes a thorny question.
Rights for people forced out by climate change
The Global Migration Compact puts environmental displacement on the agenda, even if it lacks legal force.
Prime Ministerial persistence: Australia vs PNG
So much for the “arc of instability”, a PM in Port Moresby now outlasts an Australian counterpart.
The new battle for Bougainville’s Panguna mine
Mining, without peace, won’t contribute to a longing for successful self-government and equitable development.
Malcolm Turnbull: ruling the void
There is a malaise in Western politics of which Australia’s instability is merely one symptom.
Why a US–Russia team–up against China is unlikely
Trump has called Putin a “good competitor” and warned about China, but Moscow has reasons to keep Beijing on side.
Selling a Pacific paradise: upholding the façade
Tourism has the potential to enable development outcomes for Pacific Island states, but too often falls short.
Air traffic control for North Korea’s missiles
Pyongyang wil reportedly allow international inspectors to interview North Korean officials about missile tests.
Decoding the Mahathir Doctrine
How the new Malaysia is responding to the changing internal and external environment amid US–China uncertainty.
Kofi Annan: a leader with compassion
As UN Secretary General, his most difficult tests was to handle American hubris and pursue the goal of a just world.
Moon deepens civilian control in South Korea
A roiling scandal over contingency plans to declare martial law has become a chance to depoliticise security agencies.
Weekend catch-up: Barack or Donald?
Senate race debate, Australia’s Navy, and disappearing Deng Xiaoping: the week that was on The Interpreter.
Electric vehicles and industrial policy
A dramatic shift in the global automotive market sees electric vehicles, once viewed as toys, gaining momentum.
Two cheers for the new Caspian convention
A new deal helps Russia and Iran decide whether the Caspian is legally a lake or a sea.
The struggle to conclude peace in Korea
While there is fresh impetus to resolve the US–North Korean conflict, a treaty remains as bewildering as ever.
Economic diplomacy: foreign cash at home & abroad
The US remains by far the largest player in Australia in numbers of businesses and investment value added.
China takes on Hong Kong’s press club
Hosting a fringe party leader promoting Hong Kong independence drew Beijing’s ire.
The discord in the Korean peace process
Dealing with North Korea has never been easy, but the US and South Korea have differing priorities in the negotiations.
Wisdom of strangers: tackling racism in Australia
Many nations suffer fools and Fraser Anning is merely the latest to spout prejudice under the guise of policy.
Aid links: USAid cuts, blockchain bonds, and more
Links and stories from the aid and development sector.
Working with China on Pacific climate change
Tackling a difficult problem might pave a way for wider cooperation between China, Australia, and New Zealand.
What next for China–Pakistan relations?
Imran Khan would like to advance the relationship according to new priorities.
CAC-handed: tensions in Chinese internet control
State control of the internet in China is a story of fragmentation and arbitrary shifts.
Taiwan’s small-power diplomacy
Taipei is facing more competition from Beijing over which “China” is allowed to exist in the international community.
Disappearing Deng
Xi Jinping has pickpocketed from the Deng Xiaoping era, while diminishing the man hailed as the “Architect of Reform”.
Diplomacy in the post-broadcasting era
Projecting Australia’s interests now demands a very different suite of approaches from those of days gone by.
Who has been best for Australia: Trump or Obama?
It should concern Australia that Trump treats his potential enemies better than his loyal long-time friends.
The women taking on spycams in South Korea
Growing grass-roots action by Korean individuals and businesses is being taken against female sexual harassment.
The Belt and Road’s difficult embrace
China’s debt, not an unwillingness to adopt Chinese standards, may be the greatest obstacle to the BRI.
Bring Australia’s Navy home from the Middle East
The RAN has bigger jobs to do than chasing Tanzanian drug smugglers.