-
-
9 Jun 2020
The case for Australian strategic ambiguity
Loyalty has its place. But being a more uncertain ally can make you a better friend. -
6 Jun 2020
In the US, a week of protests and a tidal wave of history
The killing of George Floyd snapped America awake to racism – again. The problem runs deeper than a rogue president. -
4 Jun 2020
US: Powerful unions protect police – from reform
Changes to police culture have been obstructed by police unions who are often more powerful than police chiefs. -
3 Jun 2020
US break with WHO: Where does it leave the rest of the world?
Honest assessment of the Covid-19 response will require cooperation from all member states. There is no alternative. -
2 Jun 2020
Who really killed the Quad 1.0?
Australia has borne the blame for sinking the first Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. The history is not so simple. -
1 Jun 2020
Need To Know: Brett McGurk on America’s strategy to defeat ISIS
In a new interview series, the former US special envoy discusses conflict in Syria and maximalist foreign policy goals. -
31 May 2020
A G7+?
Donald Trump’s offer to bring Australia into the G7 isn’t nearly so simple as pulling up a chair to the top table. -
31 May 2020
Playing Monopoly in space
Privatising astronaut launches was only one objective of the latest venture beyond the atmosphere. -
29 May 2020
The Trump card in the Sino-Indian rivalry?
The US President’s offer to mediate a “big conflict” at Ladakh is a little more public than India is used to. -
26 May 2020
Mauritius, Diego Garcia and the small matter of nukes
Mauritius can’t have sovereignty over the Chagos and US nuclear weapons housed on Diego Garcia. Or can it? -
22 May 2020
The battle for a Covid vaccine risks losing the “war”
A quest to find the “magic bullet” is drawing dangerous political lines. Without cooperation, nobody wins. -
19 May 2020
Diego Garcia: An American perspective
A bid by Mauritius to claim the Chagos Archipelago puts the future of the base in question. Does the US have an answer? -
13 May 2020
America’s rudderless Covid response
State and local officials have acted effectively to address the crisis, but they’re on their own, with no end in sight. -
12 May 2020
For Australia, a testing friendship
It’s not a question for polite conversation, but PMs will always wonder, just how reliable is Australia’s big ally? -
12 May 2020
Breaking with intelligence: Trump and the case of pandemic blame
Spurious virus claims are not a case of history repeating. Rather, it’s policy that ignores intelligence altogether. -
11 May 2020
Weight on the scales
Middle powers might seek to balance the US and China, but inevitably their own actions change the equation. -
7 May 2020
Wuhan lab claims: Is Australia questioning China? Or the US? Both?
Leaked claims, supposed intelligence dossiers, angry outbursts. Lowy experts look to make sense of a Covid controversy. -
7 May 2020
With US Afghan exit, Russia eyes Central Asian security
An unstable Afghanistan threatens all kinds of trouble for its neighbours. For Russia, it may be a golden opportunity. -
6 May 2020
Beyond Covid, might China overreach?
The virus has further complicated US-China ties, as both nibble away the bonds of multilateralism. -
6 May 2020
Discontinued: America’s Continuous Bomber Presence
Ending a long-standing program, the US shows its commitment to defending friends in the Western Pacific is on the wane. -
5 May 2020
Who would Beijing prefer wins in November?
China looms over American politics, yet while bilateral ties are straining, a new president might not be welcome news. -
30 Apr 2020
The missing piece in the debate about the future regional order
While all attention has been on the US and China, countries of the region themselves might have a say. -
29 Apr 2020
Information warfare in the theatre of Covid-19
Viral misinformation thrives amid the very conditions we see today – a lesson China appears to have identified. -
28 Apr 2020
Is this the Kindleberger moment?
Covid-19 exposes a power vacuum where exceptionalism and tinfoil hat conspiracy theories go hand in hand. -
23 Apr 2020
Statesman Turnbull steps up: Secret letters, taming Trump, due credit
Business with Donald, shared history with Xi and a Pacific ploy are revealing of the former PM’s foreign ambition. -
16 Apr 2020
In the US, a campaign with no trail
Trump is agitating like the virus is a made for TV drama, while the real job of responding falls to state governors. -
8 Apr 2020
Fighting corona will strain US military capacity in the Indo-Pacific
With outbreaks in the ranks and resources directed home, America’s commitments abroad will be challenged. -
7 Apr 2020
US regional leadership: A shot across the bow
China had already been gaining in Southeast Asia before the pandemic began. Now Beijing is looking to press ahead. -
2 Apr 2020
China-US geopolitics in the age of corona
Beijing seeks to capitalise and claim global leadership in fighting the virus, while Trump shows no interest at all. -
26 Mar 2020
An Australian in New York with a warning about the weeks ahead
The disconnect between public health and economic interests amid the virus outbreak shows a bias to underreact. -
20 Mar 2020
Joe Biden and the ghosts of elections past
Faced with a diverse field of candidates and now a major crisis, Democrats go with what they know. -
18 Mar 2020
Iran: Sanctions vs sympathy
The US policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran will look increasingly untenable as the coronavirus pandemic escalates. -
13 Mar 2020
Democrats on trade, and North Korea: “No hot dish for the dictator”
From free trade to one of Asia’s most intractable challenges, a Democratic president needs to navigate Trump’s legacy. -
12 Mar 2020
What a difference six weeks and a viral outbreak make for Donald Trump
A stock market in bear territory and Joe Biden all but confirmed threaten the President’s chances of a second term. -
12 Mar 2020
Covid-19 in China, the US, India: Comparative crisis management 101
The corona crisis is shining an unforgiving light on how very different political systems deal with unexpected crises. -
12 Mar 2020
The Democrats and China: “Our values are not a bargaining chip”
How and where the US projects force is one of many questions hanging over a potential Democratic presidency. -
11 Mar 2020
The Democrats and America’s place in the world: “A rescue mission”
The last men standing for the Democratic presidential nomination have a few things in common – and some big differences. -
9 Mar 2020
The curious case of the US Sri Lanka sanctions
An American administration with little apparent regard for human rights put sanctions on an alleged war criminal. Why? -
9 Mar 2020
Who will be the 21st century’s rule maker?
Asia needs a new order for the post-American era, and it cannot be a liberal one. -
6 Mar 2020
Elizabeth Warren is far from finished
The candidate with “a plan for everything” might have missed the mark, but her ideas landed on target. -
2 Mar 2020
Projecting strength and staying power heading into Super Tuesday
Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden have both won short-lived momentum in the race to be a candidate and take on Donald Trump. -
25 Feb 2020
“Coordinated inauthentic behaviour”: Facebook haunts US democracy
Facebook has gone through the motions of fighting disinformation, but not enough to matter – or to risk its profits. -
20 Feb 2020
Power and legitimacy go hand in hand
Whatever America’s flaws and crimes – and there are many – it is a free and open democracy. China is not. -
18 Feb 2020
Pushing the Philippines‑US alliance over the cliff
Trump may have shrugged, yet Duterte’s move marks a serious blow to US power and the maritime order in Southeast Asia. -
12 Feb 2020
In Africa, the US plays catch-up with China
The Secretary of State’s upcoming African visit reveals a US strategy fixated on hobbling Chinese momentum. -
10 Feb 2020
Trump impeachment: The aftermath
It was clear Senate Republicans would ensure acquittal, but the process put Trump’s corruption on full display. -
7 Feb 2020
What Trump’s State of the Union tells us about his re-election bid
Meanwhile, the rest of the world adjusts to uncertainty in no small part fuelled by the incumbent US President. -
5 Feb 2020
Trump’s White House: State of chaos
“Our most thrilling stories are not yet told”, the president declared, but a new book is full of thrills – and spills. -
31 Jan 2020
A new ambassador in Washington
A diplomatic changing of the guard means Australia has a chance to have a different conversation.