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Published daily by the Lowy Institute

  • 25 Jan 2023
    • China
    • Australia
    • Energy
    • Resource security
    • Technology

    Lithium, lightest metal on earth, carries heavy geopolitical weight

    Marina Yue Zhang
    Instead of a source of great tech power competition, lithium should be key to a collective fight against climate change.
  • 18 Jan 2023
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Australian trade, investment & economy
    • Technology
    • Sex and Gender

    Link start-ups ecosystems to build influence in Southeast Asia

    Robert Law
    Australia should launch a major initiative to support investment with new business prospects in the region.
  • 16 Jan 2023
    • India
    • Japan
    • Australia
    • Technology
    • United States

    Towards meaningful Quad cooperation on intelligence

    Arzan Tarapore
    Collaborative AI capabilities would allow the partners to deepen military cooperation, should leaders choose that step.
  • 15 Dec 2022
    • Australia
    • Global Economy
    • Trade
    • WTO
    • Technology

    Economic diplomacy: From pollie crises to polycrisis

    Greg Earl
    There are political bunfights, strategic challenges and wicked problems, but let’s not “overcrisify” the world.
  • 15 Dec 2022
    • Global Issues
    • Technology

    Allies, algorithms and safety online

    Julie Inman Grant
    Echo chambers of extreme content are a growing concern for governments and regulators around the world.
  • 14 Dec 2022
    • Global Economy
    • Technology

    Why the cryptocurrency ecosystem is a house of cards

    Roland Bouffanais , Sun Sun Lim
    The tumultuous picture surrounding cryptocurrencies this year has been sobering ­– a contagion of negative effects.
  • 17 Nov 2022
    • Asean
    • Indonesia
    • Australia
    • Global Economy
    • Energy
    • Trade
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    Economic diplomacy: Charging up old ties with Jakarta

    Greg Earl
    Australia has stepped up a trade diversification push despite the first moves towards reconciliation with China.
  • 24 Oct 2022
    • China
    • Australia
    • Technology
    • United States

    Where the chips fall: in containing China, the US can leave Australia out

    James Laurenceson
    Australia’s interest won’t be served by supporting US efforts to build a high fence around China’s technology industry.
  • 25 Sep 2022
    • Russia
    • Digital Disruption
    • Technology
    • United Nations

    A neck-and-neck election for the future of the internet

    Mercedes Page
    As the war in Ukraine goes from bad to worse, Russia may still win a vote to reshape the net as we know it.
  • 13 Sep 2022
    • Diplomacy
    • Technology

    Computational diplomacy - the science of an art?

    Roland Bouffanais , Sun Sun Lim
    Vast troves of historical data exist on negotiations and responses and agreements. The trick is a means to read it.
  • 5 Sep 2022
    • Global Economy
    • Global Economic Governance
    • Digital Disruption
    • International law
    • Technology

    Web3 is coming – with national security implications, too

    Sasha Fegan
    A new internet for the people and by the people is on the horizon. But decentralised power has its own problems.
  • 29 Aug 2022
    • Australia
    • Defence & Security
    • Cyber Warfare
    • Technology

    Should democracies ever lie?

    Ben Scott
    Is bending the truth sometimes necessary and justified in situations short of war?
  • 25 Jul 2022
    • Technology

    An element of doubt? Rare earths targeted in disinfo campaign

    Divyanshu Jindal
    Attempts to break China’s stranglehold on crucial materials for the digital age are targeted – where else but online.
  • 14 Jun 2022
    • G20
    • Sustainability
    • Indonesia
    • Climate change
    • Technology

    Hyundai takes the driver’s seat in Indonesia’s EV market

    Akhmad Hanan , Budi Prayogo Sunariyanto
    With net zero emissions targets looming, Southeast Asia’s biggest car market is setting the pace on electric vehicles.
  • 7 Jun 2022
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Technology

    PNG’s elections: dangers that lie on social media

    Caitlyn McKenzie , Ben Connable
    Facebook has a major reach in PNG, making the sheer volume of suspicious and inauthentic content online a big concern.
  • 26 May 2022
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia
    • China
    • India
    • Japan
    • Technology

    “Black ships”, the Quad and space

    Philip Citowicki
    Satellite technology underpins the attempt to tackle China’s illegal fishing.
  • 18 May 2022
    • United States
    • Australia
    • European Union
    • Technology

    A required update for the EU-US Trade and Tech Council

    Mercedes Page
    As authoritarian challenges loom, more transatlantic cooperation on technology should be welcome news for Australia.
  • 29 Apr 2022
    • Technology

    Musk’s Twitter: Tweet freedom for Asia?

    JJ Rose
    The tech billionaire should brace for more than keyboard warriors in a world of authoritarianism and eroding democracy.
  • 1 Apr 2022
    • Cyber Warfare
    • Cyber Security
    • Russia
    • Technology
    • Ukraine

    Ukraine: This isn’t the information war you were looking for

    Lesley Seebeck
    But watch a change in tempo for cyber operations as the on-the-ground military situation trends towards stalemate.
  • 24 Mar 2022
    • Global Economy
    • United States
    • IMF
    • Russia
    • Technology
    • Ukraine

    Economic diplomacy: Cryptocurrency (quietly) joins a new world order

    Greg Earl
    From Bitcoin to the greenback, beyond Ukraine a battle is also underway in global finance.
  • 22 Mar 2022
    • China
    • Russia
    • Technology
    • Ukraine

    China’s women “hold up half the sky”

    Xuyang Dong
    Entrenched gender inequality and the heavy hand of censors can no longer silence female voices in China.
  • 16 Mar 2022
    • Russia
    • Ukraine
    • Technology

    Social media in times of war

    Ausma Bernot , Andrew Childs
    Ukraine offers lessons not only about disinformation dangers but opportunities for resistance and activism.
  • 8 Mar 2022
    • Technology
    • Human rights

    Women’s participation in peace mediation

    Outi Donovan
    Zoom diplomacy has become a vital conflict resolution tool. But where are all the women?
  • 7 Mar 2022
    • Global Issues
    • United Nations
    • Russia
    • Technology
    • International law

    The hypocrisy of Russia’s push for a new global cybercrime treaty

    Mercedes Page
    The same Russia in the middle of invading a neighbour is preaching respect for state sovereignty online.
  • 24 Feb 2022
    • China
    • Russia
    • Technology
    • United States

    The election for the future of the internet

    Mercedes Page
    A battle for authoritarian control of the internet is underway at the most important UN body you’ve never heard of.
  • 14 Feb 2022
    • Russia
    • Technology
    • Ukraine

    Military operations in a more transparent world

    Victor Abramowicz
    Russia’s Ukraine build-up is the latest example of how some information can no longer be kept secret.
  • 27 Jan 2022
    • Europe
    • Technology

    Power plays: the growing competition to fuel energy transitions

    Nina Markovic Khaze
    Serbia’s decision to cancel a lithium mine in the face of environmental outcry underscores a modern economic challenge.
  • 11 Jan 2022
    • Global Economy
    • Technology
    • Laos

    Kip-to-currency?

    Helen Clark
    One of Asia’s tiny communist nations is looking at blockchain to fuel an economic boom.
  • 17 Dec 2021
    • China
    • Technology

    China, Australia, and the Internet of Things

    John Lee
    Australia must learn to manage, rather than avoid, the dilemmas of a global reliance on Chinese digital networks.
  • 23 Nov 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • China
    • Indonesia
    • International law
    • Technology

    Regulating unmanned underwater vehicles in Indonesian waters

    Taufik Rachmat Nugraha
    Deep sea drones are revolutionising marine science. But the military potential makes transparency essential.
  • 4 Nov 2021
    • Global Economy
    • Pacific Islands
    • United States
    • Australia
    • Technology

    Economic diplomacy: Supply chains, sanctions, and Telstra Pacific

    Greg Earl
    From ports to productivity, the pandemic has only exposed longstanding economic resilience issues in Australia.
  • 4 Nov 2021
    • Technology
    • Review

    Regulate against the machine

    Xueyin Zha
    AI is becoming a routine aspect of daily life, but can the law – and informed social policy – truly keep pace?
  • 22 Sep 2021
    • Cyber Security
    • Technology

    Digital authoritarianism not just a China problem

    Ausma Bernot
    Surveillance technologies are increasingly used to track and trace. New global regulations are needed, for all players.
  • 20 Sep 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Australian Defence Force
    • Australia
    • Technology
    • International law

    The law when putting autonomous military platforms on a shopping list

    Eve Massingham
    The fear of rogue killer robots looms large but legal questions go well beyond the pointy end.
  • 15 Sep 2021
    • Technology

    Semiconductors: the skills shortage

    Elliot Silverberg , Eleanor Hughes
    Even in a digital age, people – engineers – are essential to manufacturing. But demand is by far outstripping supply.
  • 13 Sep 2021
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Climate change
    • Technology

    Risks versus opportunities in national security thinking

    Albert Palazzo
    Conventional security logic is undergoing a revolution that includes renewable energy. Australia needs to get on board.
  • 27 Jul 2021
    • Technology

    The connectivity trade-off from social media misinformation

    Andressa Oliveira
    Countries of the Global South hold the greatest potential for new internet users. But also the spectre of violence.
  • 9 Jul 2021
    • China
    • Technology
    • Sex and Gender

    China’s forced invisibility of LGBTQ communities on social media

    Ausma Bernot
    A safe place for young people in China to discuss their sexual and gender identities has suddenly been silenced.
  • 8 Jul 2021
    • United States
    • China
    • Technology

    Staying ahead in global tech leadership

    Jennifer Jackett
    As US-China rivalry creates the prospect of competing technology ecosystems, practical measures will maintain an edge.
  • 29 Jun 2021
    • United States
    • China
    • Taiwan
    • Technology

    Hsinchu: Taiwan’s city at the centre of China’s conundrum

    Perry Q Wood
    Semiconductors are the drivers of the digital economy. The US needs them. So does China. And Taiwan makes the most.
  • 7 Jun 2021
    • Indonesia
    • Technology
    • Human rights

    The authoritarian threat of Indonesia’s latest internet bill

    Eduard Lazarus
    Pending legislation would require online service providers to remove or block content by government demand.
  • 1 Jun 2021
    • Technology
    • Human rights

    Gab’s gift to the far right

    Jordan McSwiney , Greta Jasser , Ed Pertwee
    Social media giants may be trying to squelch hate speech and conspiracy mongering, but alt-tech offers them safe space.
  • 31 May 2021
    • United States
    • Asean
    • China
    • Technology
    • Southeast Asia

    Is Southeast Asia ready for a US-China tech decoupling?

    Manoj Harjani
    Some regional countries have sought to diversify. But this doesn’t necessarily mean choosing sides.
  • 27 May 2021
    • Terrorism
    • Technology

    Can violent extremist content online be eliminated?

    Belinda Barnet , Christine Agius
    The Christchurch Call is an opportunity for change — but there is much more to be done.
  • 20 May 2021
    • Global Issues
    • Technology

    Violent extremism: The ghost or the machine?

    Lydia Khalil
    A parliamentary inquiry into violent extremism should call on tech companies to reveal their recommendation algorithms.
  • 13 May 2021
    • Cyber Security
    • Asean
    • Australia
    • Indonesia
    • Technology

    Indonesia responds to the cyber dark side

    Greta Nabbs-Keller , RM Wibawanto Nugroho Widodo
    Australia will also benefit from practical bilateral cooperation to enhance Indonesia’s cyber security.
  • 6 May 2021
    • Global Economy
    • Diplomacy
    • The Trans-Pacific Partnership
    • United States
    • India-Australia Relations
    • Australia's Trade
    • Australia's Economy
    • China
    • Technology
    • International law

    Economic diplomacy: Patent politics and trade deal twists

    Greg Earl
    President Biden moves to suspend vaccine patents, RCEP ramps up, IA-CEPA gets a lesson and US dollar reserves tank.
  • 30 Apr 2021
    • Trade
    • Trade and Investment in the Asia Pacific
    • India
    • Taiwan
    • Technology

    Taiwan: Renewing a southbound vision

    Kannan R. Nair
    Increasing economic ties with Southeast Asia has been a success for Tsai Ing-wen. She should look beyond to India, too.
  • 29 Apr 2021
    • China
    • Technology
    • Space exploration

    China’s leap into space

    Morris Jones
    The newly launched space station has no crew as yet, but the invite list makes for plenty of speculation.
  • 22 Apr 2021
    • Asia
    • United States
    • Trade
    • Asean
    • Australia
    • Japan
    • Technology

    Economic diplomacy: Supply chains, ASEAN wanes, and Japan’s coal dump

    Greg Earl
    Will government have to pick a winner for 6G networks to show the US and Japan as “global leaders in innovation”?
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