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Published daily by the Lowy Institute

  • 23 May 2023
    • Australia
    • Terrorism
    • Russia
    • Ukraine
    • International law
    • War Crimes
    • Africa

    It’s time Australia branded Russia’s Wagner Group a terrorist organisation

    Isabella Currie , Matthew Sussex
    A record of abuses in conflicts from Ukraine to Africa makes designating the Russian group the right choice.
  • 4 May 2023
    • Global Issues
    • Migration
    • Africa

    Five potential global consequences of Sudan’s escalating conflict

    Aly Verjee
    Even distant Australia could feel knock-on effects of a refugee crisis, gold smuggling and disruption to wheat crops.
  • 11 Apr 2023
    • China
    • India
    • Russia
    • Türkiye
    • Africa

    Russia foreign policy: the search for new friends

    Ian Hill
    Shunned by the West, Moscow is wooing the rest of the world. And so far it’s finding success.
  • 1 Aug 2022
    • Australia
    • Africa

    If you had 30 minutes with the PM, what would you ask?

    Daniel Flitton
    To kick off a new series with foreign envoys in Canberra, I quiz Botswana’s representative about dealing with Australia.
  • 27 Jun 2022
    • China
    • Africa

    Insights from Africa as China stumbles in the Pacific

    Cornelia Tremann
    Investment, infrastructure, and influence building – what worked for China before may not again elsewhere.
  • 25 Feb 2022
    • Diplomacy
    • United Nations
    • Russia
    • Africa
    • Ukraine

    Why was it left to Kenya to speak up for multilateralism?

    Mateo Szlapek-Sewillo
    Kenya’s UN envoy Martin Kimani was a sensation at an emergency Security Council session—with a message for all nations.
  • 14 Feb 2022
    • Defence & Security
    • United Kingdom
    • Africa

    The curious case of Blenheim Reef

    David Brewster , Samuel Bashfield
    A coral reef in the middle of the Indian Ocean, owned by no-one, is fast becoming a focus of international controversy.
  • 9 Feb 2022
    • Maldives
    • United Kingdom
    • Africa

    Mauritius sets sail to Chagos

    Samuel Bashfield
    The UK faces a lose-lose situation as demonstrators put disputed Indian Ocean archipelago in the spotlight.
  • 3 Dec 2021
    • Global Economy
    • The Americas
    • China
    • India
    • Russia
    • Africa

    Twenty years of BRICS

    Stephen Grenville
    As analysis by acronym, it has been a stunning success. But for reorganising global economic governance?
  • 3 Dec 2021
    • China
    • Africa

    FOCAC: No mention of controversies while China sticks to a game plan

    Cornelia Tremann
    While largely business as usual, China’s major summit with African leaders did signal some important shifts.
  • 23 Sep 2021
    • Global Issues
    • Africa

    Africa and the Caribbean, together, seek global bargaining power

    Carlisle Richardson
    Countries so often historically at the mercy of strategic interests wants to shape their collective destiny.
  • 29 Jul 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Africa

    Africa and Europe rally to contain Islamic insurgency in Mozambique

    David Brewster
    But it won’t be the end of the story.
  • 25 Jun 2021
    • Africa

    Ethiopia matters to the world

    Aly Verjee
    But a fast-growing economy and a Nobel Peace Prize-winning prime minister won’t solve its problems.
  • 21 Jun 2021
    • China's Economy
    • Africa
    • China – Belt and Road Initiative

    The battle for Africa

    Nadège Rolland
    A US-led coalition of Western democracies versus a China-led circle of developing friends.
  • 16 Jun 2021
    • Africa
    • Review

    An unwelcome wake up call

    Daniel Flitton
    A story of spies and deception and the deadly consequences of crossing a tiny nation in the heart of Africa.
  • 19 Mar 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Terrorism
    • Africa

    The Mozambique Channel is the next security hotspot

    David Brewster
    An Islamist insurgency is spilling danger into a major shipping lane, and countries must decide who they want to fix it.
  • 4 Mar 2021
    • WTO
    • Africa

    Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the WTO, and what’s next?

    Anthony Maliki
    It was a high hurdle to take charge, but Nigeria’s former finance minister has only just begun her run.
  • 2 Mar 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • India
    • Africa

    Agalega: A glimpse of India’s remote island military base

    Samuel Bashfield
    Satellite imagery reveals the transformation of an Indian Ocean island into a strategic outpost. Many questions remain.
  • 25 Feb 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia
    • United Kingdom
    • Africa

    Australia’s silence on Chagos dispute doesn’t help

    Benjamin Herscovitch
    Ensuring a consistent approach to the “rules” would make it that much harder for China to break them.
  • 15 Feb 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • US Navy
    • United Nations
    • United Kingdom
    • Africa
    • Human rights

    The power of example: America’s presence in Diego Garcia

    Blake Herzinger
    US claims to upholding the rules-based order don’t square with its silence on Mauritian sovereignty in the Chagos.
  • 8 Feb 2021
    • Africa
    • International law

    Chagos: A boundary dispute tips over a sovereignty ruling

    Natalie Klein
    A case between Mauritius and Maldives stands on the ICJ opinion on the former’s claim to the Chagos Archipelago.
  • 21 Jan 2021
    • Technology
    • United Kingdom
    • Africa

    The Diego Garcia dispute hits cyberspace

    Samuel Bashfield , James Mortensen
    As internet domains go, .io is a money spinner. Would a change to the “British Indian Ocean Territory” cancel an asset?
  • 8 Dec 2020
    • Africa
    • France

    Artefacts paving France’s return to Africa

    Charmaine Manuel
    As its economic influence shrinks in its former territories, France is trading in a new currency: history.
  • 30 Nov 2020
    • Defence & Security
    • Russia
    • Africa

    Russia’s red star in the Red Sea

    Alexey Muraviev
    A naval facility in Port Sudan signals a new thrust of Russian operations in the Indo-Pacific.
  • 13 Nov 2020
    • Terrorism
    • Africa
    • France

    Jihadist attacks in Nice: The Tunisian connection

    Leila Ben Mcharek
    Hopes have been dashed for moderate Islamism to undercut dictatorships, eliminate terrorism and strengthen human rights.
  • 30 Oct 2020
    • Africa
    • Seychelles

    Seychelles: New man, changing strategic environment

    Ashton Robinson
    A long campaign has seen a prodigious organiser force a sea change in a nation Australia often mistakenly ignores.
  • 29 Oct 2020
    • Defence & Security
    • Africa

    Western Indian Ocean: Where trouble on land spells danger at sea

    Mark Blaine , Francois Vreÿ
    Piracy and smuggling are already a menace. Add a budding Islamist insurgency, and far-reaching implications may follow.
  • 4 Sep 2020
    • Middle East
    • Türkiye
    • Africa

    What is Turkey’s endgame in Libya?

    Iain MacGillivray
    Erdoğan’s strategy in Libya is about domestic legitimacy as much as regional projection – but past failures hang heavy.
  • 14 Aug 2020
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • United Nations
    • Africa

    Diego Garcia: The US has a clear choice

    Jagdish Koonjul
    The Mauritian ambassador to the UN on recognising the country’s sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago.
  • 15 Jul 2020
    • United States
    • United Kingdom
    • Africa

    Decolonise Diego Garcia: Why America should not fear Mauritius

    Peter Harris
    Only a deal with Port Louis can put the future of the US base beyond question and preserve a crucial staging post.
  • 7 Jul 2020
    • Trade
    • Australia
    • China
    • Africa

    China eyes African prospects to iron out trade tension with Australia

    Cornelia Tremann
    Investing in largely untapped iron ore sources in Africa might be Beijing’s answer to diversifying import sources.
  • 26 Jun 2020
    • United States
    • United Nations
    • United Kingdom
    • Africa

    Finding compromise in the Chagos Islands saga

    David Snoxell
    The US base on Diego Garcia needn’t be an obstacle to a negotiated settlement of a longstanding sovereignty dispute.
  • 3 Jun 2020
    • India
    • Africa
    • Human rights

    In India and Africa, women farmers lack land rights

    Vani Swarupa Murali
    Despite significant participation in agriculture, women across both regions face similar obstacles to ownership.
  • 29 May 2020
    • Africa
    • Coronavirus
    • Human rights

    Are African nations putting policing over public health?

    Nicholas Bugeja
    Across the continent, measures to keep Covid-19 at bay have been accompanied by strict and sometimes brutal tactics.
  • 26 May 2020
    • United States
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • Africa

    Mauritius, Diego Garcia and the small matter of nukes

    Samuel Bashfield
    Mauritius can’t have sovereignty over the Chagos and US nuclear weapons housed on Diego Garcia. Or can it?
  • 15 May 2020
    • Terrorism
    • Africa
    • Coronavirus

    To act, or not? Al-Shabaab’s response to a Covid-19 crisis in Somalia

    Stephanie Carver , Samantha Kruber
    Turmoil offers a chance to radicalise and recruit new members, yet violence also poses a risk of alienating supporters.
  • 15 Apr 2020
    • China
    • Africa
    • Coronavirus

    As Africa prepares to fight Covid-19, China steps up

    Cornelia Tremann
    In a fast and very visible way, China has sought to assume a role as a global humanitarian leader – and is succeeding.
  • 8 Apr 2020
    • Asia
    • Middle East
    • United Nations
    • Africa
    • Coronavirus

    Coronavirus in conflict: The fight has hardly begun

    Eleanor Gordon , Florence Carrot
    Covid-19 has brought wealthy nations to their knees. What will happen when the virus breaks out in a war zone?
  • 18 Mar 2020
    • Middle East
    • Egypt
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Yemen
    • Africa

    Middle East dispatch: MBS purge, dam dispute, refugees in jeopardy

    Lauren Williams
    As Covid-19 threatens some of the world’s most vulnerable, power plays continue in northern Africa and Saudi Arabia.
  • 14 Feb 2020
    • Myanmar
    • Africa
    • Human rights

    The tiny African country making a big case against Myanmar

    Antje Missbach , Franzisca Zanker
    The plight of the Rohingya has had the world’s attention for years. What made Gambia stand up and do something about it?
  • 12 Feb 2020
    • United States
    • China
    • Africa

    In Africa, the US plays catch-up with China

    Cornelia Tremann
    The Secretary of State’s upcoming African visit reveals a US strategy fixated on hobbling Chinese momentum.
  • 18 Dec 2019
    • United Kingdom
    • Africa

    Diego Garcia: Unnerving neighbours and raising ghosts

    Ashton Robinson
    Competing claims to the Chagos Archipelago involve regional rivals, colonial history, and security concerns.
  • 11 Dec 2019
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • India
    • United Kingdom
    • Africa

    Australia’s stance on Diego Garcia dispute is increasingly untenable

    David Brewster
    A window is fast closing to resolve Mauritian claims to the Chagos archipelago and secure a crucial US base.
  • 5 Dec 2019
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia
    • United Kingdom
    • Africa

    Diego Garcia: The costs of defending an Indian Ocean outpost

    Samuel Bashfield
    Australian support for Britain’s contentious Chagos sovereignty claim risks delegitimising its South China Sea policy.
  • 12 Nov 2019
    • Russia
    • Africa

    Russia’s southern strategy

    Allan du Toit
    The pace of Russian re-engagement in Africa and the Indian Ocean region has accelerated as US influence has waned.
  • 30 Oct 2019
    • China
    • Japan
    • Russia
    • Africa

    How Africa is breaking China’s neo-colonial shackles

    Wenyuan Wu
    Beijing is fending off African resentment over debt and for importing workers – and facing extra competition, too.
  • 9 Sep 2019
    • Australia
    • Africa

    The withering of Robert Mugabe, as told by Australia’s Prime Ministers

    Daniel Flitton
    It’s hard to fathom looking back, but Zimbabwe’s troubles consumed countless hours for Australia’s political leaders.
  • 5 Sep 2019
    • China
    • Japan
    • Africa

    Can Japan catch up in the economic scramble for Africa?

    Anthony Maliki
    From used-car markets to giant infrastructure projects, Asia’s leading powers see more than a continent in need of aid.
  • 25 Jul 2019
    • Global Issues
    • Africa

    Congo’s Ebola outbreak: sounding a global alarm

    Jesse Schnall
    The world was too slow responding to the 2014–2016 West Africa outbreak and cannot afford to make the same mistake.
  • 6 May 2019
    • China
    • Africa

    Belt and Road: colonialism with Chinese characteristics

    Anthony Kleven
    In Beijing’s scramble for Africa, history is repeating and locals are once again missing out.
Pagination
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