Articles | Lowy Institute

9 Jan 2025
Australia

Sustainability

Africa
Responsible mining and Australia’s leadership opportunity in Africa

Christopher Burke

Ensuring environmental, social and governance standards isn’t just good practice – it’s an advantage commercially and in foreign policy.
6 Jan 2025
India

Australia

United Kingdom

Africa
Test Cricket’s world cup forgets what’s best about the game

Hugh Piper

Cricket’s centre of power has long outgrown its colonial roots.
8 Oct 2024
United Kingdom

International law

Africa
The UK deal on Diego Garcia is positive, but it won’t reverse declining support for the rules-based order

Kate O’Shaughnessy

China and Russia might argue this is just another example of Western countries gaming the system to suit themselves.
26 Sep 2024
Australia

Africa
Australia needs to take Africa seriously – really, this time

Matthew Neuhaus

Substantive engagement with the world’s next powerhouse region won’t carry big cost but will earn major returns.
24 Sep 2024
India

Energy

Sustainability

Africa
India seizes a small chance to make a big difference in Africa’s solar transformation

Manish Vaid

Decentralised power projects – rather than expensive grid networks – are the focus of a new phase in the International Solar Alliance.
3 Sep 2024
Australia

Africa
Australia needs to boost its engagement with Africa, but not for the reasons advocates say we should

Kate O’Shaughnessy

Africa’s demographic story won’t necessarily translate to economic opportunities for Australia. But the geopolitical tale matters more.
9 Aug 2024
Asia

Southeast Asia

Climate change

Environment

Sustainability

Africa
Without money, the global biodiversity target is just an empty promise

Mohd. Yunus

Beyond social responsibility, funding conservation in developing nations is critical to the global economy.
4 Jul 2024
BRICS

Africa
South Africa: Strange noises in the cabinet

Ashton Robinson

Some clever politicking has left ANC in the drivers’ seat, and this will direct foreign policy for the BRICS and beyond.
27 Jun 2024
Aid & Development

Australia

Australian Foreign Aid

Africa
Aid discrepancies: Australia’s modest help to the Horn of Africa

Christopher Burke

The optics of such a small aid package against significant need could undermine Australia’s image as a significant player in international humanitarian assistance.
13 Feb 2024
India

Laos

Russia

International law

Africa
Russia’s shadow tanker fleet runs into trouble

Selwyn Parker

Every day, millions of barrels of oil are being transported by ships with obscured ownership and origin. But is the game up?
17 Jan 2024
Aid & Development

Australia

Australia's Economy

Australia's Trade

Africa
Australia and Africa: Economic diplomacy is out of sync with investment ties

Ian Satchwell

While other partners are taking care of business, Australia lacks the trade support it needs to thrive.
18 Sep 2023
China

Seychelles

Australia

United States

Africa
Seychelles: Washington comes calling

Ashton Robinson

Small island states are back on the diplomatic agenda with the West looking for strategic depth in the Indian Ocean region.
4 Sep 2023
China

Africa
Coup d’État in Gabon: Oil, champagne, and China’s geopolitical opportunity

Cornelia Tremann

Local dynamics might be a primary cause of strife, but France’s loss is China’s possible gain.
8 Aug 2023
Russia

Africa
Shadows of the state: How Wagner Group extends Russian reach in Africa

Munira Mustaffa

The mercenary operations sit at the heart of a complex web of geopolitical ambitions, covert operations, and influence peddling.
4 Aug 2023
Australia

Diplomacy

Global Issues

Pacific Islands

Africa

Sex and Gender
Women belong everywhere and this World Cup proves football can be the great equaliser

Jessica Collins

Respect for female athletes “tearing it up on the pitch” must translate into respect off the field, too.
21 Jul 2023
Cambodia

China

Southeast Asia

Russia

Global Issues

Africa
Who leads the world as longest in charge of their country?

Daniel Flitton

Put together a list and you can start to see a pattern.
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.