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

India is in the driver’s seat to build new security structures in the region, but it can’t do it alone.

A long campaign has seen a prodigious organiser force a sea change in a nation Australia often mistakenly ignores.

An Australian lawyer leads efforts to examine the political, human rights and legal legacy of a dictator.

India and China are competing for influence in the Indian Ocean nation while the long shadow of a past ruler recedes.