Articles | Lowy Institute

29 Jul 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.
28 Jul 2022
China

Australia

Trade

Pacific Islands
Economic diplomacy: The Pacific reset needs real commercial investment

Greg Earl

The language of geopolitics is trickling down to unexpected corners of the economy with wide-ranging long-term impact.
28 Jul 2022
China

Australia
Australia-China relations: Understanding how we arrived at this point

James Curran

History is too often reduced to a cartoonish view, but a proper perspective is crucial to chart the next challenges.
27 Jul 2022
Papua New Guinea
PNG’s election a violent event

Maholopa Laveil

Bitter experience should have been a warning that elections need to be properly planned and administered.
27 Jul 2022
Thailand

Vietnam

International law

Sustainability
What Vietnam can learn from Thailand’s fight against illegal fishing

Thư Nguyễn Hoàng Anh

After being issued a yellow card, Hanoi must look to its neighbours and international laws for the way forward.
26 Jul 2022
Australia
Australia’s new government seizes the international bully pulpit

Hugh Piper

Labor brings a distinct change in rhetoric to foreign and strategic policy. Here are the top five takeaways.
26 Jul 2022
India
India’s social media crackdown is a challenge to the rules-based order

Sasha Fegan

Sweeping new laws raise concerns about free speech and the character of India as an Indo-Pacific power.
26 Jul 2022
Japan

Sustainability
What a waste! Japan’s food sustainability challenge

Yusaku Yoshikawa

Imported food has an environmental cost. And a nationwide effort is needed to drastically cut the amount discarded.
26 Jul 2022
Russia

Ukraine
Winter is coming: staying the course on Ukraine

Ian Hill

Standing firm against Russia won’t be easy for Western governments faced with Putin’s chokehold on European gas.
26 Jul 2022
Philippines
Bongbong Marcos tries the balancing act with Beijing and Washington

Cherry Hitkari

The new president might talk up China ties, but relations with the United States appear to be on the mend.
26 Jul 2022
Global Economy

IMF
Capital flows to emerging economies

Stephen Grenville

The International Monetary Fund’s “free-market” view is questioned by economists, who argue for policy intervention.
26 Jul 2022
China
Dizzy with success: Xi consolidates repression in Xinjiang

Michael Clarke

An “inspection tour” signals the Party-state’s odious grip on the region and determination to control people’s identity.
26 Jul 2022
India
A smoke screen of “normalcy” in Kashmir

Shivangi Seth

In the ethnically diverse region, a displaced minority continues to battle for its rights.
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.
25 Jul 2022
Indonesia

G20
Jokowi adopts a statesman style

Johannes Nugroho

As G20 host, Indonesia’s president is on a drive to burnish his international credentials and win kudos at home.
20 Jul 2022
Indonesia's Economy

Indonesia
The Indonesia Investment Authority: Jokowi’s trouble-shooter?

Kyunghoon Kim

Jakarta’s sovereign wealth fund offers investors an attractive way into the country’s booming infrastructure sector.
18 Jul 2022
Japan
The shadow of Abe

Donna Weeks

The contentious changes brought about by the former prime minister will be debated for years to come.
18 Jul 2022
Japan

India

Australia

Defence & Security

Global Issues

Environment

Coronavirus

Climate change

United States
The Quad needs a futures focus

Abhijnan Rej

A better – and public – understanding is needed of the cascading effects of regional challenges.
15 Jul 2022
Pacific Islands
What happened at the Pacific Islands Forum

Jessica Collins

A historic hugs and dialling-down regional rivalries. How a week of Pacific diplomacy unfolded.
15 Jul 2022
Malaysia

Australia

Defence & Security

Review
Semut: Australia’s secret war against the Japanese in Borneo

Henry Storey

A reconstruction of incomplete archives reveals one of Australia’s most audacious independent special forces operations.
15 Jul 2022
Sri Lanka

Pakistan

IMF
Is Pakistan heeding the warning signs from Sri Lanka?

Syed Fazl-e-Haider

Surging prices, shortages, growing debt, a teetering economy. Familiar ingredients point to trouble ahead.
14 Jul 2022
Trade and Investment in the Asia Pacific

Timor-Leste

Asean

Japan

Australia

Australian trade, investment & economy

Trade

Pacific Islands
Economic diplomacy: The Pacific beats ASEAN for nervous investors

Greg Earl

Abe Shinzo’s passing and the Timor oil spy case dismissal reveal new thinking about what national security means.
14 Jul 2022
Australia

Defence & Security

France

Germany

United Kingdom

United States
France can help Albanese fix AUKUS

Alan J. Kuperman

Labor faces a dilemma over nuclear-powered subs and the non-proliferation regime. An old partner might offer an answer.
13 Jul 2022
Australia and Asia

Australian Diplomacy
Wong’s own brand of diplomacy: will it work?

James Chin

Australia’s new foreign minister has a complicated road ahead in convincing Southeast Asia she’s a conduit for change.
13 Jul 2022
Japan
Abe’s drive to “bring back Japan”

Ryosuke Hanada

The former prime minister was a policy entrepreneur in debates that will guide the country’s future.
12 Jul 2022
Diplomacy

Pacific Islands
Pacific Islands Forum meeting: the black cloud returns

Jessica Collins

A continued dispute over the Secretary General position has challenged unity of the Pacific family.
12 Jul 2022
South China Sea

Singapore

China

Malaysia

Australia

Defence & Security

United Kingdom
Answering China’s South China Sea flying safety challenge

Peter Layton

A regional response can best manage risks, and the Five Power Defence Arrangement offers just the mechanism.
11 Jul 2022
Asia Pacific Security

Japan
Abe Shinzo: Australia’s “best friend” in Asia

David Walton , Akimoto Daisuke

Shinzo Abe was a pioneer of Australia-Japan relations in a complicated geopolitical region.
11 Jul 2022
New Caledonia

China and the Pacific

France
The China factor in France’s growing engagement in the “peaceful sea”

Denghua Zhang , Eric Frécon

A step-up by Paris in the Indo-Pacific is evidence that it aims for a pragmatic third path in the region.
9 Jul 2022
Japan
Abe Shinzo: the Quad stands as his Indo-Pacific legacy

Teesta Prakash

Driven by a vision of democratic peace spanning two seas, Japan’s former prime minister transformed regional diplomacy.
8 Jul 2022
Global Economy

Poverty
“Silver lining”: Covid‑19 accelerates progress on financial inclusion

Clay O’Brien

Access to financial services can be a key to poverty reduction and increased digitisation during lockdowns has helped.
8 Jul 2022
Australian Diplomacy

Diplomacy

Sex and Gender
The future is female, but women in diplomacy still under-represented

Elise Stephenson

It’s two steps forward, one step back for gender parity in Australian international relations.
7 Jul 2022
Australia

Sustainability

Pacific Islands
Support Pacific neighbours by strengthening indigenous food systems

Essam Yassin Mohammed

Unique knowledge was usurped by colonialism and imported production. Time to build resilience, from the shore up.
7 Jul 2022
Indonesia

Australia and Asia
Becoming a republic will improve Australia’s image in Asia

Johannes Nugroho

Does the Queen of Australia still exist? It’s a surprise to many, even in diplomatic circles.
6 Jul 2022
China's Economy

China

Global Economy
Under pressure: Chinese international graduates in a new China

Angela Lehmann

Uncertainly about Covid, high unemployment rates and shifting workforce expectations challenge China’s youth in 2022.
6 Jul 2022
Southeast Asia

Asean

Global Economy

Coronavirus
ASEAN and pandemic recovery: Economy before strategic rivalry

Tiara Putri Indira Dewanti

Southeast Asia needs international support to rebuild from Covid. But help should not come with strings attached.
6 Jul 2022
Asia Pacific Regional Relationships

Asia and Pacific

Asean
Log-jam in the Indo-Pacific economic policy space

Peter Brian M. Wang

It’s time for APEC to hit the refresh button to remain relevant in the region.
5 Jul 2022
India

India's Economy
India’s economy after Covid

Roland Rajah

Digitalisation is helping the top and the bottom, but jobs are a big concern.
5 Jul 2022
Aid & Development

Australia

Pacific Islands

International law
Engaging with the Pacific: the legal angle

Sarah McCosker , Joanne Wallis , Melissa Conley Tyler

The often complex and transnational legal challenges facing the region are an opportunity to foster cooperation.
5 Jul 2022
Vanuatu
From Port Vila to the Peace Palace

Patrick Wall

Why and how Australia should support Vanuatu in taking climate change to the world’s highest court.
4 Jul 2022
Australia

Nuclear Weapons

Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Arms Control and Disarmament
Australia and the Nuclear Ban Treaty

Peter Hooton

If disarmament is to be truly realistic, the world needs to change the conversation about nuclear weapons.
4 Jul 2022
India's Economy

India

Free Trade
India’s trade policy needs to prioritise the region

Amita Batra

New Delhi’s economic integration with Asian neighbours will enhance global value chains and ensure its trade resilience.
1 Jul 2022
United Kingdom

International law

Human rights
The British Indian Ocean Territory and the rules-based order

Samuel Bashfield , Elena Katselli Proukaki

In claiming sovereignty over Chagos, London privileges Western interests. And breaks international law.
1 Jul 2022
Cambodia

Human rights
Taking on Cambodia’s “Lady Liberty”

JJ Rose

An American human rights lawyer sentenced to six years in a Phnom Penh prison may cause Hun Sen no end of trouble.
1 Jul 2022
India

United Nations

Migration

International law
Why India needs a refugee law

Shivangi Seth

Adopting international standards will not only benefit people seeking asylum but India’s relations in the neighbourhood.
30 Jun 2022
China – Belt and Road Initiative

Australia

Pacific Islands

Global Economy
Economic diplomacy: Names trump numbers in the new BRI debt battle

Greg Earl

As G7 leaders talk up infrastructure spending, Australia’s Pacific family members contemplate how much they can take.
30 Jun 2022
Australia
What Australians fear with China pressing in the Pacific

Jessica Collins

Concern about a growing regional influence can be offset by faith in other actors to do the right thing.
30 Jun 2022
Taiwan

China

Australian Public Opinion

Public Opinion Polling
Australians worry about China and muscle-flexing over Taiwan

Natasha Kassam

New polling shows Beijing and its intentions have overtaken climate, Covid and cyberattacks as major concerns.
30 Jun 2022
Australia

Defence & Security

France

Public Opinion
France-Australia: Moving beyond AUKUS

Eglantine Staunton

A change of PM has certainly helped, and the latest Lowy Poll suggests no enduring damage has been done to relations.
29 Jun 2022
Australia and Climate Change

Climate change
In a puzzling trend, concern about climate change has plateaued

Bec Colvin

Latest polling shows emissions reduction may not have been the hot button issue that swayed the Australian electorate.