14 Nov 2023
Australia needs to resource a merchant fleet
Virtually all Australia’s trade moves by sea, yet relies almost exclusively on foreign flagged and foreign owned vessels.
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13 Nov 2023
University challenge: Win tickets to the 2023 Lowy Lecture and Dinner
Write us your best caption for a chance to see Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. -
13 Nov 2023
What can – and should – we expect from Australia’s new cyber security strategy?
International alignment and coordination will be key to countering cyber threats that have no respect for land borders. -
13 Nov 2023
Belt and Road 2.0
China’s Belt and Road Forum last month showed the initiative is not dead but changing shape. -
13 Nov 2023
1947 and now
Strife in the Middle East, hyper-partisans in the US Congress, and Russian troops on the march. We've been here before. -
10 Nov 2023
The Coalition risks the general’s lament, of fighting the last war over China policy
Labor was right to suspend the WTO case against Beijing and should not be gulled into a confrontational stance. -
10 Nov 2023
Israel-Palestine: It’s not too late for the two-state solution
But the world can’t expect Washington to make it happen. -
10 Nov 2023
Where did the Afghan refugees go – and where next?
While the world is still figuring out the politics, the people are paying the price. -
10 Nov 2023
China-Australia: Smartening up people-to-people links
Universities play an essential role in everyday diplomacy, fostering a genuine affection between the two countries. -
9 Nov 2023
Lawrence Wong’s ascent as Singapore’s 4th generation leader
The island-state will have a new prime minister next year, but old hands will help guide the challenge from growing China-US rivalry. -
9 Nov 2023
Economic diplomacy: Labor’s green security state rises
From Chinese wind turbines to temporary foreign workers, Australia faces difficult intersections between domestic and foreign policy. -
9 Nov 2023
COP28: Why a gender power divide threatens climate progress
Global negotiations often sideline gender as a “women’s issue” rather than being essential to the response. -
9 Nov 2023
Private finance cannot lead the global response to climate change
Misplaced faith in private sector solutions delays the redistribution of trillions from developed countries and multilateral institutions. -
8 Nov 2023
Haunted by a plague
Almost four years since the advent of Covid-19, the world still awaits answers on how the most devastating pandemic in 100 years first began. -
8 Nov 2023
Australia’s chance to show global leadership on Rohingya displacement
Honouring a pledge to be tough on borders without being “weak on humanity” will bolster Canberra’s aim of regional stability. -
8 Nov 2023
The Fix: Escape banality, shun labels
Your weekly Interpreter feature about issues, resources or helpful distractions that might otherwise be missed. -
8 Nov 2023
Ukraine’s energy fightback
Expert crews are risking their lives to keep the lights on amid Russia’s invasion – with help from far away, too. -
7 Nov 2023
Learning the right lessons from Australia’s Covid response
The pandemic measures that took us from lucky country to locked-up country have their roots in 1980s neoliberalism. -
7 Nov 2023
Indonesia’s Just Energy Transition Partnership is a glass half full
Momentum is building, but global pledges for no new fossil fuel expansion come with a lot of caveats. -
7 Nov 2023
Myanmar: a new abnormal
From enforced remittances to escalating drug use, non-conflict factors reveal a war-ravaged country in civil decline. -
6 Nov 2023
Gaza and re-imagining international order
The events of the past month show that the usual recipes for global problem-solving are no longer fit for purpose. -
6 Nov 2023
E-rickshaws turn the tide for India
The continent’s ubiquitous two and three-wheelers are driving the transition to EVs, with an ambitious 2030 target in view. -
6 Nov 2023
Fighting risk in everything, everywhere, all at once
Most government institutions are not designed to consider more than their portfolio of interests – and that doesn’t work in a more complex world. -
6 Nov 2023
How vulnerable is South Korea to a “Hamas-style” attack from the North?
History makes Seoul’s concern understandable – but the best way to deter surprise is through engagement. -
3 Nov 2023
Russia seeks benefit from the Gaza conflict
Moscow hopes the Middle East will distract the West from supporting Ukraine – but old troubles at home could stir again. -
3 Nov 2023
The world energy outlook: The good, the bad, and the ugly
Where does the global transition to net zero currently stand, where can it improve and where can it go wrong? -
3 Nov 2023
Australian leadership in Indo‑Pacific nuclear diplomacy
With growing state capabilities in the region, “guardrails” are more important than ever. Canberra can help. -
3 Nov 2023
Mineral futures: A critical step for Albanese’s Beijing trip
Trade in rare earth elements and numerous minerals is essential for the energy transition – but can Australia and China find complementary ground? -
2 Nov 2023
Artificial Intelligence: The regulatory race to ensure a democratic future
Authoritarian governments have their own designs for AI in this new arena for strategic rivalry. -
2 Nov 2023
Measuring the climate cost to Pacific development
International assistance is not keeping up with intensifying rate and scale of disasters in the region. -
2 Nov 2023
Ukraine: 2024 headwinds
A country already severely tested will face challenges in politics, maintaining global attention, and ensuring the necessities of war. -
1 Nov 2023
History repeats: A new (old) economic corridor emerges
Renewed connectivity between India, the Middle East and Europe shows how maps are temporary, but geography persists. -
1 Nov 2023
The Fix: An evolving Saudi Arabia
Your weekly Interpreter feature about issues, resources or helpful distractions that might otherwise be missed. -
1 Nov 2023
Loans, not grants, already proving costly for PNG
The latest Pacific Aid Map shows the PNG debt burden is growing and risks loom on the horizon. -
31 Oct 2023
Infrastructure for influence: Pacific Islands building spree
Even with stabilising debt and higher revenues, the region’s needs still outpace funding. Partnerships are key. -
31 Oct 2023
Outward bound: We should celebrate Australian investment overseas
Undervaluing what business achieves internationally as if somehow having a cost at home makes for bad policy. -
31 Oct 2023
Pacific aid enters a new era
The latest Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map demonstrates that there is no going back to the way things were. -
30 Oct 2023
Dashed hopes for Australia, Europe still has blind spots on trade
The collapse of FTA negotiations illustrates that protectionist sentiment is still powerful in the bloc. -
30 Oct 2023
The future isn’t what it used to be
Will a revolution be the way the world’s young people right the wrongs of the modern era? -
30 Oct 2023
Instead of worrying about Trump, see the benefits of Biden
The opportunity now is to grow the understanding in Washington of the value provided by the US-Australia alliance. -
30 Oct 2023
Left behind: Sahra Wagenknecht’s new populism
Germany’s forgotten voters are finding voice in anti-mainstream parties that defy classical definitions of “left” or “right”. -
27 Oct 2023
Climate negotiations in a fossil fuel state: What to expect from COP28
Even with outcomes uncertain, there are three big topics likely to dominate the upcoming talks in Dubai. -
27 Oct 2023
Geopolitics and the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway
Has the bullet train project strained the once tight relationship between Indonesia and China? -
27 Oct 2023
An election loophole could tarnish Jokowi’s legacy
Family drama rarely translates into good politics as Indonesia already knows all too well. -
26 Oct 2023
A Marshall Plan for Ukraine?
History can be a useful guide, but the geopolitical circumstances of today are vastly different. -
26 Oct 2023
Not only the dragon: Understanding Southeast Asia’s complex security landscape
Yes, US-China rivalry creates unease. But so do more pressing threats closer to home. -
26 Oct 2023
Beijing’s interest in the Middle Corridor
An economic gateway through Central Asia could provide China a much less messy trade route to Europe. -
25 Oct 2023
As the world looks elsewhere, China stirs trouble in the South China Sea
The Chinese Communist Party-controlled Global Times is already forecasting “more serious collisions”. -
25 Oct 2023
The Fix: The Stans have it
Your weekly Interpreter feature about issues, resources or helpful distractions that might otherwise be missed. -
25 Oct 2023
AUKUS as Big Science?
With all the focus on nuclear-powered submarines, are we missing a chance to achieve something truly transformative?