Skip to main content
The Interpreter

Interpreter - Menu Links

  • Articles
  • Debates
  • Contributors
  • About

Published daily by the Lowy Institute

  • 5 Feb 2025
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    Sir Julius Chan: PNG’s “last man standing”

    Ian Kemish
    Reflecting on a political life championing local development and courting international controversy.
  • 5 Feb 2025
    • Hong Kong

    Hong Kong: “One country, two systems” is breaking down, but not yet dead

    Ciara Morris
    Life in the city ranked “partly free”.
  • 4 Feb 2025
    • Trade
    • The Americas

    Trump tariffs – madness, method, or mayhem?

    Jenny Gordon
    The more successful the strategy the lower the tariff revenue generated, and other economic realities…
  • 4 Feb 2025
    • Technology

    DeepSeek diplomacy: Disruption, dominance and data

    Miah Hammond-Errey
    Another shift in the world as we know it.
  • 4 Feb 2025
    • Asean
    • South China Sea
    • Defence & Security

    Securing Southeast Asian waters: Formalising the role of the ASEAN Coast Guard Forum

    Su Wai Mon , Thư Nguyễn Hoàng Anh , Jonathan Gabriel Mendoza
    Transparency, open communications, and a mutual understanding of shared maritime security challenges is the goal.
  • 4 Feb 2025
    • Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Arms Control and Disarmament
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • United States

    Trump and the global nuclear order

    Anubhav S Goswami
    The impact of the President’s second term on the global nuclear order could be profoundly negative.
  • 3 Feb 2025
    • Trade
    • United States

    Trump’s second trade war risks unwinding the benefit of his first

    Roland Rajah
    Developing countries and global supply chain resilience will be damaged by Trump’s “softer on China harder on others” approach.
  • 3 Feb 2025
    • Pacific Islands
    • Fiji

    Strong leader preferred – Fiji’s coup legacy

    Mosmi Bhim
    Complete democratisation will remain a challenge for Fiji while former military officers continue to dominate politics.
  • 3 Feb 2025
    • India
    • Australia
    • Digital Disruption
    • Technology
    • Pacific Islands

    The deadly consequences of disinformation in the Pacific

    Lisa Singh , Tushar Joshi
    International partners, including Australia and India, are well placed to counter the scourge.
  • 3 Feb 2025
    • Bangladesh
    • India
    • Pakistan

    The revival of Bangladesh-Pakistan ties

    Saqlain Rizve
    Old enemies are becoming fast friends, and this has not gone unnoticed in the neighbourhood.
  • 31 Jan 2025
    • Japan
    • Defence & Security
    • Europe
    • The Americas

    The practical effect of a constitutional ban on war

    Sheridan Ward
    A declaration might be often dismissed as symbolic but can promote peace by shaping the perspective of the public and leaders.
  • 31 Jan 2025
    • Aid & Development
    • Australia

    Where geopolitics and development meet

    Lucy Pennington
    “National interest” needn’t be a banned phrase, and acknowledgement can help make aid partnerships more honest.
  • 31 Jan 2025
    • Asean
    • Indonesia

    Indonesia must reclaim its ASEAN leadership

    Klaus Heinrich Raditio
    Jakarta’s deft powers of shuttle diplomacy could revive a bloc that is increasingly at risk of becoming irrelevant.
  • 30 Jan 2025
    • China
    • Australia

    Australia’s China strategy in an election year

    Philipp Ivanov
    It’s possible to trade and compete with China at the same time.
  • 30 Jan 2025
    • China
    • Chinese Trade
    • Trade
    • United States

    China versus America on global trade

    Roland Rajah , Ahmed Albayrak
    China’s unbalanced global trading relationships have only deepened.
  • 30 Jan 2025
    • Australia in the World
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australia's Trade
    • Australia-United States Relations
    • Global Economy
    • Australian trade, investment & economy
    • Free Trade
    • Trade
    • WTO
    • United States

    Trump’s trade policy: Risks for Australia

    Stephen Moran
    With tariff threats against both friend and foe, regional trade agreements will assume greater importance.
  • 29 Jan 2025
    • Australia
    • Russia
    • Ukraine
    • International law
    • War Crimes

    POW law and the plight of Australian Oscar Jenkins in Russia

    Donald R Rothwell
    The intentional killing of prisoners of war is a war crime that can be prosecuted under Australian law.
  • 29 Jan 2025
    • Myanmar

    Myanmar's “failed junta” turns four

    Andrew Selth
    The regime is in deep trouble but it is best not to be too optimistic about an early resolution of the conflict.
  • 29 Jan 2025
    • China
    • Taiwan

    How much of the world really backs Beijing’s claim to Taiwan?

    Benjamin Herscovitch
    The widespread adoption of Beijing’s stance might constrain US-led deterrence efforts and could provide the PRC with extra licence to escalate military aggression.
  • 28 Jan 2025
    • China
    • Russia
    • International law
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • United Nations
    • United States

    Abandoning the rules-based order is no solution

    Malcolm Jorgensen
    Competing narratives about the international order are being weaponised in an age of renewed territorial ambitions.
  • 28 Jan 2025
    • Aid & Development
    • Asia
    • Asean
    • Timor-Leste

    ASEAN’s new developmental divide

    Grace Stanhope
    The admission of Timor-Leste will recall quarter-century-old unease about the development gap within the association.
  • 28 Jan 2025
    • Australia
    • Defence & Security
    • United States

    Revitalising Australia’s out-of-date US alliance

    Peter Layton
    Australia should have a treaty as strong as the NATO treaty.
  • 24 Jan 2025
    • Australia in the World

    How First Nations knowledge makes foreign policy stronger

    Laura Salt
    Approaches to climate action, fisheries management, intellectual property, human rights, and cultural heritage repatriation is stronger for a First Nations’ perspective.
  • 24 Jan 2025
    • Russia
    • Ukraine

    Military trends to watch in 2025

    Mick Ryan
    The year ahead will be at least as uncertain, violent and chaotic as 2024. Here are five key trends to watch in 2025.
  • 24 Jan 2025
    • Global Issues
    • Environment
    • Sustainability

    Why shared governance could save our oceans

    Mohd. Yunus
    Meaningful conservation requires genuine restrictions, not symbolic protections.
  • 23 Jan 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Technology

    Nice try, Apple, but Indonesia wants a restart

    Hilman Palaon
    The tech giant’s US$1 billion investment won’t be enough to lift the ban in Indonesia.
  • 23 Jan 2025
    • Al Qaeda
    • Islamic State
    • Human rights
    • International law
    • United Nations
    • United States

    What does the Trump presidency mean for Women, Peace and Security?

    Susan Hutchinson
    International peace and security requires due consideration of the world’s women. This is no radical social theory.
  • 23 Jan 2025
    • India

    The population paradox in India

    Sunaina Kumar
    India is growing in some states, declining in others – but rapidly ageing all over.
  • 23 Jan 2025
    • Diplomacy

    The perils of recruiting a modern diplomat

    Mark Pierce
    Absent Hogwarts’ sorting hat, selection panels can do better.
  • 22 Jan 2025
    • European Union
    • Russia
    • Energy
    • Trade

    A body blow to Putin’s “dirty fleet”

    Selwyn Parker
    Europe is increasingly cracking down on Russia’s sanction-busting oil trade.
  • 22 Jan 2025
    • Australia in the World

    50 years later, are we any wiser? Australia’s search for regional security

    William Leben
    Vietnam, PNG and Timor continue to shape Australia’s approach.
  • 22 Jan 2025
    • Central Asia

    Central Asia should be West’s strategic focus

    Michael Rossi
    The crossroads of East and West are increasingly contested.
  • 21 Jan 2025
    • North Korea
    • Russia
    • United States

    This time, Russia stands in the way of any US‑North Korea deal

    Khang Vu
    If Donald Trump wants to revive his showpiece negotiation, he will find the calculation has since changed.
  • 21 Jan 2025
    • Australia
    • United Nations

    The UN Peacebuilding Commission: What’s in it for Australia?

    Martina Zapf
    Regional clout for one thing.
  • 21 Jan 2025
    • Southeast Asia
    • Defence & Security

    Southeast Asia’s arms suppliers, by the numbers

    Rahman Yaacob
    Diversification seems to be the mantra.
  • 20 Jan 2025
    • Australia
    • Australia's Economy
    • United States
    • US Economy

    Is DOGE the answer to improving productivity?

    Jenny Gordon
    Putting fear into the bureaucracy is not a way to encourage better results.
  • 20 Jan 2025
    • Indonesia
    • Sustainability

    Indonesia: The downstreaming dilemma

    Hilman Palaon , Robert Walker
    The nickel boom in Southeast Sulawesi is a paradox – reshaping the region while sidelining locals.
  • 20 Jan 2025
    • United States

    What would the founders of the US-led liberal international order think?

    Nicholas Khoo
    As Trump returns to power, international instability is the “new normal”.
  • 17 Jan 2025
    • Indonesia

    The scorecard for Prabowo’s first 100 days? “Confused”

    Erin Cook
    Prabowo is deeply invested in areas of his interest but the policies that fall outside are unlikely to get much of a look-in from the president.
  • 17 Jan 2025
    • Climate change
    • Pacific Islands
    • United States

    Trump’s climate retreat will cost America influence in the Pacific

    Oliver Sinclair
    So much for the solemn declarations of “family”. 
  • 17 Jan 2025
    • South Korea
    • Nuclear Weapons

    Why South Korea might go nuclear in Trump’s term

    Syed Ali Zia Jaffery
    Trump’s transactional approach to alliance politics may close the door for more reassurances, pushing South Korea for a deterrence of its own.
  • 16 Jan 2025
    • Technology
    • United States

    A Big Tech race to the bottom is bad news for everyone

    David Wells
    Tariffs might not be the only trade obstacle with Trump’s America. “Censorship” could be the next test.
  • 16 Jan 2025
    • Human rights
    • United Nations
    • United States

    Melting ice caps reveals the scourge of colonialism

    'Alopi Latukefu
    Donald Trump shows no regard for the rights and autonomy of the Indigenous Inuit population who make up the majority of Greenland’s residents.
  • 16 Jan 2025
    • Transnational Challenges
    • Pacific Islands

    A looming police shortage in the Pacific: Drug use can cripple a male workforce

    Melissa Jardine
    The labour and public health consequences from expanding drugs surge in the region must be acted upon.
  • 15 Jan 2025
    • Germany

    Foreign policy challenges loom in Germany’s election

    Mikaela Lui
    Immigration is the major battleground but with a war in Europe and political challenges across the Atlantic, the February poll has sharp consequences.
  • 15 Jan 2025
    • European Union
    • Technology
    • United States

    Meta power move is about more than fact checking

    Miah Hammond-Errey
    We can expect more pushback from US tech companies towards national governments – but will this also come with official US government support?
  • 15 Jan 2025
    • Asean
    • Malaysia

    Can Malaysia drive ASEAN like the pony express?

    Richard Javad Heydarian
    Or does the regional grouping remain stuck in the stable?
  • 14 Jan 2025
    • Trade
    • The Americas
    • United States

    Trump goes deep into the Panama Canal

    Selwyn Parker
    But Panama, which is very proud of its operations, already has plans that would be in America’s interests.
  • 14 Jan 2025
    • International law
    • United States

    The legal options for Trump to acquire Greenland

    Donald R Rothwell
    A Compact of Free Association akin to arrangements in the Pacific could be one answer, if Greenlanders agree.
  • 14 Jan 2025
    • Canada
    • United States

    The practical obstacles to Canada as the 51st state

    Grant Wyeth
    Be serious for a moment – even if Donald Trump often doesn’t seem to be – and think through what stands in the way of an enlarged union.
Pagination
  • Previous page ‹‹
  • …
  • Page 5
  • Page 6
  • Page 7
  • Page 8
  • Current page 9
  • Page 10
  • Page 11
  • Page 12
  • Page 13
  • …
  • Next page ››

Stay informed with the latest commentary and analysis on international events from experts at the Lowy Institute and around the world.

Register

The Interpreter features in-depth analysis & expert commentary on the latest international events, published daily by the Lowy Institute.

© Copyright 2025 Lowy Institute

  • Debates
  • Contributors
  • Articles
  • About
  • Terms of Use
  • Log In
  • My bookmarks