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Published daily by the Lowy Institute

  • 10 Apr 2024
    • China
    • Indonesia
    • Indonesian Elections

    Prabowo in China: Indonesia’s president-elect on the world stage

    Warief Djajanto Basorie
    Prabowo signalled that he will continue Jokowi's work, but Jakarta and Beijing remain at odds over the South China Sea.
  • 10 Apr 2024
    • Australia and the Pacific
    • Pacific Islands
    • China and the Pacific
    • Fiji
    • New Zealand
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Solomon Islands

    Solomon Islands: Democracy on the ballot

    Meg Keen , Oliver Nobetau
    Next week, voters will determine not only political leadership but the future of democratic processes.
  • 9 Apr 2024
    • China
    • Australia
    • Antarctica

    What are China’s long-term Antarctic ambitions?

    Benjamin J. Sacks , Peter Dortmans
    Beijing’s desire to expand into “far frontiers” will test Antarctic protocols. Canberra will need a robust response.
  • 9 Apr 2024
    • Review

    Life on Earth: From beginning to end

    Mark Pierce
    A new take on the history of the world starts 3.8 billion years ago and offers conclusions about our future.
  • 9 Apr 2024
    • Global Economy

    Daniel Kahneman: A psychologist who shaped economics, and the world

    Ralf Steinhauser
    He left an indelible mark on the understanding of human behaviour in economic contexts and beyond.
  • 8 Apr 2024
    • Myanmar

    Myanmar: Julie Bishop an inspired choice as UN Special Envoy

    Morten B. Pedersen
    She has status and networks, and comes from a country dedicated to peace and pragmatism.
  • 8 Apr 2024
    • India
    • Review

    India's turbulent history newly revealed

    Ved Shinde
    Two recent history books that improve our understanding of India's present
  • 8 Apr 2024
    • Australia's Defence Challenges
    • Australia-United States Relations
    • Australian Defence Intelligence and Security
    • Defence & Security
    • The Biden Presidency
    • The Trump Presidency
    • United States
    • US Elections

    Beyond Biden vs Trump: The other US elections that matter

    Raymond La Raja
    In US foreign policy, the Congress can pack a punch against the president, and that reverberates all the way to Australia.
  • 5 Apr 2024
    • India
    • Cyber Security
    • Technology
    • United Nations

    Don’t play it by ear: Audio deepfakes in a year of global elections

    Dymples Leong
    From robocalls to voice clones, generative AI is allowing malicious actors to spread misinformation with ease.
  • 5 Apr 2024
    • Afghanistan
    • China
    • Pakistan
    • Terrorism
    • Iran

    Pakistan: The dangerous reality of working on China’s megaprojects

    Syed Fazl-e-Haider
    A spate of deadly insurgent attacks on Chinese nationals sends a message about vulnerability.
  • 5 Apr 2024
    • China
    • China's Military
    • Philippines
    • Australia and Asia
    • Australia's Defence Challenges
    • Maritime Security
    • United States
    • US Navy

    What should Australia be doing about the South China Sea?

    Susannah Patton
    While Australia’s interests are clear, its contribution is ambiguous.
  • 4 Apr 2024
    • Australia in the World
    • Australia
    • Australia and Asia
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australia's Trade
    • Australian trade, investment & economy
    • Free Trade
    • Trade
    • International Public Opinion
    • Public Opinion Polling

    Economic diplomacy: Hanging on in ASEAN

    Greg Earl
    Australia faces growing competition for influence among its old friends in Southeast Asia as China’s power rises.
  • 4 Apr 2024

    The Translator: “ASEAN Centrality”

    Rahman Yaacob
    A new series in which experts explain the sometimes baffling jargon of international affairs.
  • 4 Apr 2024
    • Defence & Security

    Did Russia's security agencies take their eye off the ball?

    Ian Hill
    Russia's definition of public security has become conflated with regime security.
  • 3 Apr 2024
    • Myanmar

    How the Myanmar regime is surviving

    David Scott Mathieson
    Despite some major wins by insurgent groups, the junta remains strong due to its control of arms and air power.
  • 3 Apr 2024
    • Global Economy

    If industrial policy is the new candy house, developing countries need to gain more than just the bread crumbs

    Robert Walker , Hilman Palaon
    Local efforts to reshape national economies must account for the international implications.
  • 3 Apr 2024
    • Russia
    • Ukraine

    Why Russia has only now declared war on Ukraine

    Tarik Solmaz
    A game of semantic camouflage allows the Kremlin to reposition itself onto a war footing.
  • 2 Apr 2024
    • Japan
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia and Asia
    • Australia's Trade
    • Multilateral Development Banks

    Australia’s Southeast Asia trade stumbling block

    Maxfield Peterson
    Canberra must move fast on a formal information-sharing facility to reach its regional economic and foreign policy goals.
  • 2 Apr 2024
    • China
    • Japan
    • Philippines
    • Maritime Security
    • United States

    A wave of US trilaterals sends a clear message to China

    Richard Javad Heydarian
    Revamped security groupings led by Washington, including with Manila and Tokyo, are the new normal.
  • 2 Apr 2024
    • Bangladesh
    • Myanmar
    • Asylum seekers and refugees

    Myanmar: The junta’s forced conscription of Rohingyas

    Md. Himel Rahman
    The implications of this cynical act for people already oppressed could reverberate for neighbouring Bangladesh and across the region.
  • 28 Mar 2024
    • Aid & Development
    • Development Assistance
    • Asia and Pacific
    • The Asia Pacific's Economies
    • Climate change
    • Environment
    • Multilateral Development Banks

    Replenishing the Asian Development Bank in the Pacific

    Roland Rajah , Alexandre Dayant
    A strong replenishment of the bank’s grant financing arm would serve the Pacific well.
  • 28 Mar 2024
    • India
    • Malaysia

    India: What a Modi win means for relations with Malaysia

    Yanitha Meena Louis
    Shared strategic future can no longer rely on “silence” as response to contentious issues.
  • 28 Mar 2024
    • China
    • United States

    Are Beijing and Washington testing the dark forest hypothesis?

    Jersey Lee
    A TV spin-off may explain why China and the US have chosen not to shoot first and ask questions later.
  • 28 Mar 2024
    • Asia
    • China
    • China's Economy
    • Chinese Trade
    • Southeast Asia

    Mind the gap: China’s megaproject promises fall short of reality in Southeast Asia

    Grace Stanhope , Alexandre Dayant
    Debt, delay and deteriorating ties between China and its infrastructure partners have led some to go it alone.
  • 28 Mar 2024
    • North Korea
    • Nuclear Weapons

    North Korea’s new threat: “Core central striking means”

    Debalina Ghoshal
    Technological advancement is making nuclear disarmament goals even more difficult.
  • 27 Mar 2024
    • Japan

    A closer look at the rising popularity of Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa

    Tan Ming Hui
    And could she take the next step to the top job?
  • 27 Mar 2024
    • China
    • Europe
    • Technology
    • United States

    China and the great global AI governance divide

    Benjamin Herscovitch
    Beijing already has at its disposal multiple means to shape how the world approaches this technological revolution.
  • 27 Mar 2024
    • Australia
    • Australian Diplomacy
    • Diplomacy

    Reflecting Australia as a career ambassador

    Jenny Bloomfield
    Australia rightfully has a positive image, even if we’re sometimes better at telling our story abroad than we are at home.
  • 27 Mar 2024
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Sri Lanka
    • Defence & Security
    • Maritime Security

    Mapping the oceans is the new front in the battle for influence in the Indian Ocean

    David Brewster
    Ruling the waves means first understanding what lies beneath. Enter the geopolitics of hydrography.
  • 26 Mar 2024
    • Islamic State
    • Terrorism
    • Russia
    • Ukraine
    • Middle East
    • Syria

    Moscow attacks: Why Putin was quick to blame Ukraine

    Munira Mustaffa
    The Kremlin is covering its own mistakes in the bid to deflect attention.
  • 26 Mar 2024
    • Japan
    • Maritime Security
    • Pacific Islands

    Should Japan expand its security partnerships in the Pacific?

    Daniel Mandell
    Four reasons why rushing in may not be the answer.
  • 26 Mar 2024
    • China
    • India
    • United Kingdom
    • Review

    Opium and the colonial narco-state

    Mark Pierce
    In an attempt to control 19th century trade with India and China, Britain dumped tea and resorted to a new addictive drug.
  • 26 Mar 2024
    • Vietnam

    From silence to remembrance: Vietnam’s shifting approach to China

    Buu Nguyen
    The delicate balancing of honouring fallen soldiers while navigating a strategically important yet tense relationship with a powerful neighbour.
  • 25 Mar 2024
    • Islamic State
    • Terrorism
    • Russia
    • Middle East

    Islamic State terror attack in Moscow a grim acknowledgement of global power status Russia seeks

    Lydia Khalil
    One of Moscow’s goals in the Middle East was in many ways similar to that of the United States – to prevent the spillover of extremism.
  • 25 Mar 2024
    • China
    • Pacific Islands
    • Fiji

    Where did that Chinese police video come from?

    Graeme Smith , Daria Impiombato
    Like governments everywhere, when a problem is out of control, they put on a show.
  • 25 Mar 2024
    • Japan
    • Ukraine

    The message Japan sends by backing Ukraine

    Marin Ekstrom , Wilder Alejandro Sánchez
    An evolving foreign and defence policy is on display.
  • 25 Mar 2024
    • China
    • Philippines
    • South China Sea

    The Philippines seeks out old friends and new

    Rahul Mishra , Peter Brian M. Wang
    Beijing’s assertiveness means hedging is a luxury Manila can no longer afford.
  • 22 Mar 2024
    • Vietnam
    • Australia

    Australia-Vietnam: Middle powers alike

    Bich Tran
    The new comprehensive strategic partnership signals a broader network of friends – with benefits for both sides.
  • 22 Mar 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Indonesia's Economy
    • Australia
    • Australia and Asia
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australia's Trade
    • Australia-United States Relations
    • China-Australia Relations

    Australia confronts an Indonesian nickel glut

    Henry Storey
    Competition over strategic commodities may increasingly define the economic relationship between the two producers.
  • 22 Mar 2024
    • China
    • Australia
    • Australia and Asia
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Australia and the Pacific
    • BRICS
    • Climate change
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • Sustainability

    Green transition: Supercharging a sustainable future for the Asia‑Pacific

    Christoph Nedopil
    An ambitious path of competition and collaboration with China would ensure the region’s economic non-dependence.
  • 21 Mar 2024
    • Australia
    • United States

    Don’t be timid about Trump, Australia, just roll with the punches

    Daniel Flitton
    Where is our national self-confidence?
  • 21 Mar 2024
    • South Korea
    • Australia
    • Diplomacy

    Economic diplomacy: Politics rules in Korean envoy row

    Greg Earl
    From Seoul to Washington, “captain’s pick” ambassadors are being embroiled by unexpected domestic political tensions.
  • 21 Mar 2024
    • Asean
    • China
    • Indonesia
    • Malaysia
    • Singapore
    • New Zealand

    New Zealand and ASEAN: Focusing on what’s right under its nose

    Orson Tan
    As a country at the end of the global supply chain, New Zealand depends on the stability of Southeast Asia.
  • 21 Mar 2024
    • China
    • South China Sea
    • Defence & Security

    China's grey-zone provocations: Time to reciprocate

    Peter Layton
    Those subject to China's actions have responded cautiously. They now need to consider a change in tactics.
  • 20 Mar 2024
    • Pacific Islands
    • Recommendations

    The Translator: "Friends to all"

    Mihai Sora
    A new series in which experts explain the sometimes baffling jargon of international affairs.
  • 20 Mar 2024
    • China
    • Australia
    • Global Economy
    • Trade
    • Technology

    China’s dominance over critical minerals poses an unacceptable risk

    John Coyne , Justin Bassi
    The present market structure gives Beijing a whip hand – and we’ve already seen the consequences.
  • 20 Mar 2024
    • Intelligence and security

    Open sources and the future of spying

    Sam Roggeveen
    Countries spy to overcome an information deficit. But we now live in a world of information super-abundance.
  • 19 Mar 2024
    • China
    • Japan
    • Japan's Economy

    Why Japan’s de‑risking response to China is incoherent

    Aaron Magunna
    A gap in interests divides the national security community in Japan and influential parts of the domestic business sector.
  • 19 Mar 2024
    • Australia
    • New Zealand
    • United States

    Some allies are more equal than others

    Daniel Flitton
    Trying to make sense of the curious debate about allies' rankings.
  • 19 Mar 2024
    • India
    • Nuclear Weapons

    A big leap in the credibility of India’s nuclear weapons capability

    Samuel Bashfield
    A successful test of India's ICBM with multiple warheads comes after an immense investment.
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