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  • 26 Nov 2019
    • Australia
    • Migration

    Shock therapy: why Australia needs a political jolt

    John West
    Taking an honest look at a worst-case scenario isn’t scaremongering but could instead help avoid doing ourselves harm.
  • 25 Nov 2019
    • Pacific Islands
    • Australia
    • Pakistan

    Stepping up in the Pacific at the expense of Pakistani women and girls

    Stephen Howes
    Cutting aid has a cost – and Australia should be embarrassed to take aid from other countries to give it to the Pacific.
  • 25 Nov 2019
    • Defence & Security
    • Australia

    When our security makes the neighbours feel vulnerable

    Sam Roggeveen
    Talk of new bombers ignores one important fact about the region: Australia is not in charge anymore.
  • 20 Nov 2019
    • Pacific Islands
    • Public Diplomacy And International Broadcasting
    • Australia
    • Vanuatu

    China, media freedom in the Pacific, and the great Australian silence

    Jemima Garrett
    Media freedom issues bedevil the region, but it’s the dwindling number of Pacific-based journalists that carries a cost.
  • 19 Nov 2019
    • Australia
    • Climate change

    Book review: The chance to actually change the climate

    Mark Beeson
    Getting something done about global warming might seem a bit too good to be true, but good policy ideas demand action.
  • 18 Nov 2019
    • United States
    • Australia
    • Migration

    Australia and immigration: Lessons from Reagan’s 1986 US amnesty law

    Alex Vedovi
    New research suggests that giving legal status to unauthorised immigrants can have multiple positive outcomes.
  • 14 Nov 2019
    • Australia

    Surviving hell

    Edmond Roy
    Bush fires rip across Australia – a million hectares burnt so far – testing volunteers and residents alike.
  • 14 Nov 2019
    • Trade
    • Australia
    • China
    • Chart of the week

    Chart of the week: Australia’s “fear and greed” with China

    Richard McGregor
    In just two decades, Australia’s relationship with China has evolved dramatically, illustrated by exports.
  • 13 Nov 2019
    • Global Issues
    • Australia
    • Migration
    • United Kingdom

    In conversation: Weak parties, hollow politics, and democratic danger

    Sam Roggeveen , George Megalogenis
    Could a radical break with Asia be the cost of a growing dislocation of the political parties and the Australian public?
  • 12 Nov 2019
    • United States
    • Australia
    • Japan

    Connecting the dots on the Blue Dot Network

    Peter McCawley
    Beyond a press release trumpeting “high-quality infrastructure” and “global trust standards”, things are a bit fuzzy.
  • 11 Nov 2019
    • Australia
    • Migration
    • Review

    Review: Australia, real and imagined

    John Fitzgerald
    It’s time to inject new content into the hardy ideal of a free and equal Australia.
  • 7 Nov 2019
    • United States
    • Australia
    • Australian Public Opinion
    • Chart of the week

    Chart of the week: Trump and the US-Australia alliance

    Natasha Kassam
    Most Australians say the alliance makes us safer, but also makes Australia more likely to be drawn into a war in Asia.
  • 5 Nov 2019
    • Australia
    • China
    • Russia

    The Sino–Russian alliance and what it means for Australia

    Stephen Blank
    Moscow and Beijing are closer than ever, increasing threats to Australia’s vital and long-standing interests.
  • 4 Nov 2019
    • Pacific Islands
    • Australia

    Kinship is vital to Pacific disaster response

    Jeevika Vivekananthan , Tara Cartland
    As the Pacific cyclone season looms, Australia should look to those already stepping up ­– the Pacific diaspora.
  • 1 Nov 2019
    • Australia
    • Migration

    Out of sight, out of mind? Irregular people movement on the doorstep

    Henry Sherrell
    People haven’t stopped trying to migrate in the region, yet Australia’s role has been reduced to that of a bystander.
  • 31 Oct 2019
    • Asia
    • Australia
    • Russia

    What Russia wants in a multipolar world

    Elizabeth Buchanan
    Canberra should rethink its approach to Moscow, recognising areas of difference yet be willing to see common ground.
  • 31 Oct 2019
    • Pacific Islands
    • Australia
    • China
    • Chart of the week

    Chart of the week: Australian versus Chinese aid in the Pacific

    Jonathan Pryke , Alexandre Dayant
    By the numbers, while China promises a lot to the region, it actually delivers far less.
  • 30 Oct 2019
    • Pacific Islands
    • Australia
    • Climate change

    See you in court? A rising tide of international climate litigation

    Tim Stephens
    Vanuatu is pushing for international courts to tackle the climate crisis in a move that could put the heat on Australia.
  • 25 Oct 2019
    • Australia
    • China

    Victoria takes the initiative with China

    Daniel Flitton
    <p>For reasons perhaps best known to himself, the premier has re-upped the state’s agreement on Belt and Road.</p>
  • 25 Oct 2019
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia
    • China
    • India
    • Japan

    Finally, some plain talk on the Quad

    Iain Henry
    The US Secretary of State dropped a fig leaf: Washington thinks the Quad can help put China back in its “proper place”.
  • 24 Oct 2019
    • Global Economy
    • Australia
    • Indonesia

    Economic diplomacy: Indonesia trade, ASIO business & deglobalisation

    Greg Earl
    Balancing national security and national prosperity – a range of views and the call for a range of resources.
  • 24 Oct 2019
    • Pacific Islands
    • Public Diplomacy And International Broadcasting
    • Australia

    ABC: Australia’s waning soft-power star

    Annmaree O’Keeffe
    The public broadcaster alone cannot be responsible for Australia’s international voice, so more need to be heard.
  • 24 Oct 2019
    • Syria
    • Terrorism
    • Australia
    • Iraq

    Trump’s troop withdrawal and what’s next for Islamic State

    Daniel Flitton , Lydia Khalil
    Having pre-emptively declared the militant group “100% defeated”, the pull back from Syria raises different threats.
  • 23 Oct 2019
    • Australia
    • China
    • Antarctica

    Antarctica and the China test

    Mark Harrison
    While Australia’s federal politicians ponder the US-China puzzle, it may be state governments stuck with real choices.
  • 22 Oct 2019
    • Australia

    A muddled message makes it harder for Australia’s friends to trust us

    Sian Troath
    An already complicated strategic realm is compounded when the government’s narrative undermines the nation’s strengths.
  • 9 Oct 2019
    • United States
    • Syria
    • Australia

    The sharp shift on Syria

    Brigid O’Farrell
    To pull out from northern Syria only invites more trouble – already ISIS is seeking advantage.
  • 4 Oct 2019
    • Australia

    Scott Morrison strikes an anxious and inward-looking tone

    Allan Gyngell
    The PM’s Lowy Lecture warning of “negative globalism” is strange, given multilateral institutions are presently so weak.
  • 2 Oct 2019
    • United States
    • Australia

    Jumping at shadows: The great Aussie conspiracy to bring down Donald

    Daniel Flitton
    Australian spies among three US treaty-allies in an elaborate plot to derail the Trump campaign? Yeah, that’ll fly.
  • 30 Sep 2019
    • Terrorism
    • Australia
    • Indonesia
    • Review

    Book review: Common enemies

    Natalie Sambhi
    A look at law-enforcement cooperation between Australia and Indonesia will interest experts and curious observers alike.
  • 26 Sep 2019
    • Asia
    • Australia
    • China
    • Indonesia
    • Vietnam

    Economic diplomacy: Tourism power, defining China, and Vietnam jackpot

    Greg Earl
    Badly behaving Australians in Bali don’t always make good ambassadors – but perhaps their numbers help send a message.
  • 23 Sep 2019
    • Australia
    • Timor-Leste

    Remembering Timor – a soldier’s view

    Rodger Shanahan
    Personal connections matter and can have a lasting influence 20 years on.
  • 23 Sep 2019
    • United States
    • Australia
    • The Trump Presidency

    Trump, Morrison, the media, and hearing what you want to hear

    Daniel Flitton
    The danger for journalists in normalising dealing with the President applies just as much to his bilateral counterparts.
  • 20 Sep 2019
    • Australia
    • Climate change

    National identity cannot be separated from the climate of the times

    Mark Beeson , Farida Fozdar
    Stubborn transnational problems – especially global warming – pose a particular challenge for Western democracies.
  • 19 Sep 2019
    • Syria
    • Australia

    Syria: Is it time for the West to talk with Assad?

    Bob Bowker
    Engaging Assad, while repugnant, is better than words of sound and fury delivered that makes little difference.
  • 18 Sep 2019
    • United States
    • Australia

    A White House dinner for two: A tell-tale of tweets and transcripts

    Daniel Flitton
    Ahead of a Washington rendezvous, Donald Trump and Scott Morrison revel in their own words.
  • 18 Sep 2019
    • Diplomacy
    • Australia
    • Japan
    • South Korea

    Korea-Japan tensions, as seen in the suburbs of Brisbane 

    Melissa Conley Tyler , Mitchell Vandewerdt-Holman
    When Toowong briefly hit the headlines in South Korea, it signalled another test for Australia’s regional engagement.
  • 17 Sep 2019
    • Australia
    • China

    Gladys Liu and the pitfalls of cultural anxiety

    John Fitzgerald
    Fraught relations with China could affect Chinese-Australians for generations to come.
  • 11 Sep 2019
    • United States
    • Australia
    • The Trump Presidency

    Bolton sacking means Morrison will visit a White House again in chaos

    Daniel Flitton
    <p>So much diplomatic energy is wasted when Donald Trump decides to fire another key administration official.</p>
  • 9 Sep 2019
    • Australia
    • Africa

    The withering of Robert Mugabe, as told by Australia’s Prime Ministers

    Daniel Flitton
    It’s hard to fathom looking back, but Zimbabwe’s troubles consumed countless hours for Australia’s political leaders.
  • 4 Sep 2019
    • Australia
    • Bangladesh

    In Dhaka, Payne will look to renew engagement with Bangladesh

    Syed Badrul Ahsan
    The Australian Foreign Minister has a lengthy agenda to cover, from refugees to trade to terrorism.
  • 29 Aug 2019
    • United States
    • Australia
    • Iran

    Australia sails into muddy waters in the Gulf

    Brigid O’Farrell
    For how long will Scott Morrison be able to insist the build-up of a US-led coalition is “separate” to wider tensions?
  • 27 Aug 2019
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia
    • Iran

    Australia in the Gulf: Will we make a difference?

    Sam Bateman
    Coalition ships and aircraft may escort ships through the strait but legally they cannot patrol in or over the strait.
  • 26 Aug 2019
    • Pacific Islands
    • Australia
    • Papua New Guinea

    The changing dynamics of Australia, PNG and the Pacific

    Watna Mori
    The visit by Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Marape signalled a new chapter in a historical relationship.
  • 22 Aug 2019
    • United States
    • Australia
    • Iran

    Australia in the Gulf: The order-based rules

    Daniel Flitton
    Scott Morrison backed the Iran nuclear deal to reinforce “the rules-based international system”, only to be Trumped.
  • 22 Aug 2019
    • Australia
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Bougainville

    Bougainville: A nation in waiting?

    Ben Bohane
    With an independence referendum looming, Australia’s interest is seeing this long-running issue resolved peacefully.
  • 21 Aug 2019
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Iran's Nuclear Program
    • Australia
    • Iran

    The reluctant coalition

    Rodger Shanahan
    Australia will back the US and join a maritime force in the Persian Gulf, but with no rush to deploy – which is telling.
  • 16 Aug 2019
    • Australia

    Press freedom in Australia needs much more than piecemeal protection

    Keiran Hardy
    Alone among the Five Eyes, Australia has no explicit protection of journalists in the exercise of search warrants.
  • 15 Aug 2019
    • Diplomacy
    • Australia

    Sheer stupidity and diplomatic damage from ugly Aussies abroad

    Alex Oliver
    Pack your manners with your passport, people!
  • 13 Aug 2019
    • Australia
    • China
    • Antarctica

    The (other) continent we can’t defend

    Elizabeth Buchanan
    A rude challenge awaits Canberra’s cosy assumptions about the Antarctic Treaty System and its ongoing relevance.
  • 5 Aug 2019
    • United States
    • Australia
    • Iran

    Iran: Washington calls on Canberra

    Rodger Shanahan
    Politics more than military necessity will decide if Australia backs Trump’s push for a Persian Gulf security force.
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