29 Aug 2023
Climate change: Counting the costs and opportunities
Australia needs to think beyond the price of transition and move quickly to become a renewable energy superpower.
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28 Aug 2023
Australia and the UN: A new agenda for peace
Multilateral responses to the threats of new and emerging tech – from AI warfare to bioweapons – are crucial to success. -
25 Aug 2023
The social licence for AUKUS has not yet been earned
Convincing Australians that nuclear-powered subs are needed, and worth the $368 billion price tag, is a hard sell. -
24 Aug 2023
Cash is king, no more
Digital payments have transformed Australia, but global financial infrastructure for a cashless society still has some catching up to do. -
23 Aug 2023
Cracking the code: How intelligence and cyber reshaped Australian statecraft
A richer story is told by placing signals intelligence in historical and contemporary context. -
18 Aug 2023
Stepping on the gas: Boosting Australia’s climate diplomacy in the region
Opponents of carbon capture plans need to look past ideology and think about the development costs to friends and neighbours. -
17 Aug 2023
Economic diplomacy: Slicing up a new aid menu
Australia is persisting with a homemade mix of old and new financing tools to be the development dining partner of choice in the region. -
16 Aug 2023
Can the Matildas waltz onto the world stage for Australia’s sport diplomacy?
Sporting ambassadors have previously helped with big international investments. Let’s go again. -
9 Aug 2023
Iran’s lithium lode: A potential strategic game-changer
Australia might find itself on a political and economic tightrope as China looks to diversify its options for the new oil of our times. -
8 Aug 2023
International development: Putting the heart back in Australian foreign policy
The government has taken a big step after listening to regional partners – now it has a chance to fill in the details. -
7 Aug 2023
Why universities are still at risk for foreign interference
Australian universities are vulnerable as open and collaborative institutions. With more sensitive research underway, they are also part of the solution. -
4 Aug 2023
Women belong everywhere and this World Cup proves football can be the great equaliser
Respect for female athletes “tearing it up on the pitch” must translate into respect off the field, too. -
3 Aug 2023
Economic diplomacy: Hard labour managing geo-economic fragmentation
Australia faces tough choices from aid to energy in a new world of government intervention in trade and industry. -
3 Aug 2023
The vanishing options for Julian Assange
Extradition for the WikiLeaks founder to the United States looks likely unless Anthony Albanese can persuade Joe Biden otherwise. -
1 Aug 2023
Something fishy about China’s anger over the Quad’s open ocean plans
Even illegal fishing is politicised amid growing China-US tensions. -
27 Jul 2023
An agenda for the AUSMIN talks
Australia should spend less time worrying about American strength – and more time thinking about its resolve. -
27 Jul 2023
Nuclear weapons: “Oppenheimer” won’t make a difference, but Australia can
The movie missed a chance to galvanise a renewed campaign, to better protect against existential danger than rely on sheer dumb luck. -
26 Jul 2023
It’s no surprise Australia shrugged off China’s campaign of trade coercion
New modelling confirms an early Lowy Institute conclusion that Beijing’s bluster would cause minimal economic damage. -
25 Jul 2023
What is Australia’s role in supporting Timor-Leste?
Health and education are where Canberra can help Dili the most. But language barriers require thinking outside the box. -
21 Jul 2023
Nobody ever teaches anyone how to be a Minister
At the heart of Australia’s Westminster democracy is an eclectic, eccentric, DIY political system. -
20 Jul 2023
Economic diplomacy: Japan’s message in a gas bottle
More than hot air, economics is the essence of national security in Australia’s resource deficient closest Asian partner. -
20 Jul 2023
The north’s defence of Australia
Northern Australia has long been viewed as a strategic vulnerability. The latest Defence review socialises a different idea. -
17 Jul 2023
The emergence of “collective strategic ambiguity” on Taiwan
With a change in language, has Washington over-promised on its allies’ appetite for conflict with China? -
14 Jul 2023
Australia and Southeast Asia: Driving EV collaboration across borders
A regional value chain for battery production – with Australia to process critical minerals and export these products – is too good a chance to ignore. -
10 Jul 2023
The Quad: Tackling the spider, not cobwebs, in cyberspace
A security pact, but not as we know it. How a commitment to uplift software security will reap benefits for all. -
7 Jul 2023
Geopolitical duel in the Pacific: Solomon Islands security at risk as Australia and China compete
Honiara has successfully leveraged strategic competition to meet its security interests but there are worrying signs of friction. -
6 Jul 2023
Economic diplomacy: Power shifts with Jakarta
Australia and Indonesia may be riding together in a new electric diplomatic limo, but they still have separate roadmaps. -
6 Jul 2023
Australia’s absent ambassador must return to Ukraine
If the PM won’t provide more than a few military off-casts in support, sending back the top envoy should be an easy step. -
5 Jul 2023
Stumped by the cricket controversy? Here’s how sport and politics collide
When PMs weigh in on the “spirit”, you might start to wonder about the effect on oft-cited shared values. -
5 Jul 2023
The downsides for Australia from the US‑PNG defence agreement
Sovereignty concerns about the American deal will create additional hurdles for Australia-PNG Defence Treaty currently under negotiation. -
4 Jul 2023
Suspicious minds: Will closer Australia‑Indonesia engagement yield greater trust?
Despite the flourishing bromance between Albanese and Jokowi, the Lowy Institute Poll shows an ongoing need to deepen public understanding and familiarity on both sides. -
4 Jul 2023
Reforming Australia’s trading system – a long hard slog but worth the effort
Confidence in the quality of traded goods and services relies on certification that agreed standards are met. That’s a regulation challenge, too. -
3 Jul 2023
Jokowi’s visit to Australia is about much more than electric vehicles
The President has a roadmap for economic success that could also set bilateral relations on the right path. -
30 Jun 2023
How Australia can leverage France’s Indo-Pacific presence
A tumultuous couple of years in relations can settle to a new acceptance – seeing opportunities as well as risks. -
26 Jun 2023
Australians stand with Ukraine – but attention won’t last indefinitely
The latest Lowy Poll should be a warning about the risk of not debating the end goal in a conflict. -
22 Jun 2023
Lowy Poll 2023: Australians still jittery about China in the Pacific
Just like Pacific nations themselves, the public are waiting to see pledges by new government translated into outcomes. -
21 Jun 2023
O'Farrell leaves India with ties to Australia at a high point
The incoming High Commissioner has big shoes to fill after a remarkable time of rekindled relations. -
21 Jun 2023
The “somewhat” conundrum: Lack of communication bedevils AUKUS support
The latest Lowy Institute Poll reveals Australians are no more convinced about the merits of the subs deal than last year. -
16 Jun 2023
Finding opportunity in Australia’s liquid fuel security challenge
Sustainable Aviation Fuel – whether for Defence or commercial aviation requirements – can help fix a national problem. -
7 Jun 2023
Australia’s lost appeal: Reversing a downward trend for Japanese students
Education links are a weak spot in the Australia-Japan Special Strategic Partnership. Both countries can fix this. -
5 Jun 2023
Lessons from history: Comparing Australia’s response to war crimes with the United States
The fallout from the Ben Roberts-Smith case is only the beginning of a reckoning about justice in war. -
1 Jun 2023
How Australia can speak up on human rights in India
Modi won’t be prime minister for ever, so finding ways to air concerns now will actually strengthen relations long term. -
25 May 2023
Where has Australia’s foreign policy ambition gone?
Labor has adopted a status quo attitude to the world, lacking a vision for reshaping global affairs. -
23 May 2023
It’s time Australia branded Russia’s Wagner Group a terrorist organisation
A record of abuses in conflicts from Ukraine to Africa makes designating the Russian group the right choice. -
22 May 2023
Albanese should raise human rights concerns with Modi
Australia must not to repeat the mistake of allowing the promise of trade to override a need to stand up for values. -
19 May 2023
Building a Quad that lasts to the next generation
Joe Biden won’t decide the future of the Quad. But he and the other engaged leaders can help foster it. -
19 May 2023
First Nations diplomacy can transform Australia’s relationship with Indonesia
If stronger “people-to-people” links are the aim, experience from the world’s oldest living culture offers a guide. -
19 May 2023
AI vs democracy: the battle is already here
The first disruption was to the business model of journalism. Australia has yet to heed the warning. -
18 May 2023
Remembering Australia’s “other” alliance
New Zealand has dropped off the radar in modern strategic discussions despite the long history of trans-Tasman ties. -
17 May 2023
Biden’s trip cancellations reveal pitfalls of a crowded diplomatic calendar
Bailing on Australia and PNG highlights the growing risk of disappointment when leaders are clambering to summits here, there, everywhere.