Articles | Lowy Institute

25 May 2023
Asia

Diplomacy

G20

Global Issues
Economic diplomacy: Taking cover from the summit war of words

Greg Earl

Proliferating regional institutions risk becoming shooting stars, with a long trail of bureaucratic half-lives behind.
25 May 2023
Asia

Diplomacy
Decoding diplomatic dynamics in Asia: The numbers tell a captivating story

Susannah Patton , Jack Sato

China, Japan and Indonesia each lead the US with a higher tempo of top-level diplomatic activity in the region. But defence ties differ.
25 May 2023
Australia in the World

Australia
Where has Australia’s foreign policy ambition gone?

Connor O’Brien

Labor has adopted a status quo attitude to the world, lacking a vision for reshaping global affairs.
24 May 2023
North Korea

South Korea

Nuclear Weapons
North Korea/South Korea: Who’s threatening who?

Khang Vu

The prospect of using nuclear weapons to coerce behaviour has limits.
24 May 2023
Technology
The Quad needs to talk security for subsea cables

Aishwarya Acharya

The infrastructure that underpins the digital age needs special protection in international forums.
24 May 2023
India

G20
A G20 presidency to build Brand India as a champion of the Global South

Parama Sinha Palit

Narendra Modi is aiming to enhance India’s reputation abroad while winning valuable political capital at home.
23 May 2023
Australia

Terrorism

Russia

Ukraine

International law

War Crimes

Africa
It’s time Australia branded Russia’s Wagner Group a terrorist organisation

Isabella Currie , Matthew Sussex

A record of abuses in conflicts from Ukraine to Africa makes designating the Russian group the right choice.
23 May 2023
Iran
Even under sanctions, Iran is expanding a network of friends

Nadeem Ahmed Moonakal

Membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation offers Iran the chance to consolidate markets.
22 May 2023
India

Australia

Human rights
Albanese should raise human rights concerns with Modi

Elaine Pearson

Australia must not to repeat the mistake of allowing the promise of trade to override a need to stand up for values.
22 May 2023
Russia

Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is spurring a transition of global order

Ian Hill

We’re only beginning to grasp the far-reaching ramifications from escalating tensions and economic disruptions caused by Moscow’s belligerence.
22 May 2023
Indonesia
The danger of anti-Chinese sentiment in Indonesia’s election campaign

Johannes Nugroho

Identity politics has been deployed to rally public support and smear rivals.
19 May 2023
India

Japan

Australia

Global Issues

United States
Building a Quad that lasts to the next generation

Kate Clayton , Eleanor Shiori Hughes

Joe Biden won’t decide the future of the Quad. But he and the other engaged leaders can help foster it.
19 May 2023
Indonesia

Australia
First Nations diplomacy can transform Australia’s relationship with Indonesia

Ridvan Kilic

If stronger “people-to-people” links are the aim, experience from the world’s oldest living culture offers a guide.
19 May 2023
Australia

Technology
AI vs democracy: the battle is already here

Anton van den Hengel

The first disruption was to the business model of journalism. Australia has yet to heed the warning.
18 May 2023
Australia

Defence & Security

New Zealand
Remembering Australia’s “other” alliance

Joanne Wallis , Anna Powles

New Zealand has dropped off the radar in modern strategic discussions despite the long history of trans-Tasman ties.
18 May 2023
China

Taiwan

Coronavirus

Multilateral Institutions
Why the WHO needs Taiwan

Joel Keep

Taiwan’s early warning and pandemic response should be offered as a model to the world, not hostage to China’s whim.
17 May 2023
China

European Union

France

Germany
Europe’s divisions over China could hamper G-7 unity

Dominique Fraser

If European capitals, Brussels, and Washington are not aligned, immediate economic interests will overshadow common, long-term goals.
17 May 2023
Australia

Diplomacy

Papua New Guinea

United States
Biden’s trip cancellations reveal pitfalls of a crowded diplomatic calendar

Daniel Flitton

Bailing on Australia and PNG highlights the growing risk of disappointment when leaders are clambering to summits here, there, everywhere.
17 May 2023
Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste update: Parliamentary elections and a roadmap to ASEAN membership

Parker Novak

The real political wrangling will follow the ballot. The President meantime is advancing a long held regional ambition.
16 May 2023
Thailand
Thailand’s election: will the country move forward?

Susannah Patton

The Kingdom’s conservative forces may have little option but to give way to the elected parties, at least for now.
16 May 2023
Australia

Diplomacy
Indigenous Voice: Getting ready to explain to the world if Australia votes “No”

Hugh Piper

The referendum is a pivotal moment for global perceptions of Australia. Diplomats must be ready whatever the outcome.
16 May 2023
Aid & Development

Australia

Australian Foreign Aid
Life in Australia’s aid program - but not as we know it

Grace Stanhope

The cost of development measures is being spread across government in creative ways, making coordination harder.
15 May 2023
China

China's Economy

China's Government

China-India Relations

India

WTO
Foreign policy China-style: beyond protocol and alcohol

Ved Shinde

Southeast Asian nations are realising that forming balancing coalitions will be their best bet in dealing with Beijing.
15 May 2023
Timor-Leste
New party offers chance for disability inclusion in Timor-Leste

Mario F Da Costa Pinheiro

A promise to send a person with disability to parliament following the election can galvanise action.
15 May 2023
Afghanistan

China

Russia

Ukraine

Iran

Saudi Arabia
China to the rescue, with peace plans for Saudi, Iran, Russia, Ukraine and Afghanistan – up to a point

Henry Storey

These diplomatic gambits all carry a message. But conflict resolution isn’t necessarily the main one.
12 May 2023
Global Economy

IMF
Taming international capital flows

Stephen Grenville

Emerging economies have borne the brunt of “easy money” economics, but past wisdom is catching up.
12 May 2023
North Korea
My decade watching the Korean peninsula: the delicacy of peace

Khang Vu

Lessons from starting out a career analysing one of the most dangerous flashpoints in global politics.
12 May 2023
Australia

Defence & Security
Australia’s future security: Where the Defence Strategic Review falls short

Bec Strating , Joanne Wallis

An integrated National Security Strategy could consider all the tools of statecraft rather than a defensive mindset.
11 May 2023
Australia

Australia's Economy
Economic diplomacy: Paying for a new security era

Greg Earl

The budget contains some tantalising hints about future foreign policy, offset by some doleful old realities.
11 May 2023
Australia

United Kingdom

Multilateral Institutions
Australia: The lynchpin of a modernised Commonwealth

Sam Bidwell

A network of middle powers and small states supporting one another. What’s not to like?
11 May 2023
China

Pacific Islands

Solomon Islands
The disproportionate attention on the Solomons-China security pact

Ilan Kiloe

A tendency to “securitise” problems via a geopolitical lens only downplays legitimate aspirations of local communities.
10 May 2023
Pakistan

Russia

Energy
Pakistan’s gamble with Russian oil

Adnan Aamir

Any deal will be hindered by US sanctions, refining challenges, transportation costs, and payment concerns.
10 May 2023
Asia

Global Economy

Global Economic Governance

Multilateral Institutions
Malaysia’s Anwar seeks Asian Monetary Fund and “dedollarisation”

Shankaran Nambiar

By reviving an old idea, Malaysia’s PM hopes to be in the driver’s seat for regional economic leadership.
10 May 2023
Global Economy

Geo-economics

United States
Biden’s quiet economic revolution

Nick Bisley

The guiding hand of the state is back as geopolitics rules.
9 May 2023
Australia

Diplomacy
DFAT: Show me the money

Daniel Flitton

Reports of a boost to spending to Australia’s diplomatic machinery need to be judged against what has been cut before.
9 May 2023
China

India

Environment

Sustainability
Hydro-hegemon? Complexities of shared rivers between China and India

Genevieve Donnellon-May

Alarm about China building dams upstream of Brahmaputra River must be tempered by India’s own record on water-sharing.
9 May 2023
Türkiye
Elections in Türkiye may herald a new foreign policy outlook

William Gourlay

After 20 years as a dominating political force Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is facing his biggest fight in the upcoming polls.
9 May 2023
China

Global Economy

Trade

Multilateral Institutions
“Play defence” in any collective response to China’s economic coercion

Victor Ferguson , Viking Bohman

The cost of fighting back is unlikely to be spread evenly across any coalition, which risks undermining the effort.
8 May 2023
Australia
Curiosity and openness: Allan Gyngell’s light touch in the early days at the Lowy Institute

Anthony Bubalo

Experiment and evolve was the message, and he did it by putting trust in the next generation of voices.
8 May 2023
Europe

Global Issues
Lessons in sorrow: Serbia needs a gun buyback after mass shootings

Valentina Pavlovic

Australia’s example has shown decisive action can galvanise and protect a community in the wake of tragedy.
8 May 2023
Thailand
Does Thailand’s election matter?

Susannah Patton

The election won’t be free and fair but it could be highly consequential for the country and the region.
5 May 2023
Aid & Development

Australia

Australian Foreign Aid
Budget time: Will Labor rebuild Australia’s aid program, and how?

Roland Rajah , Riley Duke

Global crisis and shifting economic realities mean Australia must both rebuild and modernise its development efforts.
5 May 2023
Japan

Defence & Security
Japan’s Article 9: Pacifism and protests as defence budget doubles

Donna Weeks

In the rush to applaud increased military ties between Japan and Australia, resistance to the idea is often overlooked.
5 May 2023
Asean

China

Indonesia

South China Sea

Southeast Asia
Indonesia’s dilemma as China pushes a “Global Security Initiative”

Alfin Febrian Basundoro

Existing regional mechanisms can accommodate diverse interests in Southeast Asia without the need for a new forum.
4 May 2023
Global Issues

Sustainability

Pacific Islands
The cost of crime and corruption on Pacific fisheries

Jade Lindley

The need for a well-funded response to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing has never been greater.
4 May 2023
Global Issues

Migration

Africa
Five potential global consequences of Sudan’s escalating conflict

Aly Verjee

Even distant Australia could feel knock-on effects of a refugee crisis, gold smuggling and disruption to wheat crops.
4 May 2023
Australian Defence Force

Defence & Security

Pacific Islands
The case for opening the ADF to citizens of Pacific Islands nations

David Van

The potential benefits in a contested region extend far beyond a military need.
3 May 2023
Asia
The “Indo-Pacific” is here. Yet “Asia-Pacific” lives on

Sanchari Ghosh

Debate over the shape of the region is far from settled – and with that lies the promise of ongoing rivalry.
3 May 2023
Australia in the World
Remembering Allan Gyngell, “the finest mind in Australian foreign policy”

Daniel Flitton

Analyst, diplomat, author. Few Australians could better judge Australia’s place in the world.
3 May 2023
Global Economy

Global Economic Governance

IMF

Multilateral Development Banks
International debt: Time for a global restructuring framework

Stephen Grenville

In domestic bankruptcy, a specialised institution settles creditors. Why can’t this be the case for emerging economies?