27 Aug 2021
Australia’s seaborne trade: Essential but undefendable
Recognising the limits to Australia’s military potential.
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26 Aug 2021
Economic diplomacy: After Kabul, Australia looks to India
Australia has a lower war-to-aid ratio, but the US is more transparent about its failure against the Taliban. -
26 Aug 2021
Sri Lanka’s simmering twin crises
A pandemic downturn furthers slows an already pallid economy, while tensions with the West prompt a turn to Beijing. -
26 Aug 2021
What’s in a name? The Taliban and recognition under international law
Formal recognition as a legitimate government may be a bargaining chip to press the Taliban to respect human rights. -
25 Aug 2021
Afghanistan holds lessons for American power in Asia
The US will one day ask the same question about its presence in Asia that it did of Afghanistan: is it still worth it? -
25 Aug 2021
China puts its golden goose on notice
Beijing’s recent crackdown on tech and tutoring giants points to a grand scheme of state re-building. -
25 Aug 2021
The new citizen soldier
Recent events have seen a modern Australian military member emerging – vocal, humanitarian and politically active. -
24 Aug 2021
India fears a poison harvest from Afghanistan
The Taliban takeover forces a regional realignment and has left New Delhi wondering about its past investment. -
24 Aug 2021
Duterte’s back-down on US forces in Philippines
After several threats to scrap the agreement giving US troops a legal basis in the country, challenges are lingering. -
24 Aug 2021
Europe turns away from asylum-seekers
Covid saw fewer refugees on the move but numbers could soon rise. Those needing help deserve to be treated with dignity. -
23 Aug 2021
The world must evacuate women police in Afghanistan
The international community trained local women to put their lives on the line but has now abandoned them to danger. -
23 Aug 2021
Why politics and pandemics don’t mix
Michael Lewis’ stranger-than-fiction take on how America’s public health mechanisms failed in the face of Covid-19. -
20 Aug 2021
As Delta looms, PNG’s vaccine rollout challenges mount
Getting the jab where it is needed is only part of the problem. Making sure people understand the urgency is another. -
20 Aug 2021
Can the US and China cooperate on climate?
Deals, denials and grand bargains on the road to the COP26 climate change conference. -
19 Aug 2021
North Korea calling
The hotline between Pyongyang and Seoul is operational again despite irritation at joint US military ops in the region. -
19 Aug 2021
Decoding intelligence on Afghanistan
An official inquiry should answer much wider questions about the US mission than only those of the final few weeks. -
19 Aug 2021
China’s new silos: Nuclear arms control more urgent than ever
News of huge missile silo fields shows dumb luck is no basis for managing a risk of nuclear catastrophe. -
18 Aug 2021
Afghanistan’s collapse shifts strategic dynamics in South Asia
If the Taliban’s return is seen a plus for Pakistan, India appears to be the loser. -
18 Aug 2021
The double challenge for Suga
Japan’s Prime Minister cleared a massive Olympic hurdle. But will he trip up on the politics to follow? -
18 Aug 2021
China debate not just a matter of hawks and doves
Two new volumes explore Australia’s economic, cultural and security relationship with the emerging superpower. -
17 Aug 2021
What to do after the Taliban take-over
The foreign troops might be gone but Afghanistan is still our responsibility. -
17 Aug 2021
Australia should scale up its vaccine diplomacy
Is Australia undermining its own efforts to help other countries in the pandemic? -
17 Aug 2021
UK’s Indo-Pacific tilt – not just for the good times
Britain’s renewed enthusiasm in Southeast Asia means, among other tasks, negotiating the idiosyncrasies of ASEAN. -
16 Aug 2021
Kabul has fallen and so have we
Defeat in Afghanistan is not only a military one, but of the commitment professed by the “international community”. -
16 Aug 2021
Afghanistan: the right time to leave
There was no “low cost” solution for the United States other than endless conflict. -
16 Aug 2021
Germany’s federal election: choose any colour you like
The looming headache of Germany’s coalition arrangements will play out again this September. -
13 Aug 2021
Mango diplomacy is more than low-hanging fruit in South Asian politics
Bangladesh has used a national icon to signal a fresh appetite for improved ties with Pakistan – just as China looms. -
13 Aug 2021
Taiwan: The age-old question of who gets a vote
A proposal to lower the voting age to 18 leaves the electorate surprisingly apprehensive – even younger Taiwanese. -
12 Aug 2021
Economic diplomacy: Burning down the house
Climate change is the new frontier for economic thinking in international relations. -
12 Aug 2021
Syria: The consequences of intellectual failure and moral neglect
No Western government should abide policy goals that in practice are pursued via collective punishment of Syrian people. -
11 Aug 2021
How can Australia reset relations with China?
Two past PMs offer their perspective on a diplomatic breakdown and how to put the pieces back together. -
11 Aug 2021
Pandemic plight of international students will leave Australia poorer
Lonely days during an education abroad will deplete Australia’s soft power reserves. -
11 Aug 2021
Pacific needs partnership, not just leadership
Richard Marles on a multidimensional regional challenge, from aid and migration to climate change and strategic denial. -
10 Aug 2021
Afghanistan: Russia faces its own risks and uncertainty
Regional instability, refugee flows, extremism, and zero appetite for warfare temper Russia’s stance on Afghanistan. -
10 Aug 2021
The battle for Myanmar’s seat in the UN General Assembly
An empty chair in New York would be a potent reflection of the situation on the ground in post-coup Myanmar. -
9 Aug 2021
Australia and India: A time to refocus on trade talks
Tony Abbott’s visit to India shows conditions are ripe to advance a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement. -
9 Aug 2021
Disinfopreneurs and infodemics
Black Ops social influence campaigns are big business. Some difficult questions and a few bold ideas are on the table. -
6 Aug 2021
Life in a host city, at home, live-streaming the Olympics
Watching on from a tatami floor in Tokyo, the sport is great, the geopolitics just as good. -
6 Aug 2021
Refreshing American soft power in the Pacific Islands
Tales of past wars no longer resonate. The US has better stories to tell, not least of its own stumbles with democracy. -
6 Aug 2021
Hong Kong security law flexes Beijing’s international muscle
Beijing’s heavy hand in Hong Kong showcases China 2.0 – more confident and less conciliatory. -
5 Aug 2021
Is Pakistan fuelling a Taliban takeover?
The Afghan government points a finger at Pakistan in a tactic to divert attention from its own colossal failures. -
5 Aug 2021
“I am a Taiwanese”: Eastern Europeans see a Cold War in East Asia
Memories of life under authoritarianism forge ties between Taiwan and a growing number of Eastern European states. -
4 Aug 2021
Cruising into stormy weather
Covid-19 is not the cruise industry’s only woe. Will America’s love affair with sea voyaging be able to turn the tide? -
4 Aug 2021
Preparing Australia to respond to disasters – at home and abroad
The military should be restructured with a dedicated element to better tackle relief operations full-time. -
3 Aug 2021
Man on a mission: Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan
The removal of US troops from Afghanistan was in Joe Biden’s sights long before he was president. But what next? -
3 Aug 2021
India-US ties: Work in progress
“Quad” partners they may be, but the US is performing a delicate dance around its human rights concerns in India. -
3 Aug 2021
Keeping PNG connected by investing in radio
Australia could quickly make a critical – and relatively cheap – neighbourly investment in democracy. -
2 Aug 2021
How many times? Reckoning with gender-based violence in PNG
Urgent action is needed to end PNG’s poor record as the most dangerous country in the region for women and girls. -
2 Aug 2021
Russia and Vietnam: An alliance of convenience
Moscow’s interests in Hanoi’s arms and oil make for a tricky strategic juggling act with Beijing. -
2 Aug 2021
China threatens the West’s primacy, not its democratic systems
Cold War tropes misrepresent Beijing’s challenge, and exaggerate its material and ideological power.