Articles | Lowy Institute

8 Dec 2020
China

Technology

Human rights
China’s online meddling goes beyond the Great Firewall

Yaqiu Wang

Human rights movements still suffer from falsehoods and misinformation even on social media platforms banned by Beijing.
8 Dec 2020
Global Economy

Coronavirus

Sex and Gender
Women, peace and security are not only wartime issues

Rose Khattar

The cost of domestic violence has only grown during Covid lockdowns – in rich and poor nations alike.
8 Dec 2020
Africa

France
Artefacts paving France’s return to Africa

Charmaine Manuel

As its economic influence shrinks in its former territories, France is trading in a new currency: history.
7 Dec 2020
Review
Favourites of 2020: Memes

Madeleine Nyst

Internet culture is moving faster than ever, and what better way to understand a crazy year?
7 Dec 2020
Defence & Security

Afghanistan War

Australian Defence Force

Australia
The Afghan inquiry and the question of responsibility

Rodger Shanahan

Agitating for a big scalp only distracts from reflecting on what the Brereton report actually uncovered.
7 Dec 2020
Global Issues

Diplomacy

United Nations
Solve generational problems by listening to the youth who’ll live them

Caitlin Mollica , Helen Berents

Developing the Youth, Peace and Security agenda in the Asia-Pacific is a chance to ensure lasting change.
7 Dec 2020
Sustainability

Australia

Climate change

Technology
The case for going all-in on renewables

Jeffrey Lau

Energy security and economic growth have political support where climate change doesn’t. Bring them all together.
4 Dec 2020
Indonesia
Indonesia’s Omnibus Law won’t kill corruption

Johannes Nugroho

The new legislation will shift regional power dynamics, but it can’t eradicate an entrenched culture of kickbacks.
4 Dec 2020
Global Economy

Multilateral Development Banks
Jim Wolfensohn’s knowledge bank

Peter McCawley

Impatient and ambitious, as World Bank president the Australian-turned-American tackled a global “cancer of corruption”.
4 Dec 2020
North Korea
North Korea’s very odd year

Khang Vu

Compounding crises have forced Kim Jong-un to break old habits. It may be a sign of new opportunity.
3 Dec 2020
Asia

Global Economy

Australia's Economy

IMF

WTO

Australia

China
As a national champion departs the scene, a China food fight looms

Greg Earl

Picking winners? In this case, one sort of export interest seems to have suffered due to support for another.
3 Dec 2020
Philippines

Human rights
In the Philippines, a label can take your life

Michael Beltran

Accusation as a communist – “red-tagging” – is a potential death sentence, which doesn’t stop some from using it.
3 Dec 2020
Australia in the World

Diplomacy

Australia
More pollies in more posts

Daniel Flitton

Are changing contours of global power or suspicions of the “swamp” driving more politicians to fill key diplomatic jobs?
2 Dec 2020
United States

The 2020 US Presidential Election
The surprise of Biden

Erin Hurley

Written off before he improbably rose to the top, Joe Biden may have the right stuff to lead America through a crisis.
2 Dec 2020
India
India’s farmers take on Modi

Edmond Roy

The tactics that have allowed the Modi government to enforce unpopular new laws may not work this time.
2 Dec 2020
Al Qaeda

Terrorism

Iran
Al-Qaeda: The core problem

Lydia Khalil

The killing of senior terrorist Abu Mohammed al-Masri on a Tehran street raises questions about al-Qaeda’s ties to Iran.
2 Dec 2020
Papua New Guinea

Bougainville
A false start for PNG-Bougainville consultations

Gordon Peake

The post-referendum process stalled after a delegation arrived in Port Moresby, only to have the meeting cancelled.
1 Dec 2020
Diplomacy

Australia

China

Technology
We’ve been trolled – expect more of it, because it worked

Damien Spry

Here’s how Scott Morrison might have responded to China’s online provocation.
1 Dec 2020
Australia

China
China: Explaining that tweet

Sam Roggeveen

Four possible reasons behind a Chinese official’s social media missive.
1 Dec 2020
Pacific Islands

Australian Foreign Aid

Australia

Australia and the Pacific

United Kingdom
The UK’s unwelcome foreign aid cut

Philip Citowicki

Amid a pandemic and shifting geopolitics, the aid budget was a victim of its own size – and domestic pressures.
1 Dec 2020
Global Economy

Trade

Asean

Indonesia
What RCEP can tell us about geopolitics in Asia

Rocky Intan

China-US rivalry tends to overshadow assessments. But this major accomplishment came with ASEAN at the centre.
30 Nov 2020
United States

The 2020 US Presidential Election
Donald Trump vs the democratic tradition

Madeleine Nyst

By refusing to concede an election he has lost, the American president further undermines faith in the system.
30 Nov 2020
Iran's Nuclear Program

Iran

Israel
The fallout of assassinating Mohsen Fakhrizadeh

Bob Bowker

The killing of the head of the Iranian nuclear program may make it even harder to revive the nuclear deal.
30 Nov 2020
Defence & Security

Russia

Africa
Russia’s red star in the Red Sea

Alexey Muraviev

A naval facility in Port Sudan signals a new thrust of Russian operations in the Indo-Pacific.
27 Nov 2020
United States

Australia

China

Singapore
Fareed Zakaria on Australia’s “opportunity” between the US and China

Richard McGregor

Inspiration from a tiny giant in Southeast Asia might help Australia find a way through multiple diplomatic obstacles.
27 Nov 2020
G20

Coronavirus
Prospects for a G20 “pandemic treaty”

Erin Watson-Lynn

Spared the “theatre of summitry”, the next leaders of the grouping now have a chance to get on with the job.
27 Nov 2020
Diplomacy

Australia

China
Port Adelaide to Shanghai: Sports diplomacy and the long road ahead

Andrew Hunter

When a sports club thinks strategically, governments can benefit too.
27 Nov 2020
Defence & Security

China's Military

South China Sea

China
Beijing’s line on the South China Sea: “Nothing to see here”

Oriana Skylar Mastro

China’s official denials of growing military capability in the region look a lot like gaslighting.
26 Nov 2020
Myanmar
Myanmar’s military-backed opposition party stares into political abyss

David Hopkins

An electoral failure might be a repudiation of the military’s influence in politics – but not its irrelevance.
26 Nov 2020
Australia in the World

Australia
Who was Hugo Grotius and what is a “Grotian world”?

Renee Jeffery

The PM extols a philosopher who put moral conduct at the centre of international relations.
26 Nov 2020
Europe

European Union

Germany
The outlines of a European policy on the Indo-Pacific

Lisa Louis

Germany and the Netherlands have new strategies for the Indo-Pacific, and maybe the beginnings of a common EU stance.
25 Nov 2020
Diplomacy

Multilateral Institutions

North Korea
In search of a middle-power rethink on North Korea policy

Jeffrey Robertson

An international commission could potentially transform an outdated and failed approach to the Korean peninsula.
25 Nov 2020
Diplomacy

United States

International Relations

Russia
A Biden presidency and US-Russia relations

Ian Hill

The new US administration will certainly push back harder on the Kremlin, but there may also be chances for engagement.
24 Nov 2020
Australia in the World

Australia
Australia’s PM: “How good is international relations theory!”

Daniel Flitton

Scott Morrison is adopting a philosophical approach to strategic challenges – but don’t confuse this with doing nothing.
24 Nov 2020
Australia and the Pacific

Papua New Guinea
PNG budget: Pluses and minuses

Maholopa Laveil , Dek Joe Sum

A spending surge aims to steer the economy out of crisis, but high debt and heavy interest pose another risk.
24 Nov 2020
Global Issues

Terrorism

Technology
After Christchurch: Mapping online right-wing extremists

Brian Ballsun-Stanton , Lise Waldek , Julian Droogan

For all the hate, sometimes extending to talk of violence, the extremist milieu is also a highly social space.
23 Nov 2020
Defence & Security

Australia
The submarine capability gap

David Feeney

The life-of-type extension project is a major, complex and high-risk undertaking of critical importance.
20 Nov 2020
Defence & Security

Afghanistan War

Australian Defence Force

Afghanistan

Australia
Australia’s mission in Afghanistan – what was it again?

Daniel Flitton

Nothing can reduce the responsibility of individuals. But the political context for a “forever war” is relevant, too.
20 Nov 2020
India's Economy

India
India heads towards economic autarky

David Brewster

A telling speech foreshadows an India more focused on domestic markets and one with less clout in the region.
20 Nov 2020
Indonesia
Indonesian cleric re-enters the fray

Erin Cook

Amid a changed political landscape – and a pandemic – Rizieq Shihab’s return from Saudi Arabia raises much speculation.
20 Nov 2020
Asia

United States

The 2020 US Presidential Election
Back to the future: Will Biden’s Asia policy come full circle?

Zack Cooper

Hopes might be high for a new US administration. But polls show views on regional challenges have changed markedly, too.
19 Nov 2020
Asia

Global Economy

South China Sea

WTO

Australia
Economic diplomacy: Navigating Asia’s trade tangle and a NSW “step-up”

Greg Earl

Plus, revisiting assumptions that China would be reluctant to interfere with South China Sea trade routes.
19 Nov 2020
Europe

Diplomacy

Australia

China

South Korea
Beijing’s bad books: Australia can learn from Norway and South Korea

Henry Storey

China’s coercive diplomacy is not new. Other countries have managed to repair ties after a perceived slight.
19 Nov 2020
Indonesia
A firebrand cleric’s return boosts Islamist politics

A’an Suryana , Nur Syafiqah Mohd Taufek

Habib Rizieq Shihab can wield a potent influence, but even those welcoming him home from exile are wary of being burned.
19 Nov 2020
Russia

Türkiye

Caucasus
Nagorno-Karabakh: Peace – for now

Ian Hill

Anger and humiliation at their defeat means Armenia will see this conflict very much as unfinished business.
18 Nov 2020
India
Putting the caste system in its place

Aarti Betigeri

Recent events have brought renewed attention to the injustices of India’s social hierarchy, and similar codes elsewhere.
18 Nov 2020
United States

The 2020 US Presidential Election
The Democrats’ voter problem

Victor Abramowicz

Scraping through what should have been an easy win highlights systemic issues.
18 Nov 2020
China

Technology

China – Belt and Road Initiative
Gauge-changing train is no game changer for China

Wu Shang-Su

The recently launched high-speed rail adaptable to different track widths is unlikely to jump the hurdles of the BRI.
17 Nov 2020
Global Economy

Trade
RCEP revives the art of the deal

Dick Grant

A regional agreement might actually be a small step towards something even greater.
17 Nov 2020
Japan

Russia
Why Russia will not return the Kuril Islands to Japan

Nikola Mikovic

More than 60 years of stubborn diplomatic stalemate stemming from the Second World War doesn’t appear likely to end.