Australia in the World
Girt by sea: Redrawing Australia’s mental map
Book Review: Girt by Sea: Re-Imagining Australia’s Security, by Rebecca Strating and Joanne Wallis (La Trobe Press, 2024)
It’s no secret that in recent years, there has…
Is the EU Australia’s blind spot in the Indo-Pacific?
Seen from Australia, the European Union may seem very distant and somehow disconnected from the Indo-Pacific. Yet, the strategic space in which Australia and the European Union…
Economic diplomacy: Made in Australia with new energy
Elbows out
Is there a better case study in the curious politics of geo-economic fragmentation than Australia’s latest effort to revive manufacturing? Prime Minister Anthony…
Is South Korea’s Indo‑Pacific Strategy a diplomatic lame duck?
When South Korea’s Yoon Suk-yeol administration released its Indo-Pacific Strategy in late 2022, many Australian commentators hoped the time had finally come for the…
Western banks are vacating the Pacific, and Nauru is turning to China
Nauru has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Bank of China “to explore solutions and options to its banking issues”.
The China–Nauru MOU will cause further…
Pacific Engagement Visas: New developments but quotas unknown
Australia is surprisingly low-key about the recent launch of its new subclass 192 Pacific Engagement Visa lottery that aims to welcome 3,000 new permanent migrants …
The Translator: “Like-minded countries”
Heard diplomats or analysts using a new turn of phrase only to wonder, “What does that mean?” Today we ask …
What are “like-minded countries”?
Commentators and academics use…
Solomon Islands: Democracy on the ballot
With a week to go before voters take to the polls on 17 April, election campaigns in Solomon Islands are in full swing with 334 candidates vying for 50 seats (only 21 candidates…
What are China’s long-term Antarctic ambitions?
The recent opening of China’s Qinling base, its third permanent Antarctic station, has worried some Australian and American observers. Their concerns suggest it may be time…
Beyond Biden vs Trump: The other US elections that matter
Many Australians are following the rematch in the 2024 US presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Trump's reality TV approach to politics makes it hard to avert…