Diplomacy
In Fiji, Bainimarama is back, stronger than ever
The Fiji elections have delivered a crushing victory for Rear Admiral (Retd) Bainimarama, author of the 2006 coup.
The victory was crushing not only for FijiFirst, Bainimarama's…
Fiji's elections: Four lessons for Australian diplomacy
Now that Fiji has held its first elections in eight years, it is time to take stock of the lessons for Australian diplomacy. These lessons should inform Australia's approach to…
UN Climate Change Summit: A chance for Australia's environmental diplomacy
The UN Climate Change Summit is taking place in New York tomorrow, with attendance by several world leaders including US President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron…
The other humanitarian crisis
The ramping up of the international effort against ISIS has consumed much of the world media's attention in the last few weeks. However, there is another international crisis…
Commentary
Australia won't 'better mankind' in Iraq if we instinctively reach for our military
Australia won't 'better mankind' in Iraq if we instinctively reach for our militaryJames BrownThe Guardian4 September 2014Please click here for the online text…
Is Abbott spreading Australia too thin?
Two months ago, as Prime Minister Abbott's globalist reflexes were becoming increasingly apparent, I offered a perspective from Washington that the US should welcome a more…
Australia's economic diplomacy: Enlightened self-interest?
Almost a year since the Coalition took the reins of government and introduced its policy of 'economic diplomacy', a term which was probably foreign to many Australians at the…
Great Australian foreign policy speeches: Howard on 9/11 and the US alliance
Michael Fullilove began our series on great speeches about Australia's place in the world with a selection of ten speeches, here and here. Graeme Dobell's first pick in this…
Ten speeches on Australia's place in the world (part 2)
Part 1 of this series reviewed great speeches on Australia's place in the world, from Federation to Vietnam. In this post, I look at the period from Vietnam to Malaysia Airlines…
Inside a consular crisis
There will be many people in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) right now who are not getting enough sleep. The conflict in the Middle East involving Israel and…