Global Issues
Quantum of silence
For most people, quantum computers are the stuff of science fiction. Based on shooting microwave photons at “qubits”, quantum computers are estimated to be far more powerful than…
Economic diplomacy: It’s nostalgists vs strategists
New binaries
Australian economic leaders have a double-edged history of trying to redefine their opponents out of the political debate from Paul Keating’s “straightmen, fixers…
Cultivating a healthy information environment
The recent behaviour of some social media companies seems explicitly designed to provoke governments into enacting much more stringent regulation of the sector. Elon Musk’s very…
Fixing the plastics problem when delivering urgent aid
In March last year, twin cyclones – Tropical Cyclones Judy and Kevin – ravaged Vanuatu. The category four cyclones, occurring within 48 hours of each other, affected more than 240…
The need for a convention on crimes against humanity
In international law, there is a legal gap in relation to the prohibition of crimes against humanity. There is no standalone international treaty that exists codifying these…
The cable ties to China’s Digital Silk Road
Technological competition between the United States and China is transforming the physical connections that make up the digital world and its governance. China’s “Belt and Road…
Waqf-based forests: Harnessing Islamic philanthropy for climate financing in Indonesia
Domestic funding for climate resilience has been one of Indonesia’s top priorities. Going “bigger” and “better” are essential to Indonesia’s future prosperity, given the Asian…
Australia’s comparative advantage in climate transition
Australia’s $2 billion Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility (SEAIFF) is a catch-all response to diverse objectives. It was a “deliverable” – or at least an “announcable” –…
China’s high ambition for the low-altitude economy
The futuristic notion of flying drones buzzing atop houses and city streets, making deliveries or even transporting passengers, might never quite eventuate. Yet governments and…
Are US export controls making China’s chip industry more innovative?
Recent reports of Chinese semiconductor chip manufacturers planning to produce 5-nanometre (nm) chips this year raise several uncomfortable questions for American efforts to…