Global Issues
Australia: The lynchpin of a modernised Commonwealth
From glittering pageantry to a nationwide preponderance of underwhelming quiches, Saturday’s Coronation was a thoroughly British affair. It was, counterintuitively, also the most…
Malaysia’s Anwar seeks Asian Monetary Fund and “dedollarisation”
The Asian Monetary Fund was an idea that Japan first proposed in 1997 following the Asian financial crisis. At the time, Anwar Ibrahim, a rising star in Malaysian politics, firmly…
Hydro-hegemon? Complexities of shared rivers between China and India
Transboundary river governance has long been a headache for governments in Asia. One of the region’s most complex cases is the bilateral governance of the Yarlung Tsangpo…
“Play defence” in any collective response to China’s economic coercion
Many Western governments consider Beijing’s frequent use of economic sanctions a “clear and present danger” to the global economy which erodes the rules-based order. Canberra…
Lessons in sorrow: Serbia needs a gun buyback after mass shootings
Hearts ache at the horrifying events that have unfolded in Belgrade and Mladenovac. A harrowing school shooting in the Serbian capital last week saw a 13-year-old boy allegedly…
The cost of crime and corruption on Pacific fisheries
The Pacific Ocean is the most abundant fishing region, however an uptick in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing around the islands means that might not always be…
Five potential global consequences of Sudan’s escalating conflict
In Sudan’s 67 years as an independent state, the country has known more times of war than peace. Half a million people died in the First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972). Two…
International debt: Time for a global restructuring framework
Just about every country has rules and practices to sort out domestic bankruptcies, dividing up the surviving assets between the creditors on an equitable basis, writing off the…
Choosing openness in the international economy
The Covid pandemic was good for isolationists and xenophobes, and bad for globalisers and internationalists. Yet since the agricultural revolution, one of the keys to prosperity…
Managing Japan-Australia energy tensions in a time of transition
Yamagami Shingo, who until last week served as Japan’s ambassador to Australia, again voiced criticism of Australia’s energy policy just before leaving his post. The Japanese…