Global Issues
Engaging with the Pacific: the legal angle
One tool that is often overlooked in Australia-Pacific cooperation is the role of legal engagement, including support for local capacity and enhancing international legal…
Why India needs a refugee law
According to United Nations estimates, India hosts almost 213,000 refugees and asylum seekers, most hailing from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, China or Myanmar. India’s location in…
An element of doubt? Rare earths targeted in disinfo campaign
The US cybersecurity firm Mandiant recently issued a fresh warning about an ongoing influence campaign comprising a network of thousands of inauthentic social media accounts…
What a waste! Japan’s food sustainability challenge
Japan is famous for its “mottainai” culture, often translated as “what a waste!”, which encourages people to reduce what is discarded from their everyday lives. At the same time,…
The Quad needs a futures focus
If there is a cumulative lesson from the past few years, it’s that the era of “polycrises” is firmly upon us. A polycrisis is defined as the net effect from the non-linear…
In a puzzling trend, concern about climate change has plateaued
It’s reasonable to feel that Australia’s relationship with climate change has undergone a step-change following the 2022 federal election. Since winning in May, the new Labor…
Taking on Cambodia’s “Lady Liberty”
Theary Seng certainly knows how to attract attention. The prominent Cambodian-American human rights lawyer and activist was dressed as “Lady Liberty”, draped in…
Years of living statelessly: refugees in Indonesia
Nazanin Ali walked stylishly in the Westin Hotel Jakarta lounge. Wearing a black hat and collared shirt, she exhibited the “Makaila Haifa” brand of clothing to the invited guests…
A minute to midnight: reversing environmental tipping points
In 2009, academics Johan Rockström, Will Steffen and colleagues proposed an idea well beyond the geopolitical concept of borders. What they described was the notion of…
Indonesia-Australia climate change cooperation begins with the ocean
The recent visit to Jakarta by Australia’s new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was productive. Among many issues raised in a joint communique released following a meeting with…