Global Issues
Afghanistan and Iran: From water treaty to water dispute
With an estimated 75 billion cubic metres (BCM) of water annually, Afghanistan is, on paper, a self-sufficient water country. However, the country also “has one of the lowest…
The many trails of Ant Group
When the last of the big four state-owned Chinese banks listed a decade ago, one could be forgiven for thinking that the age of mega Chinese financial listings was over. After all…
Changing the narrative of climate change
Few people would recognise respiratory failure as a critical threat to their health without also placing Covid-19 – an amplifier of respiratory failure – in the same category. Yet…
Why Myanmar’s elections won’t be free, fair or safe
We all desperately wanted Myanmar to be a democratic success story, myself included. In 2015, I witnessed the historical national election when the Aung San Suu Kyi’s political…
China’s vision of sovereignty for the next world order
President Xi Jinping grabbed headlines last month with the announcement that China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, is aiming for carbon neutrality…
Podcasts
COVIDcast: Joseph E. Stiglitz on global cooperation in a time of international mistrust
In this episode of COVIDcast, Lowy Institute Research Fellow Alexandre Dayant sat down with Professor Joseph E. Stiglitz to discuss the prospect of global cooperation in a time of…
The unique power of TikTok’s algorithm
Most people know TikTok as an entertaining app with an endless stream of snappy, addictive short videos that make them smile after a long day. Kids jiggle away in cute dance…
Global trade policy at a lull, but for how long?
Like a sailing ship caught in the doldrums, the international trade policy world seems stagnant and listless. Is there any fresh wind to be detected? Can we create some movement?
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A dose of climate realism about China’s carbon pledge
In 2009 China was blamed for destroying the Copenhagen conference on climate change, leaving the world with no successor to the Kyoto Protocol. In 2015, along with France and the…
Protecting political leaders from Covid-19
In light of news Donald Trump has his wife Melania have tested positive for Covid-19, we have re-issued this article first published in The Interpreter on 31 March outlining…