Global Issues
Australia’s Russia problem (and how to solve it)
The 2020 Defence Strategic Update goes some way to preparing Australia to compete in a new multipolar, Indo-Pacific–anchored strategic environment. But a notable absence from the…
Philippines government driving jeepneys off the road
After almost four months of lockdown measures due to Covid-19, the Philippines government in June eased restrictions for the majority of the country. But even as public transport…
The semiconductor industry is where politics gets real for Taiwan
One might wonder how something as small as five nanometres – about the width of two strands of DNA – could be of consequence to the complex political relationships between the US,…
Costly cargo: The plight of seafarers in a pandemic
Amid the many consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, thousands of seafarers around the world are now locked onboard their ships with expired contracts and unable to get home…
The cost of conspiracy in muddling public health messages
A spike in coronavirus cases across Melbourne has seen local hotspot suburbs largely locked down and some 3000 people in public housing towers prevented from leaving home at all…
Popular Tokyo governor eyes a second term, and maybe more
On Sunday 5 July, Tokyo goes to the quadrennial polls to elect its governor, the position occupied since 2016 by Yuriko Koike, the city’s first female chief executive. Koike is…
COVIDcast: The future of globalisation
In this episode of COVIDcast, Roland Rajah, Lowy Institute lead economist, sat down with Pascal Lamy to discuss the future of globalisation. Lamy has served at the peak of global…
Southeast Asian democracies in declining health amid Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic is affecting democracies in the Asia-Pacific region in ways that demand Australian attention.
The ability to weather a crisis of this magnitude depends…
Economic diplomacy: Diversification dilemmas
Costing the D word
Diversification might be the word of the moment in the lexicon of Australian trade debate, even though few advocates make much attempt to explain how it will…
India’s TikTok stars collateral damage in Chinese app ban
Indians have been very enthusiastic users of all forms of social media, but TikTok has found them to be an especially eager audience.
With 660 million downloads of…