Programs & Projects

The International Security Program

The International Security Program

The International Security Program looks at strategic dynamics and security risks globally, with an emphasis on Australia's region of Indo-Pacific Asia. Its research spans strategic competition and the risks of conflict in Asia, security implications of the rise of China and India, maritime security, nuclear arms control, Australian defence policy and the changing character of conflict. The Program draws on a network of experts in Australia, Asia and globally, and is supported by diverse funding sources including grants from the MacArthur Foundation and the Nuclear Threat Initiative. It convenes international policy dialogues such as the 2017 Australia-ROK Emerging Leaders International Security Forum and has a record of producing leading-edge, influential reports.

Experts
Latest publications
News and media
Syria: It's the ground war, stupid
The Syrian civil war is a land battle. Comparisons with Libya and talk of no-fly zones (NFZ) as some kind of low-risk game changer ignore this fact. As the US Chairman of the…
Small weapons of mass destruction: Why Australia should lead the global charge against small arms
  Luke McGreevy is the winner of the Lowy Institute's undergraduate op-ed competition. Luke is an honours student at Monash University. It should come as no surprise that, in the…
Defence in depth: Better or worse?
Dougal Robinson is a Lowy Institute defence intern. As the Australian Defence Force approaches the end of a period of high operational tempo, this third Defence in Depth video …
Indo-Pacific maritime security in the 21st century: Proceedings of an international conference
Speeches
Indo-Pacific maritime security in the 21st century: Proceedings of an international conference
This volume contains the proceedings of a conference on Indo-Pacific Maritime Security in the 21st Century, which was convened on February 21 and 22, 2011, at the…
Defence cultural change will take time
Samantha Crompvoets is a sociologist, a research fellow in the ANU Medical School and a contractor to the Department of Defence. This week's Army sex scandal is not a…
Defence policy: Self-reliant or self-deluded?
Major Gen (Retd) Jim Molan is author of Running the War in Iraq. The video cameos featured in Dougal Robinson's post, Defence in Depth: Strategic Partners, go to two of the…
New Zealand-U.S. defense relations: A possible return to the alliance?
Commentary
New Zealand-U.S. defense relations: A possible return to the alliance?
In this article on The Diplomat's Flashpoints blog, Lowy Institute Thawley Scholar Jack Georgieff looks at what it might take for a return to ally status between the United…
Reader riposte: NSA spying
Kirill Reztsov responds to my post arguing that those against government snooping of our online activity have only themselves to blame: Until Edward Snowden leaked the…
NSA spying: The enemy is us
I don't blame civil libertarians for being alarmed by revelations that the US Government is apparently tracking every electronic communication everywhere, although David Simon …
Counter-terrorism: Why meta-data matters
Simon Palombi is a Master of Laws candidate at the University of Sydney. When news broke that the US National Security Agency has been collecting meta-data off social networking…