30 Oct 2020
America in 2020: The view from here
A selection of commentary and analysis from Lowy Institute voices on the state of affairs in and beyond the USA.
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30 Oct 2020
Why Kim Jong-un will soon miss Donald Trump
No more squabbles over big buttons, for one thing. -
30 Oct 2020
Seychelles: New man, changing strategic environment
A long campaign has seen a prodigious organiser force a sea change in a nation Australia often mistakenly ignores. -
29 Oct 2020
Inciter in chief
Trump’s pandering to white supremacists and right-wing militias brings a very real risk of violence on election day. -
29 Oct 2020
Western Indian Ocean: Where trouble on land spells danger at sea
Piracy and smuggling are already a menace. Add a budding Islamist insurgency, and far-reaching implications may follow. -
29 Oct 2020
Lessons from Covid: Tackling disease with a city-by-city approach
Two examples – Wuhan and Singapore – show that lockdowns of densely populated urban centres are effective if done right. -
29 Oct 2020
US election: A Democratic trifecta is within sight
Donald Trump’s mismanagement of crisis has swayed voters toward the Democrats. What if they pull off a sweep? -
28 Oct 2020
Shocking abuse of female passengers in Doha demands resolute response
Australia’s options to put Qatar on notice start with recalling its ambassador. The next step could go further. -
28 Oct 2020
Thailand: Military, monarchy and the masses
To understand today’s protests, look to the decades past and the country’s incomplete transition to democracy. -
28 Oct 2020
How South Koreans view the prospect of a Trump re-election
An unpopular President hasn’t dented support for the American alliance. -
28 Oct 2020
Rebirth of the quadrilateral Malabar: Promises and portents for India
The inclusion of Australia in the 2020 Exercise Malabar signals India’s resolve to defend its interests in the region. -
27 Oct 2020
The hate matrix of online gaming
Chatrooms enable players to discuss games, yet are increasingly a hotbed for glorifying violence and radicalisation. -
27 Oct 2020
Singapore and Sri Lanka: Newfound opportunities amid Covid-19 pandemic
Singapore’s efforts to diversify food imports is a practical choice that bodes well for Colombo’s Asia-centric policy. -
27 Oct 2020
Where will Australia stand on banning weapons of mass destruction?
The issue can no longer be dodged. Nuclear weapons will become illegal under the rules-based order of international law. -
27 Oct 2020
Preparing for when climate change drives people from their homes
Combating Covid in the Pacific is hard enough. Add cyclones, droughts and flooding to the mix, the time to act is now. -
26 Oct 2020
The Three Seas Initiative: A European answer to China’s Belt and Road?
A quest to modernise dilapidated infrastructure in Central Europe has quickly transformed into a geopolitical contest. -
26 Oct 2020
The other Arab diplomatic talks with Israel
Lebanon wants to settle its maritime borders to exploit rich oil and gas fields. Nothing more. -
26 Oct 2020
Crew-change crisis risks supply chains – and lives
Some 400,000 seafarers are currently stuck on ships, past the end of their contracts, unable to go home. -
26 Oct 2020
Can Covid-19 advance gender equality in China’s health policies?
The coronavirus pandemic revealed the disconnect between wishful official edicts and rigid social conventions. -
23 Oct 2020
The tyranny of the present: American politics catches up with the past
Fusing politics with entertainment, conspiracy theories, hyper-partisanship. Sound familiar? We’ve been here before. -
23 Oct 2020
Reading between the lines: Duterte’s careful South China Sea speech
The President of the Philippines may stump up with more nationalist rhetoric, but his true message to Beijing is plain. -
22 Oct 2020
Economic diplomacy: Japanese investment takes a Toll
While a disastrous foray by Japan Post grabs headlines, China shrinks as a share of the global economy. -
22 Oct 2020
The International Monetary Fund and capital flows
Bridging free-market doctrine and the need for intervention in emerging economies is still a stretch at the IMF. -
22 Oct 2020
Filling the gap: How Australia is creating its own “China problem”
The current geopolitical to-ing and fro-ing must not obscure the need to understand Chinese language and culture. -
21 Oct 2020
Donald Trump. Crisis? What Crisis?
We should be careful of the pre-Trump “world order” nostalgia and not forget the disasters of his predecessors. -
21 Oct 2020
A real-life Bollywood soap opera, with a political twist
A popular actor’s death has cast suspicion on India’s film industry, and conveniently helped leaders shift the plot. -
21 Oct 2020
Loyalty tests make Australia weaker, not stronger
A parliamentary hearing on the challenges facing diaspora communities turned into a political stunt. -
21 Oct 2020
Diplomacy after Covid: No looking back
This will not be the last year the world gathers in a virtual meeting – just think beyond Zoom as the platform. -
20 Oct 2020
Prabowo redeemed in Washington’s eyes amid US-China rivalry
Back on his feet, Indonesia’s Defence Minister is still performing a balancing act. -
20 Oct 2020
Duelling diplomacy over Southeast Asia’s most important river
Despite climate change and the cost hydropower dams, Mekong nations will find it difficult to turn away from China. -
20 Oct 2020
Russia’s troubled periphery
The outwardly “sudden” upheaval in a host of former Soviet states is actually a case of unfinished business. -
20 Oct 2020
Can China be a peacemaker in Afghanistan?
China has so far stayed on the sidelines of the intra-Afghan talks, but it could play a big role in ending the conflict. -
19 Oct 2020
Power in Asia in five charts
With so much focus on US-China competition, it’s crucial to remember there are 24 other players in the regional game. -
19 Oct 2020
New Zealand’s landslide election and the challenges ahead
A resounding endorsement for a popular prime minister’s virus response. Economic rebuilding stands as the next test. -
19 Oct 2020
India-Australia security relations: They’ve only just begun
It’s fashionable to be pessimistic about the India-Australia partnership, but in fact it is steadily improving. -
16 Oct 2020
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Increasingly deadly and destabilising
An eruption of bitter fighting in a seemingly intractable conflict is aggravating wider regional tensions. -
16 Oct 2020
Progressive politics in Thailand’s polarised polity
A new “hyperleader” has capitalised on the mood of a younger generation fed up with being patronised. -
16 Oct 2020
Keeping West Papua on the agenda
During Covid, the independence campaign could have been forgotten. But a new generation of activists is forging ahead. -
15 Oct 2020
Kyrgyzstan’s turmoil and the competition for Central Asia
Post-election upheaval has drawn new attention to internal power struggles and the region’s geostrategic importance. -
15 Oct 2020
Pakistan gets on the TikTok ban wagon
For very different reasons, the South Asian country follows rival India in blocking the China-based app. -
15 Oct 2020
If Duterte likes his human rights record, he can let others look
An international investigation is the best way to address concern about the “war on drugs” in the Philippines. -
14 Oct 2020
Reckoning with a post-Trump America
Donald Trump may soon be out of the White House, but it will take longer to understand what he was doing there. -
14 Oct 2020
Kiwis and hawks: Is New Zealand edging closer to Australia on China?
Views on China appear to be hardening in Wellington, and the next government will be pressed to find a policy balance. -
14 Oct 2020
Afghanistan and Iran: From water treaty to water dispute
A dam near completion on the Helmand River in Afghanistan is at the centre of a disagreement over water rights. -
13 Oct 2020
A third aircraft carrier for India: Budget versus necessity
Concerns about cost overruns should be kept in perspective. The need for naval power projection is only growing. -
13 Oct 2020
The many trails of Ant Group
Plans to list the company at the centre of China’s financial and payments network could spark a geopolitical firestorm. -
13 Oct 2020
Changing the narrative of climate change
Social identity, not scientific evidence, drives many people’s attitudes on climate change. -
12 Oct 2020
Why Myanmar’s elections won’t be free, fair or safe
The polls should be delayed. The danger of spreading the virus is one reason. Ongoing disenfranchisement is another. -
12 Oct 2020
North Korea’s new missile
If – big if – this missile is real, America cannot guarantee its homeland security in a war with North Korea. -
12 Oct 2020
The false promise of regime change
A new book from an Obama insider considers the repeated failures of outside overthrow in the Middle East.