Articles | Lowy Institute

25 Nov 2019
Pacific Islands

Australia

Pakistan
Stepping up in the Pacific at the expense of Pakistani women and girls

Stephen Howes

Cutting aid has a cost – and Australia should be embarrassed to take aid from other countries to give it to the Pacific.
25 Nov 2019
Australian Defence Force
Australian civil-military relations: Who guards the guardians?

Cate Carter

Debate about responsibility to support serving and former soldiers shows some feel abandoned as cultural norms shift.
25 Nov 2019
Defence & Security

Australia
When our security makes the neighbours feel vulnerable

Sam Roggeveen

Talk of new bombers ignores one important fact about the region: Australia is not in charge anymore.
22 Nov 2019
Philippines
A verdict on justice in a land of impunity

Sheila Coronel

The coming decision on the 2009 Maguindanao massacre will serve as a ruling on the Philippines’ judicial system itself.
22 Nov 2019
Malaysia
Ultimate Game of Thrones in Malaysia

James Chin

However the latest political scramble unfolds, Anwar Ibrahim will not get a chance to be PM and real change is in doubt.
22 Nov 2019
Afghanistan
Afghan elections bring no peace

Srinjoy Bose , Nishank Motwani

Continued delays in announcing results have led to calls for an interim government, while the Taliban bide their time.
21 Nov 2019
Asia

Global Economy

Pacific Islands

Australian Foreign Aid
Economic diplomacy: Australia’s BRI, aid revamp, and integrating Asia

Greg Earl

The now snappily rebranded Export Finance Australia is becoming the go-to agency in the era of geo-economic competition.
21 Nov 2019
Iran
How the regime extinguishes Iran’s “Petroleum Protests”

Mahmoud Pargoo

The most damaging unrest since the 1979 revolution lacks leadership or popular support, so appears doomed to fail.
21 Nov 2019
Public Opinion

Climate change

Chart of the week
Chart of the week: The climate cost

Natasha Kassam

Polls suggest a majority of Australians want action on global warming, even at a cost – but politics tells us otherwise.
21 Nov 2019
Global Economy

United States

China

Review
Book review: China, the US, and the big break

Stephen Grenville

Detailed reporting enlivens what is a substantive and important look at the world’s big economic test.
20 Nov 2019
Papua New Guinea

Bougainville
Bougainville referendum: Not the last word

Annmaree O’Keeffe

If predictions of a vote for independence are right, figuring out the mechanics of statehood will be a struggle
20 Nov 2019
Aid links: Timor-Leste luxury, RCT ethics, unsung Ebola doctor, more

Alexandre Dayant

Links and stories from the aid and development sector.
20 Nov 2019
United States

Türkiye
Erdoğan’s treachery can’t sway Trump’s affections

Lauren Williams

Despite Turkey’s glaring betrayals, the US president gave Recep Erdoğan a glowing welcome last week in Washington.
20 Nov 2019
Pacific Islands

Public Diplomacy And International Broadcasting

Australia

Vanuatu
China, media freedom in the Pacific, and the great Australian silence

Jemima Garrett

Media freedom issues bedevil the region, but it’s the dwindling number of Pacific-based journalists that carries a cost.
19 Nov 2019
Indonesia
Jokowi’s curious plan for Indonesia’s capital

Alyssa Leng , Roland Rajah

The Indonesian president’s scheme to move the capital won’t fix Jakarta – or the government.
19 Nov 2019
Hong Kong
How China is winning the Hong Kong propaganda war

JJ Rose

Discredit, attack, and marginalise. Beijing is showing just how to wait out the protests, then turn the tide.
19 Nov 2019
International Economy

Rules Based Audio
Globalisation’s next wave: Podcast out now

Kelsey Munro

Economist Richard Baldwin talks about the coming jobs apocalypse in rich countries – and its upside.
19 Nov 2019
Australia

Climate change
Book review: The chance to actually change the climate

Mark Beeson

Getting something done about global warming might seem a bit too good to be true, but good policy ideas demand action.
18 Nov 2019
United States

Australia

Migration
Australia and immigration: Lessons from Reagan’s 1986 US amnesty law

Alex Vedovi

New research suggests that giving legal status to unauthorised immigrants can have multiple positive outcomes.
18 Nov 2019
China

India

Iran

Pakistan

Asia and the Middle East
Shifting alliances in the Gulf a boon to China

Syed Fazl-e-Haider

Iran’s offer to connect Chabahar port to Pakistan’s Gwadar will frustrate India but might also encourage China.
18 Nov 2019
United States

Trade

China
Trade war: From a phase one deal to perpetual peace

Henry Gao

How to reconcile deeper ideological differences underlying the US-China conflicts is a far greater challenge.
15 Nov 2019
India
Ayodhya verdict and unruly consequences

Aarti Betigeri

India’s Supreme Court has delivered a ruling that will embolden the Hindu right and challenge the country’s secularism.
15 Nov 2019
United States

The Trump Presidency
Autocrats Anonymous

Erin Hurley

A White House confessional reveals Donald Trump incapable of change – a kind of Marvel superhero, but less interesting.
15 Nov 2019
India

Review
Book Review: The original corporate raiders

John West

Historian William Dalrymple looks at how a small trading company in London became a mighty army and conquered India.
14 Nov 2019
Australia
Surviving hell

Edmond Roy

Bush fires rip across Australia – a million hectares burnt so far – testing volunteers and residents alike.
14 Nov 2019
Central Asia

China

India

Pakistan

Russia
SCO-style economic cooperation: Treading slowly

Olesya Dovgalyuk

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation efforts to rebrand itself as an economic forum deserve a second look.
14 Nov 2019
Trade

Australia

China

Chart of the week
Chart of the week: Australia’s “fear and greed” with China

Richard McGregor

In just two decades, Australia’s relationship with China has evolved dramatically, illustrated by exports.
13 Nov 2019
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s election threatens a return to authoritarian rule

Alan Keenan

A looming comeback by the powerful Rajapaksa family stirs fear among minorities and imperils fragile democratic gains.
13 Nov 2019
Myanmar
A motion towards justice in Myanmar

Emma Palmer

An International Court of Justice filing seeks to declare the state committed acts of genocide against the Rohingya.
13 Nov 2019
Pacific Islands
Pacific links: Peter O’Neill speaks, a new volcanic island, media bans

Alexandre Dayant

Links and stories from across the Pacific Islands region.
13 Nov 2019
Global Issues

Australia

Migration

United Kingdom
In conversation: Weak parties, hollow politics, and democratic danger

Sam Roggeveen , George Megalogenis

Could a radical break with Asia be the cost of a growing dislocation of the political parties and the Australian public?
12 Nov 2019
United States

Australia

Japan
Connecting the dots on the Blue Dot Network

Peter McCawley

Beyond a press release trumpeting “high-quality infrastructure” and “global trust standards”, things are a bit fuzzy.
12 Nov 2019
Russia

Africa
Russia’s southern strategy

Allan du Toit

The pace of Russian re-engagement in Africa and the Indian Ocean region has accelerated as US influence has waned.
12 Nov 2019
United States

Nuclear Weapons

North Korea
North Korea’s deadline logic

Khang Vu

Pyongyang has declared an end-of-year cut off in the nuclear talks, yet does such a deadline really matter?
11 Nov 2019
United States

China

US-China
Signs of a deal between US and China, and a rethink

John Edwards

Both countries have good reasons to cool off the two-year trade war.
11 Nov 2019
Defence & Security

Australian Defence Force

Australian Air Force
Australia’s F-35s: Lessons from a problematic purchase

Peter Layton

The rush nearly 20 years ago to buy the fighter of the future exposed fundamental shortcomings in defence acquisitions.
11 Nov 2019
Australia

Migration

Review
Review: Australia, real and imagined

John Fitzgerald

It’s time to inject new content into the hardy ideal of a free and equal Australia.
8 Nov 2019
India

Pakistan
India draws the line on Kashmir

Christopher Snedden

New maps issued by India raise some important questions – starting with what exactly they mean.
8 Nov 2019
China

Technology
Beijing’s cryptic blockchain gambit

Elliott Zaagman

The technology has enormous potential to support good governance. The Party may have something else in mind.
7 Nov 2019
Terrorism

Afghanistan

Pakistan
The uncertain fate of Islamic State in Pakistan

Adnan Aamir

The death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is a major blow, but Islamic State in Pakistan is not dead yet.
7 Nov 2019
Asia

Global Economy

Trade

Asean
Economic diplomacy: RCEP and ASEAN’s new way, plus voting ADB-style

Greg Earl

What was Factory Asia has made a subtle shift to a consumer-driven Market Asia under the “world’s biggest trade deal”.
7 Nov 2019
United States

Australia

Australian Public Opinion

Chart of the week
Chart of the week: Trump and the US-Australia alliance

Natasha Kassam

Most Australians say the alliance makes us safer, but also makes Australia more likely to be drawn into a war in Asia.
6 Nov 2019
Global Issues

Migration
The Rohingya Football Club

JJ Rose

Observations from the field after a sobering experience attempting to use sport as a form of aid.
6 Nov 2019
Asia

Trade
India’s RCEP exit a setback, but not a disaster

Jeffrey Wilson

With an India–China deadlock out of the way, the path is clear to finalise the historic regional trade agreement.
6 Nov 2019
Middle East
Protests in Lebanon are a problem for Hezbollah

Lauren Williams

A rare and unified anti-sectarian agenda could quickly unravel as religious identities and old grievances take hold.
6 Nov 2019
Aid links: the financial boon of open borders, Timor tourism, more

Alexandre Dayant

Links and stories from the aid and development sector.
5 Nov 2019
China

India
India’s clever alliances with island states

Ian Hall

A multifaceted outreach with Indian Ocean neighbours provides useful lessons in navigating China’s dominance.
5 Nov 2019
Australia

China

Russia
The Sino–Russian alliance and what it means for Australia

Stephen Blank

Moscow and Beijing are closer than ever, increasing threats to Australia’s vital and long-standing interests.
5 Nov 2019
Syria

Rules Based Audio
October in Syria: Podcast out now

Kelsey Munro

Rodger Shanahan unpacks the US withdrawal from Syria and the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Are they linked?
5 Nov 2019
Cambodia
Photo essay: Phnom Penh and China-backed building boom

Simon Roughneen

Towering over low shops and French colonial–era townhouses grows a new city in tribute to the politics of the present.