21 Dec 2018
We’re having a break: light publishing over the New Year
Best wishes for the season from all of us here at The Interpreter. Regular publishing will resume 7 January.
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21 Dec 2018
Was Jim Mattis really the “last adult in the room”?
Mattis said Trump deserves a defense secretary “whose views are better aligned with yours”. Does such a person exist? -
21 Dec 2018
Could Hanif Atmar become the next President of Afghanistan?
Seen as a cleanskin, Atmar would have a colossal job to convince international donors to keep up support. -
21 Dec 2018
Kovrig case casts pall over China research ties
The arrest of the Canadian researcher sends a chill China-watching communities around the world. -
21 Dec 2018
The debate over Australia stripping citizenship from terrorists
International law obligations and there is little evidence that revoking citizenship reduces the terrorist threat. -
21 Dec 2018
Bougainville’s Panguna – “a challenging opportunity”
Opportunities in Bougainville won’t be easily or quickly realised, and certainly not without community support. -
20 Dec 2018
What happens next? Trump’s sudden Syria exit
Exactly what “moving on” means will become apparent in the months ahead but such a rapid exit has obvious ramifications. -
20 Dec 2018
Economic diplomacy: how the world changed in 2018
The much-forecast arrival of geo-economics has seen an acceptance – and even a desire – for US-China tech competition. -
20 Dec 2018
Stepping up on Pacific infrastructure
The advantage of concessional loans is grant funding by Australia can be leveraged into a much larger amount. -
20 Dec 2018
The new US Africa strategy is not about Africa. It’s about China
A US Africa strategy should focus on US-Africa relations, not on China-Africa relations. -
19 Dec 2018
What I missed this year: America pushes back
There has been a clear shift in US thinking regarding China's long term trajectory. -
19 Dec 2018
Russian gas will not stop China’s air pollution
Current measures are clearly insufficient to drastically improve air quality. -
19 Dec 2018
Aid links: donor fatigue, poverty measures, Syrian camps, more
Links and stories from the aid and development sector. -
19 Dec 2018
How the conservative “Anglosphere” fell in love with India
Mistaken assumptions about Indian history is leading to profound misunderstandings about its foreign policy priorities. -
18 Dec 2018
Moon’s Eurasia: opening up North Korea, serving Seoul’s interests
South Korea has effectively been an island since the division of Korea, but Moon Jae-in has grand hopes for a change. -
18 Dec 2018
International law cannot save the rules-based order
Rising Chinese power is carving out a “geolegal” order, with reference to China, rather than international law, the key. -
18 Dec 2018
What I missed this year: Australia waking up to the Pacific
<p>Lowy Institute experts look back on what surprised them in 2018</p> -
17 Dec 2018
US-China tensions: is this about economics or security?
The challenge might seem to be China’s economic behaviour rather than old-fashioned power rivalry. -
17 Dec 2018
How much autonomy is too much when it comes to waging war?
<p>The use of autonomous weapons in war raises concerns on humanitarian consequences and the application of law.</p> -
17 Dec 2018
Responses to Australia’s Israel capital decision
<p>How the world reacted to Scott Morrison’s decision to formally recognise West Jerusalem Israel’s capital.</p> -
17 Dec 2018
Populism, poison, and The Party: the big stories of 2018
The year 2018 was a killer, here’s what came across The Interpreter’s desk. -
15 Dec 2018
Weekend catch-up: Huawei arrests and Australia’s Iran policy
Indian politics, drone warfare and encryption laws: the week that was on the Interpreter. -
14 Dec 2018
Collective Rage: Gilets Jaunes in France and elsewhere
Inordinate hatred coming from seemingly ordinary citizens is indicative of a wider trend – and a bleak European future. -
14 Dec 2018
Australia jostles over its Iran policy
The Jerusalem embassy debate has overshadowed a potential shift in Australia’s longstanding independent stance on Iran. -
14 Dec 2018
Answering the question: should South Korea accept refugees?
The arrival of hundreds of Yemeni asylum seekers in South Korea has produced a strange alliance in opposition. -
13 Dec 2018
What went wrong? Taiwan fails to legalise same-sex marriage
Foreign influence helped scupper a bid to be the first Asian nation to formally legalise gay marriage. -
13 Dec 2018
Playing the hostage card: the Meng Wanzhou & Michael Kovrig cases
<p>China’s tit-for-tat diplomacy with Canada has a recent precedent, yet Donald Trump is hardly helping.</p> -
13 Dec 2018
Competing shades of saffron in Indian politics
Recent strife in the city of Ayodhya must be seen as an omen of a shifting political agenda ahead of India’s elections. -
13 Dec 2018
Disruptors disrupted: Australia’s new encryption law
Law enforcement and technology companies are battling over the privacy implications of contentious new laws. -
12 Dec 2018
Meng Wanzhou: China’s “tantrum diplomacy” and Huawei
<p>China’s technology firms are paying the price for its conduct.</p> -
12 Dec 2018
The true cost of fast fashion
Moves by countries such as Australia to adopt modern slavery laws are a small start in tackling a big global problem. -
12 Dec 2018
Pacific links: call to close bases, deep sea struggles, more
Plus money for regional infrastructure, Fiji election results, and links from the Pacific islands region. -
12 Dec 2018
How Australia should deepen ties with India
From Kohli to coal exports, Australia is reconsidering India’s potential as a key economic and geopolitical partner. -
11 Dec 2018
US killing by drone: continuity and escalation
<p>The US use of drones in “targeted killings” has grown under Donald Trump, continuing Barack Obama’s legacy.</p> -
11 Dec 2018
Brexit deal debate reveals dark side to EU diplomacy
Reactions provoked by the mooted deal provide analysts with rich insight into some of the forces now at play in Europe. -
11 Dec 2018
Separating the Philippine state from the church
Filipino Catholic voters separate the Church from the State and uphold this in political practice. -
11 Dec 2018
Xi Jinping in 2018: Any closer to the truth?
Are we misinterpreting this figure and seeing a mirage of great power rather than the real thing? -
10 Dec 2018
Dimly lit renewable energy initiatives for the Pacific
<p>Population, technical capacity and economies of scale stand in the way to renewable energy in the region.</p> -
10 Dec 2018
China takes off for the Moon, tethered by politics at home
A special space mission would usually get blanket coverage, but the timing is awkward for Beijing to showcase science. -
10 Dec 2018
The distant fate of Russia’s Far East
Demonstrations in Vladivostok a decade ago were quelled, but an attitude of independence from faraway Moscow remains. -
8 Dec 2018
Weekend catch-up: Abe in Darwin, the Trump-Xi truce & more
Manus Island Naval base, Australia and Japan's anxiety, and Indian air pollution: The week that was on The Interpreter. -
7 Dec 2018
US-China competition is all about us
Everybody else will be the objects of China-US competition, called upon to make choices in favour of one or the other. -
7 Dec 2018
Indonesia has a stake in Australia’s Lombrum plans too
The Australian debate over the Lobrum naval base almost entirely ignores Indonesia. -
7 Dec 2018
Economic diplomacy: Mahathir, BRI and Payne
Australia's economic diplomacy agenda, the underestimated ASEAN Economic Community, and the indefinable Mahathir. -
6 Dec 2018
Steady but slow in Australia-Japan security cooperation
Abe’s recent visit to Darwin indicates that Canberra and Tokyo acknowledge the common security challenges they face. -
6 Dec 2018
Rap song sparks a gender conversation in South Korea
<p>The lyrics criticise the #metoo movement and question why women aren’t required to enlist in the military.</p> -
5 Dec 2018
Australia’s new foreign-influence laws: Who is targeted?
Australia is leading the democratic push-back against quiet intrusions from authoritarian states. -
5 Dec 2018
How the US can prevent a China-dominated Asia
America should stop spreading itself far and wide in the pursuit of improbable power balances. -
5 Dec 2018
Uighur: Australia needs to end “business as usual” with China
Taking action would be consistent with Australia’s democratic values and core security interests. -
4 Dec 2018
The India-Pakistan corridor of peace
The neighbours have proposed a visa-free corridor but this is not an indication of a renewed friendship.