Articles | Lowy Institute

5 Mar 2018
The Trans-Pacific Partnership

United States
The long road back for the US to rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Mike Callaghan

Donald Trump’s decision to place levies on steel and aluminium imports has squashed hope the US may be adopting a more sensible view on trade.
5 Mar 2018
Aid and development links: waste pickers, African high tech, and US aid changes

Alexandre Dayant

Stories from across the web in the aid and development sector.
5 Mar 2018
Europe
Germany gets a government

Marcus Colla

The next four years may prove to be the most transformative period in German politics for some time.
5 Mar 2018
Syria

Russia
To Russia: a plea of caution on Syria

Melinda Rankin

Vladimir Putin is haunted by his own words on this tragic conflict.
3 Mar 2018
Weekend catch-up: Xi forever, steel tariffs, and foreign policy speeches

The week that was on The Interpreter.
2 Mar 2018
Global Issues
CVE: the “reinvent the wheel” research field

Anne-Marie Balbi

Policymakers and journalism have had the jump on academics studying extremism.
2 Mar 2018
Trump’s tariffs: not a trade war, yet

John Edwards

China’s steel and aluminium exports are tiny – punitive US tariffs on China’s manufacturing would be recklessly damaging.
2 Mar 2018
Chinese Foreign Aid

China
China’s loans and the debt dilemma

Hannah Ryder

Is Beijing making living with debt easier for poor nations, or easier to default on?
2 Mar 2018
Middle East
What’s in a (street) name?

Rodger Shanahan

A stroll down the petty side of Middle East conflicts.
1 Mar 2018
Asia

Global Economy
Economic diplomacy brief: Asian infrastructure, football diplomacy, and investor protection

Greg Earl

Big plans and big projects are dominating the Great Game of power politics.
1 Mar 2018
Indonesia
Quality over quantity: Indonesia’s education challenge

Kevin Evans

Debates about opening up Indonesia’s education system might also allow the country to grow its income.
1 Mar 2018
New Zealand
New Zealand’s new idealism

David Capie

In her first major foreign policy speech, Jacinda Ardern successfully juggled the diverse interests of her three-party government.
1 Mar 2018
Migration
Migration and border policy links: Syrian displacement, Myanmar, and more

Erin Harris

Links and updates from across the migration and border policy field.
1 Mar 2018
Thailand
Elections in Thailand, maybe, but still in the middle of a muddle

Elliot Brennan

The coup-installed government is living on borrowed time.
28 Feb 2018
Australia in the World
We need to talk about Australia’s international policy

Nick Bisley

The failure to speak to the public at home and with vigour about foreign policy is a mistake.
28 Feb 2018
Pacific Islands
Pacific Islands links: PNG earthquake, Vanuatu deputy PM charged, and media freedom

Links and stories from around the Pacific by The Interpreter team.
28 Feb 2018
United States

China
The danger of might without power

Ali Wyne

The US cannot only respond to Beijing’s growing economic heft by increasing its military capabilities.
28 Feb 2018
Indonesia
Shrugging Indonesia’s inferiority complex

Sian Troath

Australia should be watching the foreign policy renaissance in Jakarta with keen interest.
27 Feb 2018
China

Philippines
Philippine troops to China?

Malcolm Cook

Rodrigo Duterte’s latest call to strengthen ties with China is likely to become another source of friction with the Philippine military.
27 Feb 2018
US Economy

Australia's Economy
Company tax cuts: America versus Australia

Stephen Grenville

Rather than continue a race-to-the-bottom on company tax, a sensible global regime is needed.
27 Feb 2018
Asia
Digital Asia links: internet cafe camping, a stink over Winnie the Pooh in China, and more

Sarah Logan

<p>A digital round-up from across Asia.</p>
27 Feb 2018
Papua New Guinea
Tuberculosis: a good news story from PNG with thorns

Annmaree O’Keeffe

A campaign in Western Province seems to be achieving its goals, but TB is a disease that thrives on poverty.
26 Feb 2018
Australia
When implementation falls behind research: the case of CVE

Madeleine Nyst

More research into countering violent extremism is required in Australia.
26 Feb 2018
Syria
Russia a reluctant driver in the Syrian war

Joost Hiltermann

Moscow is averse or incapable of assuming the mantle of ultimate arbiter in Syria.
26 Feb 2018
Aid and development links: CAR crisis, Kenya politics, and Mumbai slums

Alexandre Dayant

Links and stories from across the aid and development sector.
26 Feb 2018
Indonesia
Improving education quality in Indonesia is no easy task

Andrew Rosser

Indonesia’s education problem is a matter of politics and power.
26 Feb 2018
China
Echoes of Mao as Xi Jinping ends term limits

Richard McGregor

Xi’s centralisation of power harks back to darker times in China.
24 Feb 2018
Weekend catch-up: FONOPs, space stations, Antarctica, and more

The week that was on The Interpreter.
23 Feb 2018
Australia
Joyce and the leadership churn: better get used to it

Sam Roggeveen

This may be the new normal for Australia: more frequent leadership changes, minority governments, and shorter incumbencies in government.
23 Feb 2018
Syria
The depressing sameness of the fight for Ghouta

Rodger Shanahan

The media should focus as much on armed groups among civilians as Syrian and Russian atrocities.
23 Feb 2018
China

Papua New Guinea
The Belt and Road to nowhere: China’s incoherent aid in Papua New Guinea

Graeme Smith

Ten canneries were to be built to capture more value from tuna caught in PNG waters. A decade later, there are no canneries.
23 Feb 2018
China

India
India’s rivalry with China, from the mountains to the sea

Brendan Thomas-Noone

During the Doklam crisis, New Dehli apparently tried to send a signal to Beijing with its nuclear missile submarine.
22 Feb 2018
United States

Japan

North Korea

South Korea
Moon versus Abe and the contest for America’s ear

Dalin Hamilton

North Korea policy is seen by some Japanese media as a debate with a South Korean stooge.
22 Feb 2018
Solomon Islands
The hidden epidemic in the shanty towns of Honiara

Catherine Wilson

Diarrhoea is a killer in Solomon Islands, and climate change will only increase its danger.
22 Feb 2018
Migration
Migration and border policy links: global compact negotiations, Italian village life, and more

Erin Harris

Links and updates from across the migration and border policy field.
22 Feb 2018
Asia

Defence & Security

Europe
“Global Britain” on the line in the South China Sea

Euan Graham , Shashank Joshi

Joint freedom of navigation patrols by the UK and France would be more convincing to a regional audience.
21 Feb 2018
Pacific Islands
Unblocking money flows in the Pacific

Steven Beck

A crackdown on terrorist financing has had unintended negative consequences in developing countries.
21 Feb 2018
Pacific Islands
Pacific Islands links: Cyclone Gita clean-up, tuberculosis in PNG, and New Caledonian referendum

Links and stories from around the Pacific by The Interpreter team.
21 Feb 2018
Institutions

Australia's Economy

Foreign Investment in Australia
International vulnerabilities and opportunities for Australia’s universities

Melissa Conley Tyler

Universities need to accept their vulnerability to internationalisation in order to prepare students for the future.
21 Feb 2018
Australia in the World
Seven quick takeaways from Julie Bishop’s speech at King’s College London

Euan Graham

The most important foreign policy speech in a year hints how Australia's view has evolved in a short time.
20 Feb 2018
Pacific Islands
Rules of thumb for women leaders in the Pacific, and beyond

Ceridwen Spark

A new study reveals the unique pressures faced by women in Pacific politics, with lessons for female politicians everywhere.
20 Feb 2018
Australia
Defence exports and the Arms Trade Treaty – is Australia missing in action?

Susan Hutchinson

Increasing arms sales to countries with records of human rights and gender-based violence is not in the spirit of the ATT.
20 Feb 2018
Europe
France: more bucks for your bang

David Ritchie

A boost to defence spending is a signal France is prepared to lead on major European and global security challenges.
19 Feb 2018
United States
Vietnamisation in space: America withdraws from ISS

Morris Jones

Could this be the beginning of the end for the US sending humans into space?
19 Feb 2018
Aid and development links: the cost of a job, traffic in megacities, and more

Alexandre Dayant

Links and stories from across the aid and development sector.
19 Feb 2018
Defence & Security

US Navy

China's Military
China and the military balance

Sam Roggeveen

Is it only a matter of time before China replaces the US as the predominant military power in Asia?
19 Feb 2018
United States

Australia
Sex, Russia ties, and guns debate – what Turnbull takes to Washington

Daniel Flitton

The Prime Minister will need to field awkward questions on his US trip this week.
19 Feb 2018
Antarctica
Collaborating with China in Antarctica

Indi Hodgson-Johnston

Countries should seek to foster scientific cooperation in the areas of ocean and climate research.
17 Feb 2018
Weekend catch-up: Pyongyang at PyeongChang, Malaysian election, cobalt in the Congo, and more

The week that was on The Interpreter.
16 Feb 2018
Australia

Timor-Leste
How Australia crossed a line in the Timor Sea

Kim McGrath

Canberra had evidence supporting Indonesia’s claim in maritime boundary negotiations – yet buried it.