9 Aug 2021
Disinfopreneurs and infodemics
Black Ops social influence campaigns are big business. Some difficult questions and a few bold ideas are on the table.
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6 Aug 2021
Life in a host city, at home, live-streaming the Olympics
Watching on from a tatami floor in Tokyo, the sport is great, the geopolitics just as good. -
6 Aug 2021
Refreshing American soft power in the Pacific Islands
Tales of past wars no longer resonate. The US has better stories to tell, not least of its own stumbles with democracy. -
6 Aug 2021
Hong Kong security law flexes Beijing’s international muscle
Beijing’s heavy hand in Hong Kong showcases China 2.0 – more confident and less conciliatory. -
5 Aug 2021
Is Pakistan fuelling a Taliban takeover?
The Afghan government points a finger at Pakistan in a tactic to divert attention from its own colossal failures. -
5 Aug 2021
“I am a Taiwanese”: Eastern Europeans see a Cold War in East Asia
Memories of life under authoritarianism forge ties between Taiwan and a growing number of Eastern European states. -
4 Aug 2021
Cruising into stormy weather
Covid-19 is not the cruise industry’s only woe. Will America’s love affair with sea voyaging be able to turn the tide? -
4 Aug 2021
Preparing Australia to respond to disasters – at home and abroad
The military should be restructured with a dedicated element to better tackle relief operations full-time. -
3 Aug 2021
Man on a mission: Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan
The removal of US troops from Afghanistan was in Joe Biden’s sights long before he was president. But what next? -
3 Aug 2021
India-US ties: Work in progress
“Quad” partners they may be, but the US is performing a delicate dance around its human rights concerns in India. -
3 Aug 2021
Keeping PNG connected by investing in radio
Australia could quickly make a critical – and relatively cheap – neighbourly investment in democracy. -
2 Aug 2021
How many times? Reckoning with gender-based violence in PNG
Urgent action is needed to end PNG’s poor record as the most dangerous country in the region for women and girls. -
2 Aug 2021
Russia and Vietnam: An alliance of convenience
Moscow’s interests in Hanoi’s arms and oil make for a tricky strategic juggling act with Beijing. -
2 Aug 2021
China threatens the West’s primacy, not its democratic systems
Cold War tropes misrepresent Beijing’s challenge, and exaggerate its material and ideological power. -
30 Jul 2021
China’s Afghan conundrum
Afghanistan is not reputed to be the “graveyard of empires” without reason. -
30 Jul 2021
Why China and North Korea decided to renew a 60-year-old treaty
Mutual interests abound in a win-win for the alliance of single-party states. -
29 Jul 2021
Economic diplomacy: Going for gold in 20 years and counting
Brisbane will host the Olympics in 2032 but the starter’s gun has already sounded in the cost versus benefits contest. -
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29 Jul 2021
Africa and Europe rally to contain Islamic insurgency in Mozambique
But it won’t be the end of the story. -
28 Jul 2021
Far more world leaders visit China than America
If leadership diplomacy was an Olympic sport, Beijing beats Washington to the gold medal. -
28 Jul 2021
India: A very colonial hangover
The Pegasus spyware saga puts a spotlight, again, on a lack of parliamentary accountability for intelligence agencies. -
28 Jul 2021
Merkel and beyond
With grace under pressure, Angela Merkel has led Germany through several emergencies. What of the next Chancellor? -
27 Jul 2021
The connectivity trade-off from social media misinformation
Countries of the Global South hold the greatest potential for new internet users. But also the spectre of violence. -
27 Jul 2021
When the chips are down: Biden’s semiconductor war
Export controls on US semiconductor tech into China didn’t stop with Trump. -
26 Jul 2021
Another proxy war in Afghanistan?
India and Pakistan both have deep ties to Afghanistan and as US troops withdraw, a fresh conflict may fill the void. -
26 Jul 2021
Bringing home Australian children trapped in Syrian camps
Faced with thorny legal and security obstacles for the adults, it may be better to return children alone. -
23 Jul 2021
Shouldering their fair share? The ANZUS allies in the Pacific Islands
A reported pivot by special forces to the region raises questions about the role expected of Australia and New Zealand. -
23 Jul 2021
China’s numbers game harms us all
As Beijing attempts to tackle some shared world problems, its opaque regime means the benefits are limited. -
22 Jul 2021
US-China rivalries: What matters for ASEAN
Southeast Asian nations have learned to be wary of big powers offering promises of security in return for loyalty. -
22 Jul 2021
Bringing the grey zone into focus
Australia must be ready for China’s next move in the volatile game of statecraft brinkmanship. -
21 Jul 2021
The politics of PacMan
Manny Pacquiao is famously conservative. By turning on Rodrigo Duterte, the boxer-senator wants to deliver a knock-out. -
21 Jul 2021
Defending the liberal international order
John Ikenberry takes a long view of the success and failures of efforts to make “a world safe for democracy”. -
20 Jul 2021
Postcard from Tokyo 2020+1
Sport and politics make an unhappy union at one of the most controversial Olympics ever. -
20 Jul 2021
Can Biden’s Build Back Better World compete with the Belt and Road?
Overhyping China’s BRI can be self-defeating and play into Beijing’s hands. -
19 Jul 2021
Press freedom more important than ever in the Asia–Pacific
A new database tracks incursions and crackdowns on journalists’ capacity to report. -
19 Jul 2021
Russia’s National Security Strategy: Same book, new cover
The subtext of the country’s new security strategy reveals a regime beset by suspicion and insecurity. -
16 Jul 2021
From polls to posts, Dili and the DMZ, my unexpected think tank career
Farewell after 14 years charting Australia in the world from the country’s leading foreign policy research institute. -
16 Jul 2021
The G20 “diplomacy dividend”
Civil engagement groups have a valuable commodity at their disposal: time. -
15 Jul 2021
Economic diplomacy: Little Australia spends slowly in the Pacific
Can a step-up speed up? And what of the economic and cultural benefits of migration in Covid times? -
15 Jul 2021
Indonesia cannot afford to put its economy before people
A religious festival has become a super-spreading event. The government knew the risk but didn’t do enough to stop it. -
15 Jul 2021
EU the new kingpin in global trade order
The world moves on, while a crippled Appellate Body takes the US with it. -
14 Jul 2021
Olympic glory: Tokyo’s success is a win for Beijing
China has just as much riding on a successful Tokyo 2020 Games as Japan. -
14 Jul 2021
Sun, surf and a sandbox escape from a pandemic
Thailand’s holiday island Phuket is trialling vaccine tourism in a bid to recover from the Covid-19 wave. -
14 Jul 2021
China’s law on conscription under revision
An emphasis on second enlistments suggests not enough young people are volunteering to meet recruitment quotas. -
13 Jul 2021
Afghanistan, Australia and the visa conundrum
What responsibility does the government have for those on the periphery of the Australian campaign in Afghanistan? -
13 Jul 2021
Taipei’s growing legion of friends
There’s serious regional clout behind Taiwan’s goal of peace and stability. -
13 Jul 2021
Xi and beyond
More ambitious, more educated and more engaged — the CCP powers into the second century. -
12 Jul 2021
Whatever happened to the South China Sea ruling?
Five years ago the Philippines largely squandered a crucial legal win. But it’s not too late to marshal support. -
12 Jul 2021
Covid crisis deepens in junta-ruled Myanmar
Patchwork restrictions haven’t contained the virus. And now the danger is spilling over the border to neighbours. -
12 Jul 2021
Abandoning Afghanistan won’t bring peace
The pledge of a “a responsible end” to America’s involvement in Afghanistan’s war will likely have the opposite effect.