14 Dec 2020
Favourites of 2020: Capturing a precarious moment
Documentary photographers have the toughest of briefs – a still image of an ever changing world.
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14 Dec 2020
Australia-Indonesia relations need to talk the talk
Indonesian language programs in Australian universities – a gateway to cultural connection – are disappearing. -
14 Dec 2020
A dilemma for Pakistan as UAE cuts off work visas
A vital source of employment and income has been severed after Pakistan ran afoul of its powerful benefactors. -
11 Dec 2020
Favourites of 2020: A lockdown loaf
When it came to baking bread, we were breaking bread as a community. -
11 Dec 2020
Joe Biden’s Pentagon pick sends a message
The choice of Lloyd Austin as Defense Secretary singles out someone who could help end America’s “forever wars”. -
11 Dec 2020
PNG and the politics of the death penalty
Why have a costly public consultation when it’s already abundantly clear capital punishment has little support? -
11 Dec 2020
Bangladesh: Sculptures, statues and hard-liners
Outcry over how to commemorate the nation’s first president pits Islamists against secularists – again. -
10 Dec 2020
Favourites of 2020: Casting a line in Pacific fisheries
The feel-good story of eight apparently vulnerable Pacific nations up against every major fishing economy in the world. -
10 Dec 2020
Indonesia-China cooperation: Standby for take-off
For all the obstacles in the relationship, ties between Jakarta and Beijing look set to only continue to grow. -
10 Dec 2020
Where America finds itself
With Trump on the way out, from the White House at least, there is perhaps a chance to get serious for a moment. -
9 Dec 2020
Favourites of 2020: Minister of Finance Incorporated
To grasp Malaysia’s infamous 1MDB scandal means understanding the elaborate ecosystem of government-linked companies. -
9 Dec 2020
Do politicians really make “excellent envoys”?
A politician turned plenipotentiary can make a powerful statement. Yet it can also undermine public service neutrality. -
9 Dec 2020
A reckoning for Thailand’s indigenous defence industry
The Covid pandemic forced into action long-held plans to remodel defence procurement, but it’s a big challenge. -
8 Dec 2020
Favourites of 2020: The politics of Tiger King
An absurd insight? Dishonesty, narcissism and the celebritisation of politics do sound awfully familiar. -
8 Dec 2020
China’s online meddling goes beyond the Great Firewall
Human rights movements still suffer from falsehoods and misinformation even on social media platforms banned by Beijing. -
8 Dec 2020
Women, peace and security are not only wartime issues
The cost of domestic violence has only grown during Covid lockdowns – in rich and poor nations alike. -
8 Dec 2020
Artefacts paving France’s return to Africa
As its economic influence shrinks in its former territories, France is trading in a new currency: history. -
7 Dec 2020
Favourites of 2020: Memes
Internet culture is moving faster than ever, and what better way to understand a crazy year? -
7 Dec 2020
The Afghan inquiry and the question of responsibility
Agitating for a big scalp only distracts from reflecting on what the Brereton report actually uncovered. -
7 Dec 2020
Solve generational problems by listening to the youth who’ll live them
Developing the Youth, Peace and Security agenda in the Asia-Pacific is a chance to ensure lasting change. -
7 Dec 2020
The case for going all-in on renewables
Energy security and economic growth have political support where climate change doesn’t. Bring them all together. -
4 Dec 2020
Indonesia’s Omnibus Law won’t kill corruption
The new legislation will shift regional power dynamics, but it can’t eradicate an entrenched culture of kickbacks. -
4 Dec 2020
Jim Wolfensohn’s knowledge bank
Impatient and ambitious, as World Bank president the Australian-turned-American tackled a global “cancer of corruption”. -
4 Dec 2020
North Korea’s very odd year
Compounding crises have forced Kim Jong-un to break old habits. It may be a sign of new opportunity. -
3 Dec 2020
As a national champion departs the scene, a China food fight looms
Picking winners? In this case, one sort of export interest seems to have suffered due to support for another. -
3 Dec 2020
In the Philippines, a label can take your life
Accusation as a communist – “red-tagging” – is a potential death sentence, which doesn’t stop some from using it. -
3 Dec 2020
More pollies in more posts
Are changing contours of global power or suspicions of the “swamp” driving more politicians to fill key diplomatic jobs? -
2 Dec 2020
The surprise of Biden
Written off before he improbably rose to the top, Joe Biden may have the right stuff to lead America through a crisis. -
2 Dec 2020
India’s farmers take on Modi
The tactics that have allowed the Modi government to enforce unpopular new laws may not work this time. -
2 Dec 2020
Al-Qaeda: The core problem
The killing of senior terrorist Abu Mohammed al-Masri on a Tehran street raises questions about al-Qaeda’s ties to Iran. -
2 Dec 2020
A false start for PNG-Bougainville consultations
The post-referendum process stalled after a delegation arrived in Port Moresby, only to have the meeting cancelled. -
1 Dec 2020
We’ve been trolled – expect more of it, because it worked
Here’s how Scott Morrison might have responded to China’s online provocation. -
1 Dec 2020
China: Explaining that tweet
Four possible reasons behind a Chinese official’s social media missive. -
1 Dec 2020
The UK’s unwelcome foreign aid cut
Amid a pandemic and shifting geopolitics, the aid budget was a victim of its own size – and domestic pressures. -
1 Dec 2020
What RCEP can tell us about geopolitics in Asia
China-US rivalry tends to overshadow assessments. But this major accomplishment came with ASEAN at the centre. -
30 Nov 2020
Donald Trump vs the democratic tradition
By refusing to concede an election he has lost, the American president further undermines faith in the system. -
30 Nov 2020
The fallout of assassinating Mohsen Fakhrizadeh
The killing of the head of the Iranian nuclear program may make it even harder to revive the nuclear deal. -
30 Nov 2020
Russia’s red star in the Red Sea
A naval facility in Port Sudan signals a new thrust of Russian operations in the Indo-Pacific. -
27 Nov 2020
Fareed Zakaria on Australia’s “opportunity” between the US and China
Inspiration from a tiny giant in Southeast Asia might help Australia find a way through multiple diplomatic obstacles. -
27 Nov 2020
Prospects for a G20 “pandemic treaty”
Spared the “theatre of summitry”, the next leaders of the grouping now have a chance to get on with the job. -
27 Nov 2020
Port Adelaide to Shanghai: Sports diplomacy and the long road ahead
When a sports club thinks strategically, governments can benefit too. -
27 Nov 2020
Beijing’s line on the South China Sea: “Nothing to see here”
China’s official denials of growing military capability in the region look a lot like gaslighting. -
26 Nov 2020
Myanmar’s military-backed opposition party stares into political abyss
An electoral failure might be a repudiation of the military’s influence in politics – but not its irrelevance. -
26 Nov 2020
Who was Hugo Grotius and what is a “Grotian world”?
The PM extols a philosopher who put moral conduct at the centre of international relations. -
26 Nov 2020
The outlines of a European policy on the Indo-Pacific
Germany and the Netherlands have new strategies for the Indo-Pacific, and maybe the beginnings of a common EU stance. -
25 Nov 2020
In search of a middle-power rethink on North Korea policy
An international commission could potentially transform an outdated and failed approach to the Korean peninsula. -
25 Nov 2020
A Biden presidency and US-Russia relations
The new US administration will certainly push back harder on the Kremlin, but there may also be chances for engagement. -
24 Nov 2020
Australia’s PM: “How good is international relations theory!”
Scott Morrison is adopting a philosophical approach to strategic challenges – but don’t confuse this with doing nothing. -
24 Nov 2020
PNG budget: Pluses and minuses
A spending surge aims to steer the economy out of crisis, but high debt and heavy interest pose another risk. -
24 Nov 2020
After Christchurch: Mapping online right-wing extremists
For all the hate, sometimes extending to talk of violence, the extremist milieu is also a highly social space.