Articles | Lowy Institute

12 Jan 2023
Australia in the World

Australia

Multiculturalism
Our public holidays should reflect Australia’s multicultural make-up

Osmond Chiu

Many countries in the region already have more public holidays to recognise diverse cultural and religious populations.
28 Dec 2022
Australia in the World

Australia
How to Interpret 2022: Australians change government

Clare Caldwell

What our columnists and contributors made of the protagonists and power plays during this year’s federal election.
8 Dec 2022
Australia in the World

Defence & Security
We need to talk about war decisions

Josh Wilson

Australia has just embarked on a parliamentary inquiry into how it makes choices about when and why it goes to war.
28 Nov 2022
Australia in the World
Redemption complete? Australia’s image and the end of “sandpaper gate”

Hugh Piper

The only truly national sport is bound to local identity – but believing in exceptionalism is a dangerous game.
28 Nov 2022
Australia in the World

Australia

Australia and Asia

Australia and the Pacific

Australian Diplomacy

Diplomacy

Foreign Policy
Confident, competent, inconsistent: Australia’s strategic personality

Ian Hall

Canberra’s report card receives a solid “pleasing result” on Southeast Asia, but a “could do better” on the Pacific.
24 Oct 2022
Australia in the World

Diplomacy

Multilateral Institutions
Australia’s road to Geneva

James Cotton

The League of Nations gave delegates from the antipodes a taste for progressive internationalism that remains today.
5 Sep 2022
Australia in the World

Diplomacy

The Americas
If Brazil’s ambassador could seed a few ideas with the Prime Minister

Daniel Flitton

Australia has a growing personal connection to the South American giant, with diplomatic ties yet to catch up.
2 Sep 2022
Australia in the World

Diplomacy
“Should democracies ever lie?” Sort of. Maybe. Not really

Hugh Piper

Bending the truth corrupts confidence in democratic institutions and risks a race to the bottom.
1 Sep 2022
Australia in the World

Russia

United States
Downer, Turnbull, Trump and a poke in the Five Eyes

Daniel Flitton

Just a diplomat doing his job? A new book puts the spotlight back on Australia, Russia and interference in the US election.
29 Aug 2022
South Korea

Australia in the World

Australia's Defence Challenges

Australian Diplomacy
The merits of transactionalism

Victor Abramowicz

Seeking deeper relationships doesn’t always best serve the national interest.
25 Aug 2022
Australia in the World

Australia

Diplomacy
Penny Wong on “30 minutes with the PM” and Australia’s global interest

Daniel Flitton

The Foreign Minister was asked about the new Interpreter series and her answer was an insight into balancing priorities.
8 Aug 2022
Australia in the World

Australia and Asia

Australian Diplomacy

Diplomacy
The opportunities of cross-public service diplomacy

Shaun Cameron

Collaborations between Australia and its regional partners on skills, knowledge and capacity offer a win-win scenario.
2 Jun 2022
Australia in the World

Trade

G20

Australia

Indonesia
Economic diplomacy: New Labor ministers are facing up to old issues

Greg Earl

Reshaping policies on the Pacific, Indonesia and domestic manufacturing is already revealing a changing of the guard.
24 May 2022
Australia in the World

Diplomacy

Australia
Rejuvenating DFAT: increasing diversity and becoming less insular

Yun Jiang

Harnessing the experience and skills of the entire Australian community is the foundation for strong diplomacy.
19 May 2022
Australia in the World

Diplomacy

Australia
Looking for a little sizzle from the 2022 election campaign

Greg Earl

As one of the world’s oldest stable democracies, Australia can do better in its election foreign policy discussion.
13 May 2022
Australia in the World
Payne v Wong: The foreign policy election debate

Sam Roggeveen
13 Apr 2022
Australia in the World

Australia
Time to think big on the future of Australian diplomacy

Hugh Piper

A good start would put the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade at the centre of decision-making and coordination.
24 Mar 2022
Australia in the World

Defence & Security
Can states have strategic personalities?

Ian Hall , Renee Jeffery

Understanding Australian traits and behaviours could explain how the country works with others – and how it’s perceived.
16 Mar 2022
Australia in the World

Australian Diplomacy
Australian cricket’s soft power opportunity

Hugh Piper

A hat trick of factors calls for all-round success, and a recognition of bigger issues, including gender equality.
22 Feb 2022
Australia in the World

Australia
A global Australia needs to be a confident Australia

Allan Behm

As a nation, we need to probe the boundaries and content of what passes for “received wisdom”.
21 Feb 2022
Australia in the World

Australia
Is bipartisanship on national security a good thing?

Richard Maude

The current era requires patient diplomacy and policy that survives a short election cycle. But not without debate.
1 Feb 2022
Australia in the World
Joining the “Barty party” in foreign and defence policy

Bec Strating , Joanne Wallis

If Australia wants a role model for how to present itself to the world, the tennis champ embodies humility and grit.
20 Jan 2022
Australia in the World
A test of Australia’s place in the world

Daniel Flitton

For a sporting nation, why doesn’t competition with the region hold more appeal?
11 Aug 2021
Australia in the World

Diplomacy
Pandemic plight of international students will leave Australia poorer

Aaron Soans

Lonely days during an education abroad will deplete Australia’s soft power reserves.
16 Jul 2021
Australia in the World
From polls to posts, Dili and the DMZ, my unexpected think tank career

Alex Oliver

Farewell after 14 years charting Australia in the world from the country’s leading foreign policy research institute.
30 Jun 2021
Global Issues

Australia in the World
Rules-based order: What’s in a name?

Ben Scott

The genesis, rise and complex ambitions of one of the most speculated about concepts in global politics right now.
25 Mar 2021
Global Economy

Australia in the World

Multilateral Institutions

WTO
Economic diplomacy: Deploying soft power and the future of trade

Greg Earl

Not-so-negative globalism, the not-so-predictable future of supply chains, and maybe not much change on China.
19 Feb 2021
Australia in the World

Diplomacy

Australia
What happened to Australia’s “soft power”?

Melissa Conley Tyler

A review of soft power was trumpeted as a chance to increase Australia’s persuasive force. So why was it abandoned?
28 Jan 2021
Australia in the World

Human rights

International law

United Nations
Australia in focus at the UN Human Rights Council

Shannon Maree Torrens

Despite Australia’s history of support for human rights, a formal review offers a serious reality check.
25 Jan 2021
Australia in the World

Europe

United States

Global Economic Governance

Multilateral Institutions
The US and the next leader of the OECD

Daniel F. Runde

Australia’s candidate for Secretary-General is a favourable contender, but American backing is still up in the air.
25 Jan 2021
Australia in the World

Australia
An anthem that is neither fair nor advancing equality

Warwick McFadyen

More than changing a word is needed if a song is to truly capture Australia.
22 Dec 2020
Australia in the World

Coronavirus
The strange connections of isolation

Melissa Conley Tyler

Reflecting on a year when a virus closed borders and drove us all together.
9 Dec 2020
Australia in the World

Diplomacy

Australia
Do politicians really make “excellent envoys”?

Jeffrey Robertson

A politician turned plenipotentiary can make a powerful statement. Yet it can also undermine public service neutrality.
3 Dec 2020
Australia in the World

Diplomacy

Australia
More pollies in more posts

Daniel Flitton

Are changing contours of global power or suspicions of the “swamp” driving more politicians to fill key diplomatic jobs?
26 Nov 2020
Australia in the World

Australia
Who was Hugo Grotius and what is a “Grotian world”?

Renee Jeffery

The PM extols a philosopher who put moral conduct at the centre of international relations.
24 Nov 2020
Australia in the World

Australia
Australia’s PM: “How good is international relations theory!”

Daniel Flitton

Scott Morrison is adopting a philosophical approach to strategic challenges – but don’t confuse this with doing nothing.
2 Nov 2020
Australia in the World

Diplomacy

United Nations
But what does “rules-based order” mean?

Ben Scott

For Australia to shape the future order, it will have to get more specific about what it wants.
3 Sep 2020
Australia in the World

Diplomacy
The shrinking of the Australian mind

William Stoltz

Australian strategic decision-makers need lessons in our once-grand ambitions – and accomplishments – in world affairs.
18 Aug 2020
Australia in the World
Foreign policy identity politics is a dangerous path

Melissa Conley Tyler

Populism reduces choices and promotes inflexibility. Australia’s foreign policy and national security require restraint.
17 Jul 2020
Australia in the World

Diplomacy

United States

China

Coronavirus
COVIDcast: Malcolm Turnbull on geopolitics and the pandemic

Malcolm Turnbull , Hervé Lemahieu

The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region and the world.
9 Jul 2020
Australia in the World
What resilience really means as a guide for Australian policymaking

Jacob Taylor

A defensive attitude without greater engagement with the entire global system would leave the country more vulnerable.
3 Jul 2020
Australia in the World

Defence & Security

Indonesia
Australia’s Strategic Update: What it means for Indonesia

Greta Nabbs-Keller

Jakarta’s response is likely to be complex and will require deft management by Australian policymakers.
24 Jun 2020
Australia in the World

Australian Public Opinion
A pivot to globalism, but grievances lurk

Darren Lim

Covid-19 has reminded Australians that multilateralism matters, while the economic shock has yet to play out.
8 May 2020
Australia in the World

Coronavirus
COVIDcast Episode 10: Australia’s role in shaping a post-corona world

Penny Wong , Hervé Lemahieu

The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region, and the world.
29 Apr 2020
Australia in the World

United States

Technology

Coronavirus
Information warfare in the theatre of Covid-19

Damien Spry

Viral misinformation thrives amid the very conditions we see today – a lesson China appears to have identified.
23 Apr 2020
Australia in the World
Was 2020 Australia’s peak?

Melissa Conley Tyler , Tiffany Liu

The idea was to chart future goals. Looking back, has the global ambition from the “Australia 2020 Summit” stacked up?
23 Apr 2020
Australia in the World

Pacific Islands

United States

Trade

China

Japan
Statesman Turnbull steps up: Secret letters, taming Trump, due credit

Greg Earl

Business with Donald, shared history with Xi and a Pacific ploy are revealing of the former PM’s foreign ambition.
25 Mar 2020
Australia in the World

Coronavirus
Australia can’t let foreign aid fall victim to Covid-19

Philip Citowicki

A review of the foreign aid budget is an opportunity to refocus, not to make more ill-conceived cuts.
6 Mar 2020
Australia in the World
Australia needs a feminist foreign policy

Shannon Zimmerman

The 2017 White Paper references national security almost three times as often as foreign policy. Something wrong here?
5 Mar 2020
Australia in the World
Towards equal peace: Australian regional investment in gender equality

Nicole George , Katrina Lee-Koo , Jacqui True , Sara E Davies

Women’s participation in peace processes and inclusion of gender-equality provisions is key to their long-term success.