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  • 10 Nov 2020
    • United States
    • Afghanistan War
    • War Crimes
    • United Nations

    A chance for the US to change its tune on justice

    Shannon Maree Torrens
    Will American hostility to the International Criminal Court, and exception from it, shift under a Biden administration?
  • 9 Nov 2020
    • United States
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    Joe Biden: Big questions and great expectations

    Daniel Flitton
    Will the world be receptive to a US attempt to reassert global leadership after the crassness of Trump’s America First?
  • 9 Nov 2020
    • United States
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    Can Trumpism live without Trump?

    Ben Scott
    Might a more competent Republican leader turn this movement into a far more powerful force? Or will the bloc splinter?
  • 8 Nov 2020
    • United States
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    Can Joe Biden set the stage for a renewal of American leadership?

    Thomas Wright
    Much depends how he adjudicates a growing intra-centrist debate within the Democratic Party on the state of the world.
  • 5 Nov 2020
    • United States
    • Australia
    • China
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    A Trump legacy?

    Daniel Flitton
    Trump or Biden, it’s clear there are far bigger foreign policy contests still to be settled.
  • 3 Nov 2020
    • United States
    • The Trump Presidency
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    Blurring fact and fiction in the US election

    Natasha Kassam
    Much of the chaos expected in the coming days and weeks can be tied to the commander in chief’s rhetoric.
  • 30 Oct 2020
    • United States
    • The Trump Presidency
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    America in 2020: The view from here

    Alex Oliver
    A selection of commentary and analysis from Lowy Institute voices on the state of affairs in and beyond the USA.
  • 30 Oct 2020
    • United States
    • North Korea
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    Why Kim Jong-un will soon miss Donald Trump

    Khang Vu
    No more squabbles over big buttons, for one thing.
  • 29 Oct 2020
    • United States
    • The Trump Presidency
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    Inciter in chief

    Lydia Khalil
    Trump’s pandering to white supremacists and right-wing militias brings a very real risk of violence on election day.
  • 29 Oct 2020
    • United States
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    US election: A Democratic trifecta is within sight

    Erin Hurley
    Donald Trump’s mismanagement of crisis has swayed voters toward the Democrats. What if they pull off a sweep?
  • 28 Oct 2020
    • United States
    • South Korea
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    How South Koreans view the prospect of a Trump re-election

    Timothy S. Rich , Madelynn Einhorn , Isabel Pergande
    An unpopular President hasn’t dented support for the American alliance.
  • 23 Oct 2020
    • United States
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    The tyranny of the present: American politics catches up with the past

    John Sexton
    Fusing politics with entertainment, conspiracy theories, hyper-partisanship. Sound familiar? We’ve been here before.
  • 21 Oct 2020
    • United States
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    Donald Trump. Crisis? What Crisis?

    Timothy J. Lynch
    We should be careful of the pre-Trump “world order” nostalgia and not forget the disasters of his predecessors.
  • 14 Oct 2020
    • United States
    • The Trump Presidency
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    Reckoning with a post-Trump America

    Erin Hurley
    Donald Trump may soon be out of the White House, but it will take longer to understand what he was doing there.
  • 12 Oct 2020
    • Middle East
    • United States
    • Review

    The false promise of regime change

    Bob Bowker
    A new book from an Obama insider considers the repeated failures of outside overthrow in the Middle East.
  • 5 Oct 2020
    • United States
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    Trump gets sick and the media dives into the deep end

    Daniel Flitton
    The reporting of Trump’s health has quickly fallen into the same polarised pattern of so much of his presidency.
  • 5 Oct 2020
    • United States
    • Australia
    • India
    • Japan

    A Quad of consequence: Balancing values and strategy

    Titli Basu
    The four-way gathering in Tokyo offers a chance to set out a vision for regional stability in the post-Covid order.
  • 2 Oct 2020
    • United States
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    US presidential debate: Prologue to chaos

    Sam Hendricks
    The bizarre shout fest between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was ugly. It’s going to get worse.
  • 30 Sep 2020
    • United States
    • China
    • Taiwan

    The unfinished Chinese civil war

    John Culver
    Many frame China’s options against Taiwan as peace or invasion. This is a dangerous oversimplification.
  • 28 Sep 2020
    • United States
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    A reality show for the US presidential race

    Erin Hurley
    This first debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden promises a collision of two Americas, but little is likely to move.
  • 23 Sep 2020
    • United States
    • The Trump Presidency
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    A reckless president emboldened

    Erin Hurley
    What would four more years of Donald Trump’s leadership look like? Bob Woodward’s new book gives some clues.
  • 23 Sep 2020
    • United States
    • Australia
    • Coronavirus

    How much did the spies really know about the virus?

    Daniel Flitton
    What was said (and, just as importantly, not said) in Australia hints at early intelligence assessments of Covid-19.
  • 22 Sep 2020
    • South China Sea
    • Vietnam
    • United States

    The South China Sea map that wasn’t

    Khang Vu
    A mistake? Maybe. But a US map of Vietnam including the Paracel and Spratly islands raises big questions.
  • 21 Sep 2020
    • United States

    Ginsburg’s pendulum

    Erin Hurley
    Ruth Bader Ginsburg had a deep faith in America’s capacity for self-correction. Her absence puts it to the test.
  • 20 Sep 2020
    • United States
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    America’s breaking point?

    Adam Henschke
    The fear is that Trump appoints a judge to decide his electoral fate and then calls on the military to enforce it.
  • 16 Sep 2020
    • United States
    • Coronavirus

    Where the US went wrong in the pandemic​​​​​​​

    Jeremy Youde
    Public health in America is inherently a political issue. It didn’t need to be a partisan one.
  • 16 Sep 2020
    • Europe
    • United States

    Trump’s gambit in the Balkans

    Nina Marković Khaze , Perparim Xhaferi
    Drawing down troops from Germany one day, inserting the US into the Serbia-Kosovo dispute the next. What’s at play?
  • 14 Sep 2020
    • United States
    • China

    Cut! How Hollywood self-censors on China

    Nicole de Souza
    The Disney remake of Mulan has put Hollywood in an uncomfortable spotlight of its own.
  • 9 Sep 2020
    • United States
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    America: Demographic shift to democratic redemption

    Erin Hurley
    Larger forces at play in the US make this an election more akin to the experience in 2012 than that of 2016.
  • 7 Sep 2020
    • Europe
    • United States
    • Australia
    • Coronavirus
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    Pandemic democracy

    Benjamin Reilly
    Voting is based on trust between citizens and their government. In an age of social distancing, such faith is tested.
  • 3 Sep 2020
    • United States
    • North Korea
    • South Korea
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    A Biden presidency and the US–South Korea alliance

    Khang Vu
    Can Joe Biden, if elected, heal the rift between the two countries, or will he make it worse?
  • 28 Aug 2020
    • Europe
    • Diplomacy
    • United States
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • United Nations
    • Iran

    A diplomatic breakdown over “snapback” tests the UN

    Richard Gowan
    Dispute over a US call for pre-2015 Iran sanctions has pushed the Security Council to its limit. It’s been there before.
  • 27 Aug 2020
    • Asia
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Australia
    • China

    Indo-Pacific strategy: Before justifying the means, identify the ends

    Jason Israel
    Facing uncertainty of where “strategic competition” is headed, first look for the ideal outcome. 
  • 26 Aug 2020
    • United States
    • US Elections
    • The Trump Presidency

    America’s very unusual conventions

    Erin Hurley
    Following on the Democrats’ big show of unity last week, Republicans hit the screens this week to remake their leader.
  • 21 Aug 2020
    • Middle East
    • Diplomacy
    • United States
    • China
    • Iran
    • United Arab Emirates
    • Israel

    Hidden seams in the UAE-Israel deal

    Ben Scott
    It’s all about Iran, right? Actually, the agreement has more to do with managing the US and China.
  • 21 Aug 2020
    • United States
    • Indonesia
    • Review

    Book Review: The deadly legacy of the Cold War in the modern world

    John West
    The anti-communist purge in Indonesia in the 1960s is retold in a compelling examination of US Cold War policy.
  • 19 Aug 2020
    • India
    • United States

    The Democrat and the world’s biggest democracy

    Aarti Betigeri
    Indians have embraced the US vice-presidential nominee as one of their own, even if her politics might clash.
  • 18 Aug 2020
    • United States
    • Australia

    Kamala Harris: Where does Australia feature in her worldview?

    Iona Main
    What we know about Joe Biden’s running mate is she presents as a centrist internationalist. And she could be president.
  • 17 Aug 2020
    • Middle East
    • United States
    • Iran
    • United Arab Emirates
    • Türkiye
    • Qatar
    • Israel

    The essence of timing in politics

    Rodger Shanahan
    The UAE earned goodwill for a deal with Israel, but the US is still struggling to win backers for its hard line on Iran.
  • 14 Aug 2020
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • United Nations
    • Africa

    Diego Garcia: The US has a clear choice

    Jagdish Koonjul
    The Mauritian ambassador to the UN on recognising the country’s sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago.
  • 14 Aug 2020
    • United States
    • US Elections

    Contemplating Kamala Harris

    Michael Fullilove , Richard McGregor
    A discussion of US presidential candidate Joe Biden’s pick for vice-presidential running mate.
  • 12 Aug 2020
    • United States
    • US Elections
    • The Trump Presidency

    In US election, no surprise, no mystery

    Erin Hurley
    The only real unknown is just how far Donald Trump will go to remain in office.
  • 11 Aug 2020
    • United States
    • China
    • Southeast Asia

    US in Southeast Asia: Democracy is (sort of) out, deterrence is in

    William Choong
    It would be a stretch for ASEAN members to march to the beat of Mike Pompeo’s democracy drums in confronting China.
  • 10 Aug 2020
    • United States
    • Climate change
    • The Trump Presidency
    • Coronavirus

    The most important American election ever?

    Mark Beeson
    Four more years of Trump would be simply catastrophic, not just for America but for the world.
  • 7 Aug 2020
    • United States
    • China
    • Technology

    Cyber sovereignty cuts both ways

    Elliott Zaagman
    China’s barricades against foreign tech helped its companies grow massive. Now they’re being blocked in other markets.
  • 7 Aug 2020
    • China
    • Australia
    • Defence & Security
    • Papua New Guinea
    • United States

    A Chinese-built airport next door to a key Australia-US naval base?

    Thomas Shugart
    Manus Island is a vital strategic location. Why is a Chinese company being paid to upgrade its airfield?
  • 6 Aug 2020
    • Middle East
    • United States
    • Syria

    It’s always about the oil in the Middle East

    Rodger Shanahan
    Confused by regional dynamics? Look to the constants.
  • 3 Aug 2020
    • Public Opinion
    • United States
    • Australia

    Young Australians turn from the US towards Asia. And it isn’t Trump

    Kate Clayton , James Blackwell
    Millennials don’t remember Washington behaving as a great power or helpful ally, so support for the alliance is waning.
  • 31 Jul 2020
    • United States
    • China
    • Review

    Book review: Superpower showdown

    Robert Wihtol
    The fraught relationship between the United States and China is set to deteriorate further.
  • 31 Jul 2020
    • United States
    • North Korea
    • South Korea

    US–South Korea: Working group blues

    Khang Vu
    Has Washington effectively set up a veto over Moon Jae-in’s efforts to improve relations with Pyongyang?
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