6 Oct 2020
Stepping past the fatalism trap
If Australia wants to shape rather than be shaped by a fast-changing world, creative diplomacy is essential.
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5 Oct 2020
A Quad of consequence: Balancing values and strategy
The four-way gathering in Tokyo offers a chance to set out a vision for regional stability in the post-Covid order. -
1 Oct 2020
Smart China choices
Australia’s relationship with China is unavoidably asymmetric. That shouldn’t stop Australia finding a competitive edge. -
29 Sep 2020
Evaluating aid in the Pacific
A common rating system could make aid evaluation less opaque. Better yet, it could deliver more bang for precious bucks. -
23 Sep 2020
How much did the spies really know about the virus?
What was said (and, just as importantly, not said) in Australia hints at early intelligence assessments of Covid-19. -
22 Sep 2020
Building a Covid vaccine strategy for Australia
Tempering expectations is a start. The next test will be to ensure the most vulnerable are not left behind. -
18 Sep 2020
Book Review: Where borders aren’t always badlands
People-to-people connections that stretch across tens of thousands of years don’t stop when lines are drawn on a map. -
14 Sep 2020
Tackling environmental security threats in the Indian Ocean
A “Quad-Plus” could bring together regional expertise and resources to address issues of collective interest. -
8 Sep 2020
No news is not good news
The hasty exit from China of two Australian journalists underscores how much the relationship has soured. -
8 Sep 2020
Islamic State’s new battleground – the courts
Two crucial cases at opposite ends of the earth will determine a government’s right to revoke citizenship of terrorists. -
8 Sep 2020
Australia, all is not lost despite China’s trade tantrums
Stopping trade means China loses too, and Beijing must know the world is watching. -
7 Sep 2020
Pandemic democracy
Voting is based on trust between citizens and their government. In an age of social distancing, such faith is tested. -
3 Sep 2020
FITS and starts
Two years in, has Australia’s legislation to track foreign influence in politics done what it’s meant to do? -
1 Sep 2020
Covid economic recovery a long-term test for Australian leadership
Australia faces rising unemployment, increased debt and lower living standards, but the challenges are not insuperable. -
1 Sep 2020
China sours on Australia’s wine
Why might Beijing have chosen to use anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations as informal economic sanctions? -
31 Aug 2020
Australia has lost its “best friend” in Asia
Whale hunts and submarine deals gone awry caused prickles, but Abe Shinzo sought special relationship with Canberra. -
27 Aug 2020
Indo-Pacific strategy: Before justifying the means, identify the ends
Facing uncertainty of where “strategic competition” is headed, first look for the ideal outcome. -
27 Aug 2020
Australia needs the workers, the Pacific needs the jobs
Striking the right balance between backpackers and the seasonal workers is key to Canberra’s neighbourhood ambition. -
26 Aug 2020
Where next for MIKTA?
Tacking the problems created by Covid-19 appear to be beyond this particular example of middle-power activism. -
26 Aug 2020
A post-pandemic trade revival
The shadow trade minister sets out a four-point plan for Australia to turn an unparalleled crisis into an opportunity. -
24 Aug 2020
Europe’s big bonds and the prospect of a boon for Australia
Hundreds of billions will be devoted to Covid-19 economic recovery, and with it comes a huge investment opportunity. -
20 Aug 2020
Australia doesn’t need to choose between guns and butter
The country’s options in defence, aid and diplomacy are not as financially constrained as might be feared. -
20 Aug 2020
Australia and Sri Lanka: Air connectivity in the Indian Ocean region
The success of the two countries’ naval cooperation shows the potential for expanded partnership. -
18 Aug 2020
Kamala Harris: Where does Australia feature in her worldview?
What we know about Joe Biden’s running mate is she presents as a centrist internationalist. And she could be president. -
14 Aug 2020
From Santiago to Sydney, opening Latin America with fibre-optic cable
While no panacea, a new cable link is an unexpected chance for greater trans-Pacific ties away from superpower rivalry. -
10 Aug 2020
What we have lost: International education and public diplomacy
Entangling universities with geopolitics can mean a bad student experience has a far broader cost. -
7 Aug 2020
A Chinese-built airport next door to a key Australia-US naval base?
Manus Island is a vital strategic location. Why is a Chinese company being paid to upgrade its airfield? -
4 Aug 2020
Defending Australia in a high-tech future
Australia must prioritise education and research, in science and humanities, too. Regional engagement may depend on it. -
3 Aug 2020
Melbourne or Washington, all politics is local, again
Coping with the pandemic will be a long haul, not just for cities or countries, but for the world. -
3 Aug 2020
Young Australians turn from the US towards Asia. And it isn’t Trump
Millennials don’t remember Washington behaving as a great power or helpful ally, so support for the alliance is waning. -
30 Jul 2020
Economic diplomacy: Post-Covid trade, from decoupling to wet markets
Recent parliamentary submissions offer a window into the opportunities and risks when the country re-emerges more fully. -
28 Jul 2020
Managing Chinese economic risks means more than diversification
How does Australia confront the possibility of Beijing’s economic coercion? -
27 Jul 2020
Five Eyes: Blurring the lines between intelligence and policy
Intelligence sharing is one thing. Aligning policy with the same brand risks making too exclusive a grouping. -
25 Jul 2020
Australia lays down the law in the South China Sea dispute
Canberra rejects the PRC’s “historic rights” claim to contested waters but now faces the test of what to do about it. -
22 Jul 2020
Interesting times for TikTok
The debate over banning the social media app hits on big issues of tech, trade and sovereignty. -
21 Jul 2020
India, Australia and containing the China challenge
Joint war games in the Indian Ocean are not symbolic – and the message isn’t lost on Beijing. -
20 Jul 2020
Hidden gems in the 2020 Force Structure Plan
Defence’s $270 billion shopping list has some surprising inclusions. -
20 Jul 2020
Social credit: The next China risk for Australian business
Continuous monitoring via technology raises numerous questions and will bring unforeseen consequences. -
16 Jul 2020
Devaluing DFAT
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has long got the short end of the stick. Why? -
14 Jul 2020
Putting study abroad on ice carries a diplomatic cost
The benefits of international education come from cultural capital and influence – Covid-19 is putting these at risk. -
14 Jul 2020
A high-risk, low-reward defence posture
What exactly does Australia showing “willingness” to use force look like? And where does it lead? -
14 Jul 2020
Australia’s Russia problem (and how to solve it)
Quite literally, the coldest continent might be just the right place to thaw out Canberra’s frosty ties with Moscow. -
13 Jul 2020
A diplomatic step-up to match our military step-up
We need to strengthen the arm of Australian diplomacy just as much as we need to strengthen the military. -
10 Jul 2020
Keeping the Kremlin in the Kelvinator
A flurry of enthusiasm to re-engage Russia speaks more to Western insecurities than future power dynamics in East Asia. -
10 Jul 2020
Stoking the fire of Asia-Pacific missile proliferation
Despite the justifications, Australia’s plan to acquire long-range missiles won’t make the country or the region safer. -
7 Jul 2020
Yes, to balance China, let’s bring Russia in from the cold
The West’s isolation of Russia has helped Moscow acquiesce in an expanded Chinese presence it would once have resented. -
7 Jul 2020
China eyes African prospects to iron out trade tension with Australia
Investing in largely untapped iron ore sources in Africa might be Beijing’s answer to diversifying import sources. -
6 Jul 2020
Indonesia: Still caught between trade and protectionism
There is little evidence Jokowi sees trade deals as a way to drive liberalising domestic economic reforms at home. -
6 Jul 2020
The cost of conspiracy in muddling public health messages
A Covid-19 outbreak in Victoria shows the need to counter hate speech, extremist content and misinformation online. -
3 Jul 2020
Southeast Asian democracies in declining health amid Covid-19
An illiberal turn across the region has been exacerbated by the pandemic. Australia should take note.