2 Jul 2020
Economic diplomacy: Diversification dilemmas
China, India and Australia are all dealing with the costs and risks of reshoring.
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2 Jul 2020
Defence Strategic Update 2020: A first assessment
A candid assessment of Australia's challenges, but will the planned measures be enough? -
26 Jun 2020
Vale Owen Harries 1930–2020
With admirable chutzpah, Owen believed he could influence the international relations of the most powerful country. -
26 Jun 2020
Owen Harries: Never the ideologue
The Welsh-born Australian was a master controversialist who played a key role in Washington foreign policy debates. -
24 Jun 2020
Australians look to India more – and don’t always like what they see
Doubts about Indian democracy and its politics suggest the Morrison government has some persuading to do. -
23 Jun 2020
The goals for Australia to do better
The Sustainable Development Goals are not only for poor nations – they offer a policy roadmap for Australia, too. -
22 Jun 2020
Australia should support India in the Himalayas
If Canberra wants a “comprehensive strategic partnership” with New Delhi, some courageous steps are needed. -
19 Jun 2020
Canberra vs Beijing: A response to Sam Roggeveen
Contrarian views are needed to assess the China risk. And we shouldn’t assume this century will be indisputably China’s. -
19 Jun 2020
Morrison’s messages to the “sophisticated state-based cyber actor”
The Prime Minister appears to be sending a warning – that Australia is on to you. -
17 Jun 2020
Canberra vs Beijing: A reply to Alan Dupont
We can’t base plans for the future on a chance China may fail. We are yet to internalise how successful it may be. -
17 Jun 2020
Marise Payne stakes a claim for cooperation
The Foreign Minister’s China challenge will grab most attention – but what she said about multilateralism matters more. -
16 Jun 2020
It’s not OK: White supremacy and Australia’s security services
A small gesture raises big questions about white supremacist ideology in Australian police and security forces. -
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10 Jun 2020
Climate change makes Covid-19 politics look easy
The coronavirus pandemic has led to all kinds of novel political calculations. Climate change needs even better ones. -
9 Jun 2020
The case for Australian strategic ambiguity
Loyalty has its place. But being a more uncertain ally can make you a better friend. -
4 Jun 2020
Economic diplomacy: Asian investment, super tension & the WTO hot seat
World trade could be set to fall as much as 30% this year. Who is going to be in charge of fixing the problem? -
2 Jun 2020
India-Australia strategic partnership: Leveraging aerospace capacity
The two countries have an opportunity to pursue air-power cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, where stability is essential. -
2 Jun 2020
Who really killed the Quad 1.0?
Australia has borne the blame for sinking the first Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. The history is not so simple. -
2 Jun 2020
Prospects for closer strategic ties between India and Australia
The partnership with Australia appears to lack the range and depth India has with other Quad partners. -
1 Jun 2020
Seychelles: Truth, justice and Australia
An Australian lawyer leads efforts to examine the political, human rights and legal legacy of a dictator. -
31 May 2020
A G7+?
Donald Trump’s offer to bring Australia into the G7 isn’t nearly so simple as pulling up a chair to the top table. -
22 May 2020
A Yazidi genocide trial commences – a Hezbollah ban contemplated
Two recent developments in Germany have implications for Australia’s security interests in the Middle East. -
22 May 2020
Getting back to harvest: The way forward after China’s barley tariff
Australian growers are effectively banned from a huge market. But details of the decision show how it may be reversed. -
22 May 2020
The battle for a Covid vaccine risks losing the “war”
A quest to find the “magic bullet” is drawing dangerous political lines. Without cooperation, nobody wins. -
22 May 2020
Islands of opportunity: Where India and Australia can work together
Joint access to Andaman and Nicobar islands and Cocos island offers a chance to extend patrols and strategic ties. -
21 May 2020
Economic diplomacy: Mood shift afoot
Stung by the barley and meat export disputes with China, easy talk about diversifying export markets now gets real. -
20 May 2020
West Papua: Looking for an opening
Allowing more access would be an important first step to ending human rights abuses in the troubled Indonesian province. -
18 May 2020
The false dichotomy at the heart of Australia’s China debate
The conventional wisdom emerging around “sovereignty” vs “surrender” may be more foolish than wise. -
15 May 2020
COVIDcast Episode 11: Dave Sharma MP on COVID-19 and Pacific relations
The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region, and the world. -
14 May 2020
Covid-19 and the acceleration of state surveillance
The pandemic has suddenly made the unthinkable acceptable. Data and privacy may never be the same. -
14 May 2020
Australians doubt either US or China will emerge stronger after Covid
New Lowy polling shows Australians are disappointed in Beijing’s Covid-19 response and despairing about Washington’s. -
13 May 2020
In beef over barley, Chinese economic coercion cuts against the grain
Beijing has become adept at punishing countries with legally “dressed up” informal economic sanctions. -
12 May 2020
For Australia, a testing friendship
It’s not a question for polite conversation, but PMs will always wonder, just how reliable is Australia’s big ally? -
11 May 2020
What’s missing from the Strategic Update
Cute but not cuddly – the goal for defence should be to impose unacceptable costs on a predator that tries to attack. -
8 May 2020
Under cover of Covid-19, conflict in Myanmar goes unchecked
Repression and violence against ethnic minorities carries on, even in the face of international investigations. -
7 May 2020
Wuhan lab claims: Is Australia questioning China? Or the US? Both?
Leaked claims, supposed intelligence dossiers, angry outbursts. Lowy experts look to make sense of a Covid controversy. -
7 May 2020
Economic diplomacy: Lifting the doona on a post-pandemic world
Australia can boast success in containing the virus. But its economy may still shrink more than other G20 nations. -
7 May 2020
Creating a Pacific bubble
Australia’s special ties with Pacific Islands and New Zealand offer a chance to ensure mutual safety and prosperity. -
5 May 2020
The prospects for China’s post–Covid-19 economy
Big questions loom around how China can jump-start growth after the coronavirus crisis and the US trade war. -
4 May 2020
Notes on representing Australia in Papua New Guinea
A former High Commissioner to PNG reflects on the “high highs and low lows” of serving in a unique diplomatic role. -
30 Apr 2020
Foresight and pragmatism missing in Australia’s relations with China
Beijing’s man in Canberra misjudged our tolerance for a bully. But why is Australia alone pushing for a Covid inquiry? -
29 Apr 2020
Back to the future: Keeping Australian air lines of communication open
Not for the first time Australia is cut off from the world. Government has an essential role in preserving a connection. -
24 Apr 2020
105 years on, a digital commemoration marks a very different Anzac Day
Covid-19 might make traditional gatherings impractical, but individual commemoration was already gaining traction. -
20 Apr 2020
Australia needs a comprehensive plan for Covid-19 in the Pacific
A region of great power rivalry and critical to Australia’s physical security – that gave help when we needed it, too. -
17 Apr 2020
International Covid cooperation: Lessons from HIV/AIDS
Australia’s responded to the viral killer in the 1980s not only with health measures but a crucial diplomatic campaign. -
15 Apr 2020
Australia should offer Indonesia crisis insurance – quickly
With little to no cost at home, a multi-billion “standby” loan will help restore economic confidence in a big neighbour. -
9 Apr 2020
Economic diplomacy: foreign investment under Covid, supply chain kinks
Australia might worry about opportunistic takeover bids at home, but investment restrictions will hit the region more. -
7 Apr 2020
A French perspective on Australia’s role in the Indian Ocean
Looking towards a post–Covid-19 world, France views Australia as a key strategic partner in the region. -
2 Apr 2020
Covid-19 is not only a health crisis, it’s a migration crisis
Temporary migration is integral to Australia’s economic success story. And many of those migrants are now at risk. -
19 Mar 2020
Are you ready for how the coronavirus is transforming the world?
China is likely to emerge from this crisis far stronger economically, and Australia must look beyond “selling stuff”.