On 18 July the Lowy Institute hosted a conversation with Dr Michael Fullilove and Dennis Richardson AO, who until his recent retirement was one of Australia’s most experienced and respected public servants.

On 12 May 2017, Dennis Richardson retired as the Secretary of the Department of...

Australia (together with New Zealand) is one of the few Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries with which the EU does not have a comprehensive trade agreement. Australia and the EU are entering a new phase in the bilateral relationship, and the push towards a...

The West is in deep trouble. As a geopolitical entity, a model of economic success, a cultural and moral ideal, and as a superior form of governance the West seems to have lost its way. The leadership of the free world by the United States is now fraught with uncertainty. In America, and much of...

This e-brief discusses current restrictions on political donations in NSW and other Australian jurisdictions in the light of recent media reports on donations from foreign and foreign-linked donors.

It then outlines the means by which donors could bypass these restrictions, before briefly...

An overwhelming majority (86%) of respondents in 25 countries around the world agree that over the last year the world became more dangerous. Since October 2016, the number of those who agree increased most notably in Brazil ( 95%, +14 pts.), South Korea (94 %,+10 pts.), Germany (90%,+8pts.) and...

No development in international politics is attracting as much attention as the emergence of China as a great power. But many questions and uncertainties attend China’s rise. What are the longterm goals of Chinese power? Does Beijing view the international system as fundamentally beneficial to...

Russia wants to be recognised as a great power, and has sufficient economic power and potential to encourage it to behave accordingly. However, under its current leadership it recognises that there are economic limits to its behaviour. There is a consistent commitment to budget discipline and a...

Overview

With combat operations underway in west Mosul, Iraqi security forces will later this year regain control of the city. But what comes next will be crucial, affecting the utility of the costly international intervention against ISIS, the chances of stability in...

Executive summary

What is the problem?

Donald Trump’s election as US president is accelerating a profound global transformation that has huge consequences for Australia. Unlike his predecessors, Trump is less willing to defend the liberal...

Introduction

Timor-Leste is a country increasingly able to stand on its own two feet. At least, that is the sense within Timor-Leste. The success of Timor-Leste’s presidential elections in March 2017 and the prospect of successful parliamentary elections again in early...

Overview

Once again, Trump has broken the mould. The 100-day mark is traditionally used to assess a new administration’s progress in advancing its policy agenda. With Trump, that’s impossible. In foreign policy at least, it’s more appropriate to ask whether at the 100-day...

Since 2014, North Korea has dramatically altered its missile testing patterns, launching missiles much more frequently and from a variety of new locations. Recognizing the importance of understanding the proliferation implications of these patterns, the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation...

Australia faces an increasingly crowded and complex geopolitical environment in the South Pacific. While the most important external powers in the region have traditionally been Australia, New Zealand, the US and France, a number of new powers are increasingly active, most notably China, Russia...

On 12 September 2016, the Senate referred the following matters to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report.

The terms of reference were as follows;

The serious allegations of abuse, self-harm and neglect of asylum seekers in relation to the...

The Australian public is invited to provide their views on the management and composition of the Humanitarian Programme (the Programme) for 2017–18.

The Australian government recognises the importance of engaging with the community to ensure continued support for the Programme, and each...

The articles in this Strategic Insights paper, originally published on the ASPI Strategist website throughout March 2017, include analysis about what women, peace and security (WPS) means for Australia’s defence and national security.

The authors of individual pieces are Elisabeth Buchan...

Australia is currently bidding for another term on the United Nations Security Council in 2029–30 as well as seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2018–20. But Australia’s broader engagement with the United Nations is patchy and underwhelming. It needs to be upgraded to ensure that...

This year is shaping up as a big year for Australian foreign policy. This FlagPost highlights some of the key milestones expected over the coming months.

The centrepiece of the Australian Government’s foreign policy agenda in 2017 will be a new white paper that will ‘provide a...