This policy paper examines China's foreign political influence activities under Xi Jinping, using one very representative state, New Zealand, as a case study.

New Zealand’s relationship with China is of interest, because the Chinese government regards New Zealand as an exemplar of how it...

The rate at which states adopted the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) surprised even its sponsors. Yet the treaty is often misunderstood and misrepresented – by some, mistrusted. Facts and answers can be found in a variety of sources, but until now the treaty lacked a compendium. The full breadth of...

It is widely accepted that last year’s Referendum vote was at least partly driven by public anxiety about immigration. That anxiety is real and must be dealt with. But delivering a ‘hard Brexit’ is not the sole, or even the best way to do so. This paper examines the evidence around EU migration...

This eighth edition of the World Giving Index again presents giving data from across the globe over a five year period (2012-2016). The World Giving Index 2017 includes data from 139 countries that was collected throughout 2016. A full explanation of the methodology used is included in the...

After half a century of almost uninterrupted economic growth, we have largely forgotten to factor in the potential impact of sustained economic weakness when analysing geopolitical risk.

Global economic growth has slowed substantially since the heady days before the financial crisis of...

Australia’s politicians are expected to treat issues of national security and foreign and defence policy in a ‘bipartisan’ fashion. Doing so is believed to create good policy, ensure national unity and protect the military. Polling for this report by The Australia Institute shows 71% of...

If the seven weeks before the election on 8 June turned Britain’s political world upside down, the ten weeks since then have sent it spinning across open ground. This whole period, and especially the past three years, has shown how contingency can trump destiny — and then be interpreted as...

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...

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...

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...

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...

The Australian National Contact Point (ANCP) is a non-judicial human rights mechanism. Because the mechanism is non-legal, it provides freedom to act in a way which promotes human rights due diligence amongst Australian business and address breaches using novel problem solving and mediation...

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...