Despite the Arab uprisings of the last decade, most countries in the Middle East remain in the grip of autocrats, with a widespread view that this is the 'default setting' for the region.

This paper argues that rather than continue the debate about Australia’s position on its ANZUS obligations should the United States invoke the treaty in a Taiwan conflict, Australia should work with other regional powers to advocate for more robust risk avoidance and crisis management mechanisms.

As China rises, Chinese political elites are increasingly concerned about how it is perceived in the world, and how to shape that global public opinion. This report argues that despite heavy state investment, China Global Television Network (CGTN) has failed to emerge as a significant soft power influencer in the global news sphere.

China’s economic growth has fallen to its slowest rate since 1990, and this deceleration looks set to continue. This paper argues that to reverse this trend, China will need a wide-ranging policy approach that mimics the policies implemented by Japan and Korea at a similar economic stage.

This report argues that public international broadcasting still has an important place among Australia’s principal soft power tools, but the focus of the debate needs to shift from issues such as short wave and restoring Radio Australia, to a fresh approach.