Australia's current role in Afghanistan is the latest experience in a long history of involvement in counterinsurgency conflicts or 'small wars'. Such commitments may begin as wars of choice, but history suggests they can turn into wars of necessity, and their costs and political impact can be large. In this Lowy Institute Paper, Mark O’Neill...

In September 2009, the Pittsburgh Summit designated the G-20 as the world’s premier forum for international cooperation. The G-20 gives East Asia a significant presence at the top table of the world economy: six regional economies, including Australia, are members. This creates important new opportunities for the region. But making use of these opportunities requires...

The fifth annual Lowy Institute Poll surveys Australian public opinion on a broad range of foreign policy issues. New questions this year cover the priority given to action on climate change, public attitudes towards relations with the US and China, foreign investment, asylum seekers, how to deal with Iran and perceptions about nuclear threats. The...

Janaki Bahahur draws upon her experience as an Indian-born journalist living in Australia to look below the surface of this year’s controversy about the welfare of Indian students in Australia. She identifies the commercial and nationalistic drivers of the sensationalised Indian media coverage, while also observing that the intense media attention exposed genuine problems, not...

This paper examines the relationship between economic growth and poverty in Papua New Guinea. Using a new analytical framework, it explains why the 'poverty dividend' from growth is often small and what can be done to increase it. These questions have special resonance today. The PNG economy has succeeded in unlocking growth in recent years...