This report analyses the effectiveness of the revised approach to Commonwealth-State relations through National Cabinet adopted in the COVID-19 crisis, and actions that should now be taken to lock in its long-term effectiveness.

As the United Kingdom looks outward as post-Brexit ‘Global Britain’, the world is facing both rising authoritarianism and democratic decline. This policy paper argues that the UK should issue a new integrated cross-Whitehall strategy to defend established democracies and institutions, support emerging or struggling democracies, and counter authoritarians.

Public trust as a political resource is particularly important in times of coronavirus. This report presents findings from a survey of a representative sample of 1059 Australians aged between 18 and 75 years. The survey was conducted between May and June 2020 in Australia, Italy, the UK and the USA, to allow for comparison.

India cannot afford to adopt a simplistic approach to foreign policy issues and must realise that absolute convergence is impossible with any country. It is important to realise that ties between India and the US are driven by mutual economic and strategic interests and the prevailing geopolitical situation, rather than the personal chemistry between leaders.

As an extension of the Australian Leadership Index, members of the Australian public were surveyed for eight weeks between March 17 and May 6 to measure perceptions of the degree to which different institutions showed leadership for the greater good in response to the COVID-19 crisis. This report outlines the findings.