Offshore processing (referred to by the Australian Government as “regional processing”) is the term used to describe the arrangements by which Australia sends people seeking asylum who arrive by boat to either Nauru or on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea (PNG), where their refugee claims are determined. Australia is the only country in the...

Forging an effective U.S strategy in Southeast Asia starts with understanding the region from the inside out. Only with deep knowledge of the goals, perceptions, hopes, and intentions of Southeast Asian countries themselves can Washington craft policies that further U.S national interests, help stabilise the region, and continue the peace and prosperity that has characterised...

Overview This podcast episode features an interview with Jaz Dawson, a director of the Kaleidoscope Australia Human Rights Foundation. It discusses an aspect of refugee policy that doesn’t get much media attention: the experiences of asylum seekers trying to escape persecution for being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex. The episode covers not only the...

Overview Early in his administration, President Barack Obama announced the ‘Asia rebalance’, a US reorientation that became official policy in January 2012. This so-called ‘pivot’ explicitly recognises the need for America to re-embrace partner nations in Asia, leveraging their significant and growing capabilities to build a network of states that nurtures, strengthens and sustains a...

At a time when China is making clear its strategic regional ambitions and when a tumultuous US presidential campaign is raising concerns about the United States policy, there is a great interest throughout the Asia-Pacific in the role of the United States in the region. What do mass publics around the region believe about the...