Australian Perspective

In an opinion piece in The Australian, Lowy Institute Non-resident Senior Fellow Professor Alan Dupont writes that signals we send to Beijing are confusing.The Australian, 22 June 2011, p. 8

China is not only Australia's largest trading partner, but is also an increasingly important supplier of capital. In a Lowy Institute Analysis, John Larum draws on a series of interviews with Chinese investors and their advisors to look at their attitude towards investing in Australia and

On Wednesday 8 June, as part of our Distinguished Speaker Series, the Lowy Institute was pleased to host a speech by the Hon. Tony Abbott MHR, Leader of the Opposition, on Coalition views on border security

In an opinion piece in The Australian Financial Review, Malcolm Cook and Fergus Hanson argue that Australia's pursuit of Japan over whaling may do more harm than good.Australian Financial Review, 23 May 2011, p. 55

By 2015-16, Australia’s foreign aid budget is projected to double to $8 billion, an unprecedented expansion. In his Lowy lunch speech on 18 May, Federal member for Fraser Dr Andrew Leigh supported the importance of the Australian aid program, in terms of generosity, national security and promoting

Winner of the John Button 2011 Prize for Best Writing in Public Policy, the book proposes that Asia is changing more rapidly than we realise. The near-simultaneous development of its two billion-plus person societies, and the reaction of other countries to this, is unleashing new patterns of

Ashok Malik and Rory Medcalf argue that Indian foreign policy is being shaped increasingly by three dynamic aspects of civil society: business, the Indian diaspora and the aggressive Indian news media. Indian diplomacy needs to adapt to these new realities. And foreign nations need to understand

Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Wesley delivered a speech entitled 'The Meaning of China' at the New Zealand Principals Forum in Wellington, New Zealand, on 8th April 2011.The speech is available for download here

In an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal Asia, Lowy Institute Director of Studies Andrew Shearer writes that Prime Minister Gillard's Northeast Asia tour is also an opportunity to consider what Australia and other countries in the region should not do.Wall Street Journal Asia, 25 April 2011, p

On 30 March, Allan Gyngell, Director-General of the Office of National Assessments, and former Executive Director of the Lowy Institute, spoke at the Institute’s annual Canberra Dinner on 'The challenges of intelligence'.The Canberra Dinner recognises those scholars or practitioners who have in

Lowy Institute Research Fellow Fergus Hanson writes for ISN Insights that Twitter may be just another way of sharing inane chatter, but if you have written the service off, think again. Social media has emerged as a powerful new tool in international relations, and it deserves closer attention.ISN

Technology and the rapid spread of the internet and mobile phones are changing the way diplomacy is being conducted. Leading diplomatic services are adapting, but many are being left behind. New digital tools mean foreign ministries need to change the way they communicate, manage staff, pursue

In this op-ed in The Australian, senior Lowy Institute strategic analysts Rory Medcalf and Andrew Shearer argue for an enhanced Australia-US alliance to meet the challenges of the new age of the Indo-Pacific. They note that Julia Gillard’s March 2011 visit to the United States offers an

The fate of the West. The shape of Asia. The choices facing Australia.These are big questions.Dr Michael Wesley addressed these questions in a speech delivered on 10 February.'Australia's choices in 2011' is available for download here as part of our Perspectives series

The Lowy Institute for International Policy is proud to publish this essay by Dr Kurt M. Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, United States of America. The essay, 'The U.S.-Australia Alliance: An Anchor of Stability, Security, and Prosperity', is based on Dr

On Wednesday 19 January 2011, as part of our Distinguished Speaker Series, The Rt Hon William Hague MP, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom, spoke at the Lowy Institute on opportunities for the Commonwealth in a networked world

In an opinion piece in The Australian, Lowy Institute Deputy Director Martine Letts argues that Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd is not off-message in his comments on Israel and International Atomic Energy Agency inspections.The Australian, 22 December 2010, p. 10

In an article in The Sydney Morning Herald, Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Wesley writes that the leaking of American diplomatic cables will only make governments more secretive.Sydney Morning Herald, 4 December 2010, p. 9

In an opinion piece in The Australian, Lowy Institute Research Fellow Fergus Hanson argues e-diplomacy is changing the way foreign ministries conduct their business. It is no longer an optional extra yet DFAT is a long way behind other benchmark foreign ministries.The Australian, 23 November 2010, p

Ediplomacy is no longer a boutique extra. Serious foreign ministries are embracing it to do their jobs more effectively and efficiently. Australia’s own Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has a lot of catching up to do. It also has a lot to gain.  

Does Australia understand the leaders of our region? Is our $1.4bn in scholarship funding reaching the right people? There is good reason to believe that leaders matter, and that they are particularly important in developing countries. This 2010 Lowy Institute Analysis presents the results of the

Do leaders matter? Are the trajectories of nations directed by unstoppable social and economic forces regardless of who’s in charge, or are the histories of states those of a handful of highly influential leaders?At the Wednesday Lowy Lunch on 20 October, Fergus Hanson and Alex Oliver reported on

Michael Wesley, Executive Director of the Lowy Institute, presented the Sydney Ideas Lecture on 29 September 2009 on the topic of 'Getting China right'. The lecture can be read here

Executive Director Michael Wesley presented a speech at the Port and Maritime Terrorism Conference in Melbourne on 14 September 2009 on the enduring threat of globalist terrorism. The speech is available here