The Lowy Institute

In this episode of The Director's Chair, Michael Fullilove speaks with former British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, about Brexit, leadership of the Labour Party, the future of internationalism, and the direct impact of COVID-19 on unprepared health care systems and populations with pre-existing vulnerabilities. David Miliband served as a Cabinet minister under Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, including as Foreign Secretary from 2007 to 2010. He is President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, where he oversees the agency’s humanitarian relief operations in more than forty war-affected countries and its refugee resettlement and assistance programs in over twenty US cities.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Roland Rajah sits down with the Institute's Director of Research, Alex Oliver, to discuss the impact of the coronavirus on the global economy. Roland is Director of the International Economy Program and the Lowy’s lead international economist. This episode examines one of the key questions about the economic impact of COVID-19 ̶ whether the shock will be temporary or longer-lasting. Roland explains why he believes the economic fall-out will permanently change the global economy, at least in some respects.COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the next few weeks, Lowy Institute experts will sit down to discuss the implications of coronavirus for the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of The Director's Chair, Michael Fullilove speaks with former Italian Prime Minister, Enrico Letta, about running a major European power, his relationship with world leaders, global governance during COVID-19, and the future of the European project. Enrico Letta served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2013 to 2014. He is the Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po in Paris, one of the top international relations schools in the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The biggest geopolitical rivalry of the 21st century has just been jolted into a new period of uncertainty and risk by the coronavirus pandemic. Australia’s leading authority on US foreign policy, Dr Michael Fullilove, and senior China analyst, Richard McGregor, examine the implications of this global health and economic emergency for the most important international relationship of our time. Lowy Institute Director of Research Alex Oliver chaired this first-ever Lowy Institute Live event, which was live-streamed and included audience questions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, the Director of Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia Program, Ben Bland, sits down with Hervé Lemahieu to discuss geopolitics and the coronavirus pandemic. Hervé is the Director of our Asian Power and Diplomacy Program and an expert in global politics. In this episode, our Institute experts discuss how coronavirus created a man-made pandemic of mistrust and chaos, which is testing social cohesion and globalisation to its core. Ben and Hervé debate the merits of middle-power diplomacy and discuss whether coronavirus has transformed the world as we know it, or simply exposed the dangers that were already lurking within the international system.COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the next few weeks, Lowy Institute experts will sit down to discuss the implications of coronavirus for the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Lowy Institute’s Director of Research, Alex Oliver, sits down with Jonathan Pryke and Shane McLeod to discuss how the crisis of coronavirus is affecting Australia’s immediate neighbour, the Pacific Islands. Jonathan is the Director of our Pacific Islands Program and an expert on politics, economics and development in the Pacific. Shane directs the Lowy Institute’s Australia-PNG Network and was formerly a foreign correspondent in PNG.In this episode, our Institute experts discuss the current situation in the Pacific, including responses to date by particular governments and leaders; specific risks of coronavirus to the Pacific, including the burden on its health care system and the impact on tourism; widespread fear and misinformation surrounding the virus; and Australia’s role in the global response to coronavirus in the Pacific Islands region.COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the nex

In this episode, Lowy Institute’s Executive Director, Michael Fullilove, sits down with Ben Bland, Director of our Southeast Asia Program and resident expert on Indonesia’s political system, to discuss the depth of the challenge facing Australia’s largest neighbour and the response from President Joko Widodo.This episode focuses on how Indonesia, and the rest of Southeast Asia, is faring amid the global pandemic. Our Institute experts discuss the varying political responses across the region, the impending economic crunch and impact of geopolitics.COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the next few weeks, Lowy Institute experts will sit down to discuss the implications of coronavirus for the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the second episode of The Director's Chair, Michael Fullilove speaks with Lord Mervyn King about COVID-19, global economic downturn, the UK's response to the virus, Brexit, and what Lord King terms the 'radical uncertainty' of economic forecasting during a global crisis. Lord King served as the Governor of the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013, including the period of the global financial crisis.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Lowy Institute’s Director of Research, Alex Oliver, sits down with Richard McGregor, our resident senior China expert and author of several books on China’s politics and government.This episode focuses on the story of China. Our Institute experts discuss US-China power competition, including the recent expulsion of American journalists from China and Hong Kong, Chinese disinformation and propaganda, something we’ve dubbed the 'geopolitics of infection etymology' and more.COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the next few weeks, Lowy Institute experts will sit down to discuss the implications of coronavirus for the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the first episode of The Director's Chair, a new Lowy Institute podcast, Michael Fullilove speaks with Susan Glasser of The New Yorker and Peter Baker of The New York Times about COVID-19, the Trump administration and America. Susan Glasser is a staff writer at The New Yorker, where she writes the weekly Letter from Trump’s Washington. Peter Baker is the Chief White House Correspondent for The New York Times.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, the liberal democratic model faces its biggest challenge in generations. Since the global financial crisis, democratic systems have faced a crisis of public confidence, and open economies have struggled to deliver the broad-based growth of the past. At the same time, in a number of nations around the world, an alternative model of ‘techno-authoritarianism’ has emerged in which mass surveillance and artificial intelligence are being used to build systems of social control.Tim Watts MP addressed the Lowy Institute in Canberra on 27 February 2020 and discussed the ways these competing models of organising society are challenging the health of our democratic institutions – political parties, parliaments, and the media.After the address, Mr Watts joined Lowy Institute Director for International Security, Sam Roggeveen, for a conversation and Q&A.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Lowy Institute’s Executive Director, Michael Fullilove, sits down with Alex Oliver, the Institute’s Director of Research; Herve Lemahieu, Director of the our Asian Power and Diplomacy Program; and Roland Rajah, Director of the Institute’s International Economy Program.They discuss coronavirus anxiety, including #toiletpapergate, panic buying and hoarding; the effect of the virus on public sentiment and the emerging gap in public trust of governments and leaders; vulnerabilities in the international system and the lack of international leadership; and the Australian government’s response, including the $2.4 billion health plan and the $17.6 billion economic stimulus package.COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the next few weeks, Lowy Institute experts will sit down to discuss the implications of coronavirus for the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today Iraqis find themselves caught in an array of competing forces. Their country is a battleground for foreign actors, from militias to major powers. Their domestic politics are increasingly violent as the state reacts brutally to popular demands for better governance and accountability. Yet we rarely hear Iraqi perspectives on these turbulent events.One of the Middle East’s leading young political analysts, Hafsa Halawa, and Lowy Institute Nonresident Fellow Anthony Bubalo, discuss how Iraqis see the future of peace and politics in their country and the wider region.Hafsa Halawa is an independent political and development consultant and a Nonresident Scholar at the Middle East Institute in the United States. Of Egyptian and Iraqi heritage, she has lived and worked across the region for over a decade. Since 2018, she has been working in Iraq on a range of projects aimed at promoting social cohesion, conflict management, and women’s rights.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The term ‘Indo-Pacific’ has gained wide use in recent years, including among the leaders of Australia, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, and the United States. But what does it really mean? The name of a region is as much symbolic as physical – and can be a mental map that guides the decisions of leaders and the narrative of international order, war, and peace.The Lowy Institute was pleased to host the Sydney launch of a new book by Rory Medcalf, Contest for the Indo-Pacific, which weaves together history, geopolitics, cartography, military strategy, economics, games, and propaganda to examine the rising tensions in the region and address the question of how China’s dominance can be restrained without war.Professor Rory Medcalf is Head of the National Security College at the Australian National University, with experience as an Australian diplomat and as senior strategic analyst in Australia’s Office of National Assessments. He was the founding director of the international security program at the Lowy Institu

In this episode, Lowy Institute’s Executive Director, Michael Fullilove, sits down with Richard McGregor, Senior Fellow and a world expert on the Chinese Communist Party; Natasha Kassam, Research Fellow, expert in China’s domestic politics, and a former Australian diplomat in Beijing; and Ben Bland, director of the Institutes Southeast Asia Program and an expert in China-ASEAN relations.They discuss the effectiveness of China’s response to coronavirus and its implications for the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping, both internally and on the world stage; the limitations of populism and nationalist governments in responding to threats like coronavirus; increasing support for multilateralism and international cooperation; the effect of coronavirus on the 2020 US Presidential election; and Australia’s response to date.COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the next few weeks, Lowy Institute experts will s

Dr James Renwick CSC SC is Australia’s Independent National Security Legislation Monitor. In 2019, he was tasked by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security to review the controversial Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018 (Cth). As Dr Renwick moves to finalise his report of the review, he will discuss possible models for reconciling the legitimate interests of individuals, organisations, and business, and intelligence, police and integrity agencies.Dr Renwick joined the Lowy Institute for an address, chaired by Lowy Institute Fellow and Middle East security expert Rodger Shanahan.Dr James Renwick CSC SC is a member of the NSW Bar with a general commercial, regulatory, and public law practice. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Australian National University and has been the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor since 2017.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last year saw a surge of civil unrest across the globe so widespread that 2019 has been dubbed “the year of the street protestor”. In places as diverse as Hong Kong, Chile, the United States, the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, people came together for a variety of causes and grievances. These included demands for economic, racial, and gender equality; the preservation of democracy against a growing authoritarian tide; confronting climate change; opposing corruption; and addressing migration and refugee issues. Increasingly, it is women-led movements that play an important role in advocacy, activism, and protest around the world, especially in places where authoritarian leaders have come to power. One hallmark of these protests is their breadth: as well as women, they include others marginalised by such regimes. Another is their tendency to be non-violent, which evidence suggests can be as effective at achieving change as violent uprisings.Accompanying the increased participation of women in activism a

COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the next few weeks, Lowy Institute experts will sit down to discuss the implications of coronavirus for the world. In Episode 1, Lowy Institute’s Executive Director, Michael Fullilove, sits down with Richard McGregor, Senior Fellow and a world expert on the Chinese Communist Party; Natasha Kassam, Research Fellow, expert in China’s domestic politics, and a former Australian diplomat in Beijing; and Ben Bland, director of the Institutes Southeast Asia Program and an expert in China-ASEAN relations. They discuss the effectiveness of China’s response to coronavirus and its implications for the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping, both internally and on the world stage; the limitations of populism and nationalist governments in responding to threats like coronavirus; increasing support for multilateralism and international cooperation; the effect of coronavirus on the

The spread of the novel coronavirus in and beyond China has potentially profound implications, for Xi Jinping's standing and China's global weight and prestige. For countries like Australia, the virus has already inflicted a sharp economic shock.The Lowy Institute hosted a panel discussion on the impact of the virus on Australia and the world. Natasha Kassam, Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute, hosted the discussion with a panel of experts: Richard Yetsenga, ANZ's Chief Economist; Philippa Jones, Managing Director of China Policy; and Richard McGregor, the Institute’s Senior Fellow for East Asia.Richard Yetsenga is the Chief Economist and Head of Research at ANZ. Prior to joining ANZ, he was an economist and strategist at HSBC and Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong.Philippa Jones is a regulatory and trade policy specialist. She founded China Policy, a strategic advisory firm based in Beijing, and formerly held roles at the EU-China Trade Project and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Richard M

In his role as United States Indo-Pacific Commander, Admiral Philip S. Davidson is responsible for military operations in an area that stretches from the waters off the west coast of the United States to the west coast of India, and from the Arctic to the Antarctic – over 200 million square kilometres and more than half the world’s surface. Admiral Davidson is a surface warfare officer who has deployed across the globe in frigates, destroyers, cruisers, and aircraft carriers. He has also served as the Director of Maritime Operations at US Fleet Forces Command, the senior military advisor to the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the State Department, and the Navy’s military aide to the vice president of the United States. Admiral Davidson is a distinguished graduate of the US Naval War College. He assumed command of US Indo-Pacific Command in May 2018.Following his address, Admiral Davidson joined Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove AM for a conversation and Q&A.See