Synopsis
The Lowy Institute is an independent, nonpartisan international policy think tank located in Sydney, Australia. The Institute provides high-quality research and distinctive perspectives on foreign policy trends shaping Australia and the world. On Soundcloud we host podcasts from our events with high-level guest speakers as well as our own experts. Essential listening for anyone seeking to better understand foreign policy challenges!
Episodes
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Asian Development Outlook 2018: how technology impacts jobs
13/04/2018 Duration: 01h02minThe Asian Development Bank (ADB) will launch its flagship publication, the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2018, with its focus on “How Technology Impacts Jobs”. The report examines how, as increased automation displaces some tasks, new occupations emerge to take their place. The displacement of workers due to technology is real, but with the right skills, training, and regulation, Asia can overcome this challenge.ADO also presents economic analyses of 45 economies, including the People’s Republic of China, India, and Indonesia. The publication examines Asia’s prospects by subregion: Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific.This address on how technology impacts jobs, development, and forecasts for the Asia Pacific region was led by Ananya Basu, Principal Economist from ADB’s Pacific Department; and Valerie Mercer-Blackman, Senior Economist from ADB’s Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department; and was chaired by Roland Rajah, Director of the International Economy Progra
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Panel Discussion: International Relations in the Online Age
12/04/2018 Duration: 58minTerrorists are recruited via social media, nuclear weapons programs are disrupted via computer viruses, world leaders communicate via Twitter, and some foreign affairs departments have larger online followings than traditional media outlets. What will global politics become in this digital age?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Igor Yurgens on what the West needs to understand about Russia’s politics and economy
11/04/2018 Duration: 01h01minAs Russian president or prime minister, for the last 18 years Vladimir Putin has been one of the most prominent but enigmatic figures on the global stage. He has led Russia’s evolution from a deep post-Soviet torpor to an authoritarian power which asserts itself abroad, is a key player in the Syria conflict, and faces allegations of interfering in the US presidential elections. But in the West, Russia remains shrouded in myths and stereotypes, its behaviour often misdiagnosed. In this Lowy Institute address, one of Russia’s finest political commentators, Igor Yurgens, examined the West’s misunderstanding of Russia.Igor Yurgens is Chairman of the Institute for Contemporary Development, a Moscow-based think tank dedicated to a modern Russia. He was one of former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s closest economic-policy advisers. He graduated from Moscow State University with a PhD in Economics, worked in the trade union movement in the USSR for more than two decades, and served five years in UNESCO.See omnyst
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In Conversation: Scott Snyder on strategic choices and South Korean foreign policy
06/04/2018 Duration: 58minThe Korean Peninsula has historically been a battleground for the major powers. But with successful economic modernisation and transition to democracy, South Korea has sought to navigate rising tensions between the United States and North Korea, and to strategically benefit from China’s economic growth while relying on the United States for security. Dr Snyder discussed debates over South Korea’s strategic choices in the context of rising tensions in Northeast Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific, including in partnership with Australia.Scott Snyder is Senior Fellow for Korea Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a contributor to CFR’s group blog Asia Unbound, and the author of several books about Korean security policy and regional relations in Northeast Asia, most recently South Korea at the Crossroads: Autonomy and Alliance in an Era of Rival Power (2018).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Panel Discussion: Debating China’s Belt and Road Initiative
28/03/2018 Duration: 01h01minAnnounced in late 2013, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is both a colossal infrastructure development scheme and a grandly ambitious undertaking of geostrategic proportions. Mixed responses to the BRI are now emerging as it begins to reshape economic and political decisions across Eurasia. In Europe, Germany’s foreign minister recently stated his view that the BRI is designed to promote a value system different to that in the West. In response to the BRI, Australia, India, Japan, and the United States are reported to be considering an Asian infrastructure development plan of their own. Our panel considered the BRI’s implications for China’s role in the region, and for Australia’s interests going forward.The Lowy Institute hosted a panel discussion with Dr Mathieu Duchâtel, Senior Policy Fellow and Deputy Director of the Asia and China Programme at the European Council of Foreign Relations; Professor Bates Gill, Department of Security Studies and Criminology at Macquarie University; Dr Merriden Varrall,
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Panel Discussion: Shifting power In Asia
14/03/2018 Duration: 59minAsia’s economic transformation is reshaping the global distribution of power, changing the way the region and the world operates politically and strategically. The Lowy Institute discussed the growing wealth, influence, and military might of new and reviving Asian powers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Yukio Okamoto on Japan’s evolving security role in the Indo-Pacific
12/03/2018 Duration: 59minFollowing a period spent in Japan developing its national security apparatus and international security cooperation with partners from Europe to the Indo-Pacific, Yukio Okamoto, Adjunct Professor at Ritsumeikan University and former Japanese diplomat, addressed Japan’s evolving security role in the Indo-Pacific, with a focus on Japan–China relations. This was followed by a discussion with the Lowy Institute’s International Security Program Director, Dr Euan Graham, about how Japan will adapt and respond to future regional security concerns. Yukio Okamoto was a career diplomat in Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including postings in Paris at the OECD as well as in Cairo and Washington. Since retiring in 1991, Mr Okamoto has directed a political and economic consultancy, and served in a number of senior advisory positions. He has worked on multiple Japanese Government committees, including as a Special Advisor to Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto (1996–98), Special Advisor to the Cabinet (2001–03) and Speci
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In conversation: Hayder al-Khoei on Iraq and Islamic State
05/03/2018 Duration: 56minNow that Islamic State has been defeated militarily, what does the future hold for Iraq? Deputy Director of the Lowy Institute Anthony Bubalo discussed this and other issues, including Iraq’s forthcoming elections and evolving relations with its neighbours, in conversation with Hayder al-Khoei. Hayder al-Khoei is Director of the Centre for Shi’a Studies in London and a doctoral researcher at the University of Exeter, focusing on US foreign policy and ethno-sectarian politics in Iraq. Prior to this, he was a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and an associate fellow of the Middle East and North Africa Program at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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In conversation: Alyssa Ayres on how India is making its place in the world
02/03/2018 Duration: 58minAlyssa Ayres, Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), joined Aaron Connelly, Research Fellow for the East Asia Program at the Lowy Institute, to discuss Alyssa’s latest book, 'Our Time Has Come: How India Is Making Its Place in the World'. Dr Ayres discussed how a fiercely independent India pursues its place as a leading power, and how the United States should respond. At CFR, Alyssa Ayres’s work focuses on India’s role in the world and on US relations with South Asia. In 2015 she served as project director for the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force on US–India Relations, and from 2014 to 2016 as project director for an initiative on the new geopolitics of China, India, and Pakistan. She directs the US Relations with South Asia Roundtable series, blogs regularly for Asia Unbound, and is a contributor to Forbes.com. Her book 'Our Time Has Come: How India is Making Its Place in the World' was published by Oxford University Press in January 2018. Alyssa Ayre
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Winston Peters on New Zealand in the Pacific
01/03/2018 Duration: 49minNew Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rt Hon Winston Peters, addressed his government's plans to work with its Pacific partners to meet the many strategic and development challenges facing the region.New Zealand’s place is in the Pacific. Culturally, geographically, and politically, New Zealand is a Pacific Islands country. But the Pacific is an increasingly complex strategic environment, with a broad range of external factors affecting its present and future.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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In conversation: Manu Bhaskaran on Singapore's global hub model
01/03/2018 Duration: 56minOver the past fifty years, Singapore has become one of the world’s most prosperous countries and a dynamic node in the world economy. A new Lowy Analysis Paper examines not only what has driven Singapore’s success in establishing itself as a competitive base of high-value manufacturing and other value-added services, but also how the country, amid regional and global challenges, must adapt its model so as to retain its position at the centre of flows of trade, investment, and people.Manu Bhaskaran, the paper’s author and CEO of consultancy Centennial Asia, joined Research Fellow Matthew Busch to discuss what Singapore can do to find the policy mix and economic fundamentals to overcome these challenges.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Panel Discussion: Changing Attitudes in Australia - 13 years of the Lowy Institute Poll
21/02/2018 Duration: 59minThe Lowy Institute has conducted robust, independent polling on Australian attitudes to foreign policy issues annually since 2005. While the world has changed dramatically this century, how have Australian attitudes changed, and what has stayed the same?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Panel discussion: The year ahead
05/02/2018 Duration: 56minOn 1 February, the Lowy Institute’s Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove chaired a discussion examining the key issues likely to dominate the international agenda in 2018.Joining Michael was Deputy Director Anthony Bubalo, Deputy Research Director and Director of the Diplomacy and Public Opinion Program Alex Oliver, Director of the International Security Program, Dr Euan Graham and Nonresident Fellow Dr John Edwards.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Panel discussion: Why women leaders are important – perspectives from PNG and Australia
31/01/2018 Duration: 01h02minOn 29 January, Lowy Institute Research Fellow Anna Kirk chaired a discussion on women's representation in leadership and politics with one of Australia's leading business executives, Ann Sherry; the highest polling female candidate in the 2017 PNG elections, Rufina Peter; and ANU academic Dr Kerryn Baker. The panelists addressed this critical issue shared between Papua New Guinean and Australian societies and discussed ways to overcome such gender inequality challenges.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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In Conversation: Bingqin Li on population challenges for the Chinese economy
21/12/2017 Duration: 54minChina is a rapidly ageing country. According to the World Bank, the working-age population is predicted to fall by 10% by 2040. While the size of the workforce is falling, the pool of over 65s is rising, and is predicted to reach 350 million by the same year.What are the economic effects of a shrinking labour pool and rising number of aged dependents, and how will the two-child policy limit these effects? The Lowy Institute convened a panel to explore how population dynamics will shape China’s economy and what it means for our economic future at large.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Joe Hockey on the Trump administration's first twelve months
14/12/2017 Duration: 58minOn 14 December Lowy Institute hosted the Hon Joe Hockey, Australia’s Ambassador to the United States, for an address on the first twelve months of President Trump’s administration. The Hon Joe Hockey has been Australia’s Ambassador to the United States since January 2016. Prior to this appointment, he was a member of the House of Representatives for the seat of North Sydney from 1996 until 2015. He served in a broad range of ministerial portfolios including as the Minister for Human Services, Minister for Tourism and the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, before being appointed as Treasurer in the Abbott government from 2013 to 2015 and chairing the G20 as part of this role. Before entering politics, Mr Hockey worked as a solicitor, and subsequently as Director of Policy to the NSW Premier.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Christopher Pyne on Australia's defence industry
13/12/2017 Duration: 43minOn 13 December, the Lowy Institute hosted an address by the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, Minister for Defence Industry and the Leader of the House of Representatives. As Minister for Defence Industry he is responsible for Australia’s defence procurement and military capability including delivering the $200 billion worth of investment in Australia’s defence capabilities outlined in the Defence White Paper.Minister Pyne was first elected to Federal Parliament in 1993 at the age of 25, as the member for Sturt in South Australia. Through the Howard, Abbott and Turnbull governments, he has served as Assistant Minister for Health and Ageing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Education and Training, and Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Quick comment: Mu Sochua on the future of Cambodian democracy
11/12/2017 Duration: 12minMu Sochua, Deputy Leader of the recently dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party, speaks with Research Fellow Aaron Connelly on China's support for Prime Minister Hun Sen, the government crackdown on Cambodia's independent media and what Australia can do to encourage a return to democracy in Cambodia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Panel discussion: What does Xi Jinping’s ‘new era’ mean for China and the world?
07/12/2017 Duration: 01h59sAt China’s recent 19th Party Congress, the Party and President Xi Jinping announced a ‘new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics’. What does this mean for China, both domestically and globally? On 7 December, the Lowy Institute’s East Asia Program Director Dr Merriden Varrall hosted Professor Anne-Marie Brady of the Wilson Center and Lowy Institute Nonresident Fellow Peter Cai for a panel discussion on how the ‘new era’ will shape China’s approach to its national policies, including social and economic development, and foreign affairs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Panel discussion: Crisis in Myanmar – its origins and our response
05/12/2017 Duration: 01h01minOver half a million Rohingya have fled Myanmar into neighbouring Bangladesh since 25 August, bringing with them accounts of crimes against humanity by Myanmar security forces and local mobs.On 5 December the Lowy Institute convened an expert panel for a discussion of the background to the current crisis, including the roles of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar’s military, and an examination of what Australia and the international community can do to address one of Southeast Asia’s most serious humanitarian crises in decades. The panel included Dr Melissa Crouch, Senior Lecturer at the UNSW Law Faculty; Aaron Connelly, Research Fellow Lowy Institute's East Asia Program; and Hervé Lemahieu, Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute. The discussion was moderated by Director of the East Asia Program at the Lowy Institute Dr Merriden Varrall.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.