The Lowy Institute

On 11 June the Lowy Institute was pleased to host a special event with Australian Foreign Minister The Hon Julie Bishop MP. The Minister outlined her vision for Australian foreign policy in an evolving strategic and economic global environment, and how the expansion of Australia’s diplomatic network – the largest single increase in 40 years – will support the Australian Government’s efforts to make Australia a safe and more prosperous nation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Peter Greste is an award-winning journalist and correspondent. He has worked for a number of news organisations including Reuters and the BBC before joining Al-Jazeera's English news channel.In December 2013 Greste and two Al-Jazeera colleagues, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, were arrested in Cairo on charges that included aiding a terrorist group. Greste was deported after spending 400 days in an Egyptian jail but is still facing criminal charges, alongside Fahmy and Mohamed, in an ongoing trial.On 10 June, Greste joined Lowy Institute Research Director Anthony Bubalo for a conversation on his time in jail, the prospects for Fahmy and Mohamed, Al-Jazeera as a news organisation, and what his experience means for press freedom in Egypt and around the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Later this week Australia is due to host a regional summit on countering violent extremism.In this podcast Anthony Bubalo talks to Dr Anne Aly about this summit and a previous summit on the topic held by the US in February 2015.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What makes a young man or woman want to travel to Iraq to join Islamic State? What motivates so-called 'lone wolves' to plan acts of terrorist violence in Australia? The Lowy Institute was pleased to host distinguished Australian academic Dr Anne Aly to explore these and other questions as she examined why some individuals and groups transition from radical thought to violent extremism.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Enacted in 1980, the one child policy was designed to allow China's development to forge ahead. Demographers estimate that at between 100 and 400 million births were averted as a direct result of this policy, and some Chinese argue that this has helped China achieve the momentous task of lifting over 550 million people out of poverty. However, the policy has been controversial, with accusations of human rights abuses in implementation, unusually high sex ratios at birth, as well as concerns about the social implications of a generation of single children.On Monday 25 May, acclaimed journalist and novelist Ms Xue Xinran joined Lowy Institute East Asia program Director Merriden Varrall in a conversation about how the one child policy, introduced in 1978, is affecting the Chinese social, economic, and political landscape.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Australia, China's foreign policy, particularly in the Asian region, is of critical importance. To respond effectively to China's activities in a way that protects Australia's interests, we need to know not only what China is doing, but why. There appears to be a contradiction in Chinese foreign policy that Xi Jinping is prioritising good relations with countries on the periphery, however at the same time, insists China will not compromise on any issue pertaining to its territorial sovereignty. How can this apparent tension be resolved, particularly when China blames tensions around its periphery on the U.S. Rebalance to Asia, not on its own policies. The U.S. says China is intimidating its neighbours and not abiding by international law. Who is right?On 21 May, John Garnaut and Bonnie Glaser discussed China's regional policy with Lowy Institute East Asia Program Director Merriden Varrall.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 20-21 May 2015 the G20 Studies Centre at the Lowy Institute for International Policy hosted a conference on international economic governance.This introductory session featured Reserve Bank Deputy Governer Philip Lowe and Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Fullilove. The session outlined the state of international governance in 2015, with an overview of the G20's history, tracing its development into a premier forum for managing the global economy and the implications of recent geopolitical developments. There were also reflections on Australia’s G20 presidency and on China’s future presidency in 2016.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Energy and climate change have been hotly contested on the G20 agenda. The 2015 Leaders’ Summit will be two weeks before the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP21 meeting in December 2015. This session of the G20 Studies Centre international economic governance conference delved into questions of how to transform the international energy architecture and what the G20 could achieve with regards to climate change. Michelle Grattan concluded the session with a broader conversation about G20 communications.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the 8 May, the Lowy Institute hosted its twelfth annual New Voices conference on the theme “Is Geopolitics Returning to Asia?” After the conference, convenor Ashley Townshend caught up with New Voices panellists Dr Cui Lei, Research Fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, and Michael Mazza, Research Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, to discuss Chinese and U.S. views on island-building and maritime security in the South China Sea.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The intentions behind China's activities in the South China Sea and East China Sea are the source of considerable debate in Australia, in the region, and around the world. China asserts it is peacefully protecting its historic sovereignty. Many Western analysts fear that China is aggressively attempting to become the predominant power in the region. However, despite heated discussion, it is difficult to say with certainty what China is aiming to achieve, or what the implications and unintended consequences might be. On 19 May Lowy Nonresident Fellows Bonnie Glaser and Linda Jakobson and East Asia Program Director Merriden Varrall examined of the motivations behind China's activities in the maritime arena, drawing on their many years of experience working on China's foreign policy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Thursday 14 May the Lowy Institute hosted the Hon Peter O’Neill, MP CMG, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea2015 is a defining year for Papua New Guinea. The country will record the highest GDP growth rate in the world this year. Papua New Guinea faces serious development challenges but is making progress with the introduction of free education and healthcare and the expected completion of major infrastructure projects. The Papua New Guinea government will host the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ summit and the Pacific Games in 2015. In his address, Prime Minister O’Neill will reflect on Papua New Guinea’s place in the world as it celebrates 40 years of independence from Australia this year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talk to the editor of one of Papua New Guinea's major newspapers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 29 April, Hayden Cooper, winner of the 2014 Lowy Institute Media Award, discussed his time reporting for the ABC on the Middle East, including some of the big stories he covered, from the Peter Greste trial in Egypt to the 2014 war in Gaza.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian Foreign Julie Bishop is about to visit Tehran. Middle East expert Rodger Shanahan discusses her agenda.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australians and Indonesians learn much of what they know about each other through the media. Yet polling shows neither side has a deep understanding of the other.On Monday 13 April, Lowy Institute Indonesia expert Aaron Connelly moderated a panel discussion with Andini Effendi, Senior International Correspondent of Metro TV, based in Jakarta, and ABC Senior reporter and former Jakarta correspondent Helen Brown, where they discussed the shared challenges facing the press in both countries. The event also featured other participants from the day's inaugural Lowy Institute Media Dialogue, as well as questions from audience attendees including Tom Switzer, Geraldine Doogue, and Stephen Grenville.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 2 April the United States and Iran announced that they had agreed parameters for a comprehensive nuclear agreement to be concluded by the end of June 2015.On 9 April the Lowy Institute convened a distinguished panel chaired by Lowy Institute Executive Director, Dr Michael Fullilove, to discuss the outcome of these high-stakes negotiations. Anthony Bubalo, Research Director at the Lowy Institute, John Carlson AM, former Director General, Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office and Greg Sheridan, Foreign Editor with The Australian, considered and discussed the implications of any nuclear agreement on security and proliferation in the Middle East and the wider world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor Cheng Li from the Brookings Institution speaks with the Lowy Institute's Dr Merriden Varrall regarding China's foreign policy under Xi Jinping.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China's role in international affairs is growing rapidly, but how much do we really understand about who is making decisions in China, and why?In the Lowy Institute's annual China lecture, Professor Cheng Li, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, examined how the current Chinese leadership under Xi Jinping sees the connection between the international and China's domestic situation, and analysed what implications these views have for Chinese foreign policy.Professor Li discussed how the Xi leadership sees China's relationship with existing norms and institutions, and the rationale behind creating new institutions such as the AIIB and the 'One Belt One Road'. He also looked at what Chinese leaders want to achieve when they head up the G20 in 2016. The Lowy Institute is grateful to AMP for their kind support of this event series.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Distinguished historian of Southeast Asia Milton Osborne discusses the achievements of Lee Kuan Yew, who died earlier this week.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The new head of ANU’s National Security College and Lowy Institute Nonresident Fellow, Professor Rory Medcalf, discusses his views that Australia needs to rethink how it approaches and considers national security and defence. The interviewer is Lowy Institute Research Director Anthony Bubalo.Professor Medcalf outlines what new security risks Australia faces, and why he believes this security rethink is necessary. Anthony also asks Rory which nations he thinks are key strategic partners for Australia in the region:See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.