The Lowy Institute

The Wednesday Lowy Lunch this week was on Tuesday and it launched the Asia New Zealand Foundation’s Outlook Paper #13, 'Standing Together, In Single File', by the Lowy Institute’s Program Director East Asia, Dr Malcolm Cook. Malcolm was joined by Dr Brendan Taylor to discuss the paper. Brendan is a lecturer at the School of International, Political and Strategic Studies at ANU. Dr Andrew Butcher, the Asia New Zealand Foundation’s Director Policy and Research, moderated the launch.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Mekong River basins are one of the most important and dynamic areas in the world for the battle between economic development’s demands for energy and environmental and social sustainability. As world attention shifts to the pending global climate change negotiations in far-off Copenhagen, the ongoing damming of the Mekong River and plans by the riparian states to build new dams threaten the livelihoods of millions or people in Southeast Asia who rely on the river. Milton Osborne’s latest publication for the Lowy Institute on the Mekong River focuses on these plans by the Lao PDR and Cambodia to build dams on the Mekong and evaluates their potential social and environmental ramifications especially for Cambodia’s Great Lake and for the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One if the biggest questions facing Asia, and Australia, is how is the global financial crisis affecting China and will the Chinese government's policy responses be effective. The front and opinion pages of Australia's broadsheets have been full of stories and editorials on this topic. At the Wednesday Lowy Lunch on 25 March 2009, Professor Leong Liew looked beyond these headlines and discussed the challenges from the global financial crisis facing the Chinese economy in a key period of transition and how domestic political factors are shaping China's policy responses.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Lowy Institute was pleased to host the second ‘headland’ speech by the Hon. Tony Abbott MHR, Leader of the Opposition, on Friday 23 April. The speech covered Coalition views on foreign affairs and defence.Tony Abbott was elected Leader of the Federal Parliamentary Liberal Party on 1 December 2009. He was previously Leader of the House and a senior Cabinet Minister in the Howard Government, serving in roles including Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Health and Ageing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the occasion of the publication of his political memoirs, the Lowy Institute was pleased to welcome former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser for a conversation on Australian foreign policy. From the Vietnam War to the Afghanistan War, from international law to the treatment of refugees, Mr Fraser discussed the meaning of liberalism in the global context. He was joined on stage by Michael Wesley, the Institute’s Executive Director.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday, 9 November, 2009 was the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. To mark this anniversary, the Lowy Institute engaged three prominent commentators on the significance of the end of the Cold War. Lowy Institute Executive Director, Michael Wesley, moderated a conversation between veteran strategic analyst Owen Harries, Amnesty International Director Claire Mallinson, and Westpac international economist Huw Mackay.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2009 Lowy Lecture on Australia in the World was delivered on 18 November by Mr Marius Kloppers, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of BHP Billiton Ltd.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Rudd Government has announced major reforms to our university system in order to ensure that Australia can meet challenges of the next century. At the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 29th July, Professor Ian Chubb argued that it is imperative for Australia that we lift our sights and rebuild our capacity to perform alongside the world’s best in those fields of education and research. He argued the proposed Compacts between universities and the Government have the potential to drive change that will secure the long-term international competitiveness of our education and research sectors.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 2009 Australia-India Strategic Lecture, delivered at the Lowy Institute on 11 May, Ambassador Chinmaya Gharekhan examined India’s dangerous neighbourhood, and in particular the deep security challenges posed by the situations in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He presented a sobering picture of the prospects for these countries, and the implications for India and other countries threatened by jihadist terrorism.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Lowy Institute, in cooperation with the Sydney Democracy Forum, explored the state of West Asian democracy in a panel discussion held on Tuesday 2 October, 2007 at the Institute. The session compared and contrasted two different ends of the democratic spectrum in the region. It assessed the state of the region and the world’s largest democracy, India, and it explored democratic prospects in Egypt, a country that had, until recently, been lauded by the US government as an example of positive, if incremental, political reform. The session also explored the role of the international community in fostering democratisation in this strategically critical region. The panel speakers were Anthony Bubalo, Niraja Gopal Jayal and John Keane.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Symposium, Strengthening the Global and Regional Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, co-sponsored by Pacific Friends of the Global Fund, AusAID and the Lowy Institute for International Policy, was held at the Lowy Institute in Sydney on 24 February 2009.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2008 Australia-India Strategic Lecture was presented at the Lowy Institute on 25 March 2008 by Ambassador Lalit Mansingh. The title of his lecture was 'The promise and the limits of the India-US relationship: What it means for Asia and the world'. The partnership between India and the United States has been a central part of the story of India's changing place in the world in recent years, and Ambassador Mansingh has played a singular role in the transformation of the relationship between the world's two largest democracies. He is a former Indian Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to the United States. His visit to Australia was supported by the Australia-India Council, the Lowy Institute's partner in the Australia-India Strategic Lecture.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the George W Bush Presidency draws to a close, attention is increasingly focused on the likely policies of his successor, particularly in the Middle East. The Lowy Institute was pleased to present at the Wednesday Lowy Lunch on 30 July 2008 a speaker eminently qualified to address this critical topic, Ambassador Martin S. Indyk. Ambassador Indyk is a Director on the Board of the Lowy Institute for International Policy. He is the Director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC, and a former US Ambassador to Israel.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 26 September at the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy, Lucinda Holdforth, a former Australian diplomat and foreign policy adviser and the author of the recently published 'Why manners matter: the case for civilised behaviour in a barbarous world' gave a presentation on the link between good manners and international politics.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Wednesday 22 August at the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy, Amos Brandeis, an Ambassador for the International River Foundation, spoke about the links between the environment and conflict. Tim Flannery introduced Mr Brandeis.Mr Brandeis is the manager of the Alexander River Restoration Project, a unique partnership between Israel and Palestine. In 1995 Israelis and Palestinians came together to restore a heavily polluted river that flows through Palestine. In 2003, the Project was awarded the prestigious Thiess International River Prize. Amos Brandeis argued that protection of the environment can assist in creating peace and stability out of conditions of conflict, war and poverty.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 16 August at the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy, Mr Les Murray from the SBS network discussed the broader social and cultural elements of the World Cup, and how our recent success has helped change perceptions of Australia around the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 19 July at the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy, Whit Mason discussed how Australia can apply the lessons of the international community's experience in Kosovo to state-building in its own immediate region. Whit's presentation, 'Balkan lessons for Australia’s arc of instability: the Joe Namath school of state-building' can be heard here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Monday 17 May at the Lowy Institute, an audience heard five important voices in Australian cultural life examine the role of music in promoting understanding between nations and communities. Joining Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, Sydney Symphony, Mr Vladimir Ashkenazy (pictured), in this unique public conversation were Lindy Hume, David Bridie, Andrew Ford and Geraldine Doogue AO.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 8 November at the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy, Professor Chaiwat Satha-Anand, Professor of Politics at Thammasat University in Thailand, and a member of the National Reconciliation Commission established in 2005 as a part of efforts to promote a peaceful resolution to the conflict in southern Thailand, discussed public reactions to the Commission’s recent report on violence in southern Thailand and what these reactions tell us about the nature of Thai society.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At at reception at the Westin Hotel on Thursday 28 January 2010, Dr Michael Wesley, Executive Director of the Lowy Institute, spoke of what we should expect in the decade ahead.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.