James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, spoke about strengthening Papua New Guinea's economy, climate change, and PNG’s place in the world. After his remarks, the Prime Minister spoke in conversation with the Lowy Institute's Executive Director, Dr Michael Fullilove AM. James Marape has served as Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea since May 2019 and as a Member of Parliament representing the electorate of Tari-Pori Open in Hela Province since 2007. See omnystudio.com/listener for...

The exceptional success of Western (chiefly American) intelligence in anticipating that Russia would attack Ukraine in February 2022 was only matched by the no less exceptional failure to adequately assess Russian and Ukrainian military capacity. There are lessons not only about what matters in assessing military performance, but also about the ways in which expert communities can, and do, sabotage themselves. Eliot A. Cohen is Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic...

To mark the launch of the latest Lowy Institute Paper, Modern Warfare: Lessons from Ukraine, we talk with the author, Sir Lawrence Freedman, about the Ukraine War. Join Lowy Institute analyst Sam Roggeveen for an in-depth discussion in which Sir Lawrence examines questions such as ‘Who is winning?’, ‘Will the West remain unified behind Ukraine?’, and ‘How does this war end?’. To buy Modern Warfare, visit the Penguin Books Australia website. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A policy address given by the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Hon Chris Bowen. Chris Bowen entered Parliament in 2004 and has held a wide range of portfolios including serving as Treasurer, Minister for Human Services, Minister for Immigration and Minister for Financial Services.  He served as Interim Leader of the Labor Party and Acting Leader of the Opposition following the 2013 Federal election and served as Shadow Treasurer. This November, the world's attention will be on the...

For 650 days, Sean Turnell was a prisoner of the military junta that has ruled Myanmar since 2021. Incarcerated in some of Myanmar’s most notorious prisons, isolated, ill-treated, and ultimately convicted in a sham trial of effectively being a spy, the descent from his role as chief economic adviser to Myanmar’s civilian government was a steep one. From helping to design policies to entrench democracy and help make Myanmar the last and best of the Asian ‘tigers’, his task became one of simple...

An address by Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, on business and human rights. The event was presided over by Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of Belgium, who led the Belgian Economic Mission to Australia. Following her address, the Minister joined the Lowy Institute’s Research Director Hervé Lemahieu for a panel conversation alongside Dr James Cockayne, Anti-Slavery Commissioner for New South Wales, and Professor Justine Nolan, Director of the Australian Human Rights...

The FDC Pacific Lecture, was given by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Fiji, the Hon Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka.    The Hon Sitiveni Rabuka is Fiji’s seventh elected Prime Minister, having previously served in the role from 1992 to 1999. He is also the current Minister for Foreign Affairs, Climate Change, Environment, Civil Service, Information, Public Enterprises and Veteran Affairs.  Prime Minister Rabuka has a distinguished military career and served as the Chair of Fiji’s Great...

The Rothschild & Co Distinguished International Fellowship brings an internationally recognised intellectual and policy leader to Australia to help deepen our debate on global issues. Shivshankar Menon served as India’s National Security Adviser from 2010 to 2014, and prior to that as foreign secretary and ambassador to Beijing and Islamabad, among other capitals. India, along with Asian geopolitics, has undergone rapid and accelerating change. Will India assume the role of a...

An address by foreign relations expert and former diplomat Dr Martin Indyk on US diplomacy in the Middle East and elsewhere, and lessons from history. Dr Indyk discussed his recent biography, Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy, and the relevance of US diplomat Dr Kissinger for modern foreign policy challenges, including in Ukraine. After his remarks, Dr Indyk spoke in conversation with the Lowy Institute’s Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove. Dr...

Three years of global turmoil have broken many of our underlying assumptions about the world. Australians have emerged from this period with dramatically different views on the threats facing the nation. They express a sober optimism in some areas. And they have cautiously reassessed Australia’s relations with great powers. The Lowy Institute held an event at the National Gallery of Victoria to unpack the findings of the 2023 Lowy Institute Poll. Now in its nineteenth year, this flagship...

Russia’s war in Ukraine is now well into its second year. Ukraine’s much-foreshadowed counter-offensive is developing more slowly than expected. Meanwhile, Russia’s leadership was rocked by the recent failed mutiny by the private Wagner paramilitary group.The Lowy Institute hosted Mick Ryan and Zoya Sheftalovich earlier in 2023 for an update on the Ukraine war. In July 2023, with Ukraine on the offensive and Russia’s internal political instability, we again hosted these two compelling experts...

What do Australians see as the key threats to the nation? How do they view China and the United States in the context of rising regional tensions? What do they think of AUKUS and nuclear-powered submarines? And how have attitudes to climate change and democracy evolved over time?  Join us in Canberra unpack the findings of the 2023 Lowy Institute Poll.  Now in its nineteenth year, the Lowy Institute’s flagship annual poll is the longest running and broadest survey of Australian public...

China’s remarkable economic rise has long been a key factor in global geopolitical discussions. But how soon and at what height will China’s economy peak? What are the implications for China’s ambitions in the world?  For years, predictions suggested that China’s economic power would surpass that of the United States by the end of this decade. However, recent developments, backed by Lowy analysis, have challenged this assumption.  In this event we unpacked the findings of original Lowy...

Australia is home to 1.4 million people with Chinese ancestry. At a time of heightened concern about national security and foreign interference, how do Chinese-Australians see Australia and their place in it? How do Chinese-Australians consume news and information? And how do they view the wider world, including the growing geopolitical tensions in the region? On 2 May the panel unpacked the findings of the 2023 Being Chinese in Australia: Public Opinion in Chinese Communities survey report...

Australia’s strategic outlook on the Indo-Pacific is changing rapidly, as reflected by the recent AUKUS announcement, forthcoming Defence Strategic Review and membership of new regional minilateral groupings such as the Quad. These changes will have important implications for Australia’s relations with neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia, and especially Indonesia, highlighted by Jakarta’s mixed response to the AUKUS announcement in 2021. How widespread are concerns about AUKUS and...

On 19 April, the Lowy Institute hosted the launch of the 2023 Being Chinese in Australia: Public Opinion in Chinese Communities survey report with author and Lowy Institute Research Fellow Dr Jennifer Hsu, along with guests Samuel Yang and Lucy Du. The event was chaired by the Director of the Institute's Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program, Ryan Neelam. Dr Jennifer Hsu is a Research Fellow and the Project Director of the Multiculturalism, Identity and Influence Project at the Lowy...

With the announcement of Australia’s pathway towards nuclear-powered submarines, and the forthcoming release of the Government’s response to the Defence Strategic Review, this event offered the rare opportunity to hear from Australia’s most senior military officer about the international security environment and how Australia is responding to it. After his remarks, General Angus Campbell AO DSC spoke in conversation with the Lowy Institute's Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove...

The announcement of Australia’s preferred technology pathway for the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines has been described as the most significant shift in the country’s strategic outlook since the Second World War. Coupled with the forthcoming publication of the Defence Strategic Review, Australia’s national security environment is set for significant change. What is the future of Australian defence policy, Australia’s place in the region, and its relations with the United States and...

The inaugural FDC Pacific Lecture was given by the Prime Minister of Samoa, Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa at Old Parliament House, Canberra on Monday 20 March 2023. The Hon Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa is Samoa’s seventh prime minister and the first woman to be elected to the role. She was also the country’s first female cabinet minister and deputy prime minister. As the leader of the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party, she became prime minister after elections in 2021. Prime Minister Fiamē was...

On 14 March 2023, Australian foreign policy expert and former Lowy Institute Executive Director Professor Michael Wesley launched his new book Helpem Fren: Australia and the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (MUP 2023). The book is the first comprehensive history of Australia’s RAMSI intervention, which was aimed at preventing the collapse of the Pacific Island state. Helpem Fren draws on still-classified official documents and more than 30 interviews to explore the motivations...

Entering the second year of the Russia–Ukraine conflict the Lowy Institute hosted a a conversation with two compelling speakers about what 2023 will bring. Retired Australian Army Major General Mick Ryan has become a globally recognised commentator on the military campaign in Ukraine, while Ukrainian-born journalist Zoya Sheftalovich (POLITICO) has recently returned from Europe, where she covered President Zelenskyy’s visits to London and Brussels. The conversation was chaired by Sam...

Over the past decade, there has been more emphasis on gender in foreign policy and national security. What does this mean? Should foreign policy be a vehicle for the promotion of gender equality and how is that in Australia’s interest? How are women in foreign policy and national security leadership positions making an impact on the world stage? And are we witnessing a global backlash against women’s rights? To mark International Womens Day the Lowy Institute hosted this event featuring...

On Monday 6 February, the Lowy Institute hosted a panel discussion at the National Gallery of Victoria featuring Institute experts to discuss the key issues likely to dominate the international agenda in 2023. The panel was chaired by Daniel Flitton, Managing Editor of the Lowy Institute’s international magazine The Interpreter, and included Meg Keen, Director, Pacific Islands Program; Richard McGregor, Senior Fellow for East Asia; Sam Roggeveen, Director, International Security Program;...

The Asia Power Index 2023 is the fifth edition of the digital analytical tool that ranks 26 countries according to the power they wield in the Indo-Pacific Region. In this video event, Project Lead Susannah Patton and Director of Research Hervé Lemahieu discuss the findings from the 2023 Asia Power Index with Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Fullilove. They discuss the rankings for the 2023 Index, the impact of Covid-19 on the influence of countries such as China, and the reasons why...

In a special in-person conversation with Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove, Bill Gates spoke about global health, pandemic preparedness, food security and climate change. Bill Gates is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and founder of Breakthrough Energy. He co-founded Microsoft in 1975, growing the company into a global leader in business and personal software. In 2008, Gates shifted focus to the Gates Foundation’s work on increasing opportunities for...