Articles | Lowy Institute

16 Oct 2023
Australia

Diplomacy
Australia’s next challenge for Indigenous foreign policy

Daniel Flitton

The defeat of the Voice referendum may be a chance to tell a broader story about the challenges facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
6 Oct 2023
Australia in the World

Australian Diplomacy

Diplomacy
Pump up the volume: Music diplomacy as soft power

Kate Clayton

From jazz ambassadors to Eurovision, it’s time Australia employed the persuasive power of pop and beyond.
29 Sep 2023
Southeast Asia

Australia and Asia

Australia's Economy

Australia's Trade

Diplomacy
Great expectations: Australia’s elusive Southeast Asia vision

Stephen Grenville

Diplomacy, economic partnerships, copper mines and instant noodles - the Moore Report has much to reflect on.
25 Sep 2023
Bangladesh

Australia

Diplomacy
Australia’s support for Bangladesh will bolster regional stability

David Brewster

It's not clear what Washington hopes to achieve in isolating Dhaka, but Canberra must take a different tack.
16 Aug 2023
Australia

Diplomacy
Can the Matildas waltz onto the world stage for Australia’s sport diplomacy?

Tim Harcourt

Sporting ambassadors have previously helped with big international investments. Let’s go again.
4 Aug 2023
Australia

Diplomacy

Global Issues

Pacific Islands

Africa

Sex and Gender
Women belong everywhere and this World Cup proves football can be the great equaliser

Jessica Collins

Respect for female athletes “tearing it up on the pitch” must translate into respect off the field, too.
3 Aug 2023
Australia

Diplomacy

United States
The vanishing options for Julian Assange

Donald R Rothwell

Extradition for the WikiLeaks founder to the United States looks likely unless Anthony Albanese can persuade Joe Biden otherwise.
6 Jul 2023
Australia

Diplomacy

Ukraine
Australia’s absent ambassador must return to Ukraine

Dave Sharma

If the PM won’t provide more than a few military off-casts in support, sending back the top envoy should be an easy step.
21 Jun 2023
India

Australia

Diplomacy
O'Farrell leaves India with ties to Australia at a high point

Navdeep Suri

The incoming High Commissioner has big shoes to fill after a remarkable time of rekindled relations.
25 May 2023
Asia

Diplomacy

G20

Global Issues
Economic diplomacy: Taking cover from the summit war of words

Greg Earl

Proliferating regional institutions risk becoming shooting stars, with a long trail of bureaucratic half-lives behind.
25 May 2023
Asia

Diplomacy
Decoding diplomatic dynamics in Asia: The numbers tell a captivating story

Susannah Patton , Jack Sato

China, Japan and Indonesia each lead the US with a higher tempo of top-level diplomatic activity in the region. But defence ties differ.
17 May 2023
Australia

Diplomacy

Papua New Guinea

United States
Biden’s trip cancellations reveal pitfalls of a crowded diplomatic calendar

Daniel Flitton

Bailing on Australia and PNG highlights the growing risk of disappointment when leaders are clambering to summits here, there, everywhere.
16 May 2023
Australia

Diplomacy
Indigenous Voice: Getting ready to explain to the world if Australia votes “No”

Hugh Piper

The referendum is a pivotal moment for global perceptions of Australia. Diplomats must be ready whatever the outcome.
9 May 2023
Australia

Diplomacy
DFAT: Show me the money

Daniel Flitton

Reports of a boost to spending to Australia’s diplomatic machinery need to be judged against what has been cut before.
14 Apr 2023
Australia

Defence & Security

Diplomacy

Europe
No Albo at NATO, no worries

Patrick Triglavcanin

Australia’s diplomatic effort has been in overdrive. That doesn’t change by not sending a minister to Vilnius.
14 Apr 2023
Australia

Diplomacy

Climate change

Multilateral Institutions

United Nations

Pacific Islands
A strategy for engaging for small developing states

Hamish Fejo

If Australia is serious about climate change, it needs better relationships with island nations – near and far.
13 Apr 2023
Afghanistan

Diplomacy
The urgent humanitarian need to get diplomats back to Afghanistan

George Varughese , Daniel Madhani

Aid workers are pressed enough to deliver much needed relief without a burden of also speaking for the global community.
13 Mar 2023
Australia in the World

Australian Diplomacy

Diplomacy
Taking Australian statecraft from good to great

Hugh Piper , Susannah Patton

To remain effective in Asia, Canberra must do more with less, multiplying the effects of its bureaucratic tools.
9 Mar 2023
Australia

Diplomacy
A first for Australia, and First Nations Australians

Hamish Fejo

Now the hard work begins to ensure a First Nations Foreign Policy amounts to more than words.
9 Feb 2023
Australia

Diplomacy
Richard Woolcott: Navigating great change

William Fisher

Contacts and controversy, remembering a peerless diplomat’s life in the thick of it.
23 Jan 2023
Diplomacy
With travel back, summit diplomacy is revamped

Mercedes Page

The foreign policy calendar for 2023 is stacked for a big year of geopolitics.
20 Jan 2023
Australia in the World

Diplomacy

Foreign Policy
An enduring formula for Australian foreign policy

Melissa Conley Tyler

Relationships, forums and neighbours are still a winning combination for Canberra on the global stage.
28 Nov 2022
Australia in the World

Australia

Australia and Asia

Australia and the Pacific

Australian Diplomacy

Diplomacy

Foreign Policy
Confident, competent, inconsistent: Australia’s strategic personality

Ian Hall

Canberra’s report card receives a solid “pleasing result” on Southeast Asia, but a “could do better” on the Pacific.
25 Nov 2022
Australia

Diplomacy

The Americas
Fruits of labour: Guatemala’s 30 minutes with the PM

Daniel Flitton

With farmers in Australia crying out for more workers, some outside-the-box thinking could help.
16 Nov 2022
China

Australia

Diplomacy
“Big differences to manage”: Albanese and Xi put a value on diplomacy

Melissa Conley Tyler

The government can say Australia didn’t have to give up interests or values to restart dialogue.
8 Nov 2022
Australia

Diplomacy

Global Issues

Multilateral Institutions
COP out: Should Albanese be in Egypt? And what about APEC? G20? EAS?

Daniel Flitton

The demands on leaders in global diplomacy have only grown but that hasn’t made negotiations more meaningful.
24 Oct 2022
Australia in the World

Diplomacy

Multilateral Institutions
Australia’s road to Geneva

James Cotton

The League of Nations gave delegates from the antipodes a taste for progressive internationalism that remains today.
4 Oct 2022
Australia

Diplomacy
Diversity and inclusion: Australia’s global aim to walk the talk

Danielle Ireland-Piper , Robin Perry

It helps to ensure feelings of respect and value infuse diplomacy – and the management of foreign relations, too.
3 Oct 2022
Diplomacy

Pacific Islands

United States
“See it through my lens”: the optics of fashion diplomacy

Kate Clayton , Henrietta McNeill

Sunglasses are a staple in the US President’s diplomatic style but not every leader can share the benefit.
13 Sep 2022
Diplomacy

Technology
Computational diplomacy - the science of an art?

Roland Bouffanais , Sun Sun Lim

Vast troves of historical data exist on negotiations and responses and agreements. The trick is a means to read it.
5 Sep 2022
Australia in the World

Diplomacy

The Americas
If Brazil’s ambassador could seed a few ideas with the Prime Minister

Daniel Flitton

Australia has a growing personal connection to the South American giant, with diplomatic ties yet to catch up.
2 Sep 2022
Australia in the World

Diplomacy
“Should democracies ever lie?” Sort of. Maybe. Not really

Hugh Piper

Bending the truth corrupts confidence in democratic institutions and risks a race to the bottom.
25 Aug 2022
Australia in the World

Australia

Diplomacy
Penny Wong on “30 minutes with the PM” and Australia’s global interest

Daniel Flitton

The Foreign Minister was asked about the new Interpreter series and her answer was an insight into balancing priorities.
24 Aug 2022
Diplomacy
Prime Minister, Uruguay’s ambassador is here for your meeting

Daniel Flitton

A sticky question about a prohibited import to Australia might give Anthony Albanese something to chew over.
9 Aug 2022
Australia

Australian Diplomacy

Diplomacy
There must be a better way: Australia’s diplomatic appointments

Hugh Piper

Transparency in deciding who gets to represent the country abroad can only be a benefit.
8 Aug 2022
Australia in the World

Australia and Asia

Australian Diplomacy

Diplomacy
The opportunities of cross-public service diplomacy

Shaun Cameron

Collaborations between Australia and its regional partners on skills, knowledge and capacity offer a win-win scenario.
26 Jul 2022
Australian Diplomacy

Diplomacy

Sex and Gender
The future is female, but women in diplomacy still under-represented

Elise Stephenson

It’s two steps forward, one step back for gender parity in Australian international relations.
26 Jul 2022
Diplomacy

Pacific Islands
Pacific Islands Forum meeting: the black cloud returns

Jessica Collins

A continued dispute over the Secretary General position has challenged unity of the Pacific family.
2 Jun 2022
Asia

Global Issues

Diplomacy

Australia

Human rights
Knowledge is power: A small investment for a big return

Mubashar Hasan

Australia should see that training rights advocates across the region can be an effective means to bolster democracy.
24 May 2022
Australia in the World

Diplomacy

Australia
Rejuvenating DFAT: increasing diversity and becoming less insular

Yun Jiang

Harnessing the experience and skills of the entire Australian community is the foundation for strong diplomacy.
20 May 2022
Defence & Security

Diplomacy

Australia
A strategy for uncertain times

Ben Scott

Is a case-by-case approach good enough for Australia to respond to the great and developing regional challenges?
19 May 2022
Australia in the World

Diplomacy

Australia
Looking for a little sizzle from the 2022 election campaign

Greg Earl

As one of the world’s oldest stable democracies, Australia can do better in its election foreign policy discussion.
19 May 2022
Asia

Diplomacy

Australia
Getting the most from Australia’s regional engagements

Hayley Channer

As in-person meetings restart after Covid, it’s time to assess what resources support the many strategic groupings.
13 May 2022
Diplomacy

United States

China's Government

China
China and the West: It’s about understanding each other

Aaron Mc Nicholas

The former Australian prime minister offers indispensable insights into how to go back to relationship basics.
11 May 2022
Diplomacy

Australia
The case for rejuvenating DFAT

Justin Brown

Foreign ministries no longer monopolise a country’s global voice. But some practical fine tuning will enhance diplomacy.
5 May 2022
Diplomacy

Australia
Scott Morrison wins. So where to next for Australia in the world?

Hugh Piper

A returned Coalition government faces immediate headaches (and opportunities) in its foreign policy.
3 May 2022
Diplomacy

Australia
Imagining Labor’s first 100 days in foreign policy

Hugh Piper

It’s 22 May. And although Anthony Albanese is yet to get his feet under the desk, priorities are already piling up.
31 Mar 2022
Diplomacy

China

Russia

Ukraine
War represents a failure of diplomacy. It pays to read past page one.

Kerry Brown

I hope Ukraine’s ambassador enjoyed reading my book in the Security Council. Here’s the message I wanted to send.
30 Mar 2022
Diplomacy

Australia
A silver lining to DFAT’s budgetary woes

Mercedes Page

A funding boost to diplomacy won’t instantly lift Australia’s influence. Better to think hard on what the country needs.
24 Mar 2022
Diplomacy

United States
Madeleine Albright: “I have come a long way, so I must be frank”

Daniel Flitton

The first woman to serve as US Secretary of State also inspired the first woman to be Australia’s Foreign Minister.