The Lowy Institute

After postings in Washington and South Asia, Nick Bryant came to Australia determined to avoid all the stereotypes and clichés that still tend to inform the world's view of the 'land down under.' He found an increasingly consequential country – diplomatically, commercially, economically and culturally. Politics was heading in the same direction, as well, until the coup that ousted Kevin Rudd. The national conversation again became narrowly parochial, as Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott reinforced their own insularity. In our Food for Thought series in Canberra, Nick Bryant explored these two countervailing themes. After postings in Washington and South Asia, Nick Bryant came to Australia determined to avoid all the stereotypes and clichés that still tend to inform the world's view of the 'land down under.' He found an increasingly consequential country – diplomatically, commercially, economically and culturally. Politics was heading in the same direction, as well, until the coup that ousted Kevin Rudd. The nati

At the Lowy Lecture on Tuesday 4 October 2011, Professor Keith Jeffery reflected on the challenges, rewards and frustrations of writing an authorised history of the most secretive department of the British state. Keith Jeffery is Professor of British History at Queen's University Belfast and a Member of the Royal Irish Academy. He is author or editor of fourteen books, including a prize-winning biography of Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson. His ground-breaking official history, MI6: The History of the Secret Intelligence Service, 1909–49, was published in September 2010.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the conclusion of the Australia-India Roundtable held at the Lowy Institute on 19-20 September 2011, four key participants - Ambassador Shyam Saran and Ambassador Ric Smith AO PSM as well as conveners Rory Medcalf and Navdeep Suri - discussed key ideas emerging from the dialogue. The Roundtable involved leading figures from diplomacy, business, media and think tanks, and is the most substantial such meeting yet held between the two countries.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia has experienced a turbulent ten years of enacting new anti-terror laws as a response to the UN Security Council and attacks overseas. These laws are of unprecedented reach, and provide powers and sanctions that were unthinkable prior to September 11. A decade on, George Williams AO, one of Australia's leading constitutional lawyers and public commentators, drew lessons from this experience both for Australia and the ongoing task of protecting the community from terrorism at the Lowy Lecture on 31 August 2011.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the Lowy Lecture Series on 14 September 2011, Lowy Institute Non-resident Fellow Dr Rodger Shanahan examined the Arab Spring from the perspective of the region's Sunni-Shi'a divide, characterised by the competition for influence between Saudi Arabia and Iran.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the Lowy Lecture on 25 August 2011, Michael Wesley outlined the components of Asia's stability and the different investments of the region's countries in that stability. He examined the several aspects of change in Asia's strategic order which are profoundly disturbing to the region's stability, and assessed the different options for preserving the region's stability amidst these epochal changes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today's world economy, the line between developed and emerging markets is growing ever more blurred. At the Food for Thought event in Melbourne on 18 August 2011, Mark Thirlwell, Director of the Lowy Institute's International Economy Program, described some of the forces driving this convergence process, and discussed whether this historic shift in global economic geography can be sustained.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How does China's government view its role in global governance? Would it like to change the basis of the present global order, and if so, how does it plan to go about doing so? These are questions which a prominent Chinese scholar of international relations, Dr Jia Qingguo of Peking University, addressed in the Lowy Lecture Series on 10 August 2011.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the Food for Thought event in Canberra on 8 August 2011, National Security Fellow Ellie Fogarty launched a report that analyses what Australia’s national interests in Antarctica are, and considers how they might best be protected and advanced in the future. She was joined in a panel discussion by Mr Brett Biddington and Professor Don Rothwell.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Obama Administration's April 2010 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) combines nuclear force planning and arms control into a single document with a long-term goal of eliminating nuclear weapons. On Wednesday 3 August 2011, our distinguished speaker Dr Hans Kristensen, Director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, reviewed the NPR and what it means for the Asia-Pacific.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia’s superannuation system is one of our nation’s great public policy success stories. With more than $1.3 trillion in assets it underpins Australia’s standing as the world’s 4th largest pool of funds under management. While our diverse and well-regulated superannuation system was credited with helping Australia weather the Global Financial Crisis better than other advanced economies, the global nature of investment resulted in members losing a substantial proportion of their retirement savings in the market turmoil. David Whiteley, Chief Executive of Industry Super Network, addressed the question of whether there is a more proactive role the superannuation industry can play in reducing systemic risk through global engagement and co-operation?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The rise of China and India is reshaping the economic, political and security contours of Australia's region. For more than 60 years Australia and its Asian neighbours have thrived in an open and relatively stable regional order underpinned by unchallenged US power. But the era of uncontested American dominance in Asia is coming to an end. In Melbourne on 22 July, Andrew Shearer, Director of Studies at the Lowy Institute, examined the future of the alliance in a more uncertain world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the Lowy Lecture series on 13 July 2011, International Organisation for Migration Director General Ambassador William Lacy Swing addressed factors driving contemporary international migration – demographic change, labour market demand and widening disparities between developed and developing countries. He focused on the contribution migration can make to social and economic development at global and national levels. He concluded with an analysis of the policy orientations that are available to the international community to maximise those benefits.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is increasingly evident that the global economy is going to be reliant on and at the mercy of the natural environment in the coming decades. What does this mean for Australia? As a nation vulnerable to climate change but also blessed with abundant renewable energy sources, how is it that Australia has fallen so far behind? Drawing on his experience as head of the largest international environmental campaigning organisation, Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo provided a perspective on growing global efforts to address climate change and challenged the Australian perception that little is currently being done as an argument for inaction.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the Wednesday Lowy Lunch on 29 June, Lowy Institute Fellow and blog editor Sam Roggeveen attempted to rescue conservatism from some of its most ardent supporters, including the neo-conservative movement and foreign policy realists. Much harm has been done in recent years in the name of conservatism, but a truly conservative approach to foreign policy is critical to negotiating the uncertain future we face in the Asian region.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the Wednesday Lunch on 22 June, Professor Alan Dupont spoke about his new Lowy Institute Policy Brief, 'Living with the Dragon: Why Australia needs a China strategy'. Dr Dupont argued that Australia has failed to grasp the full implications of China’s meteoric rise or the risk of conflict in the Western Pacific. He called for a coherent, national approach to China, one that is informed by a clear appreciation of the drivers of Chinese strategic policy particularly in the Western Pacific, which is the most likely arena of confrontation between China and the US.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Wednesday 8 June, as part of our Distinguished Speaker Series, the Lowy Institute was pleased to host a speech by the Hon. Tony Abbott MHR, Leader of the Opposition, on Coalition views on border security.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

n the past decade Pakistan has become a country of immense importance to its region, the United States, and the world. With almost 200 million people, a 500,000-man army, nuclear weapons, and a large diaspora in Britain and North America, Pakistan is of singular importance in the volatile south Asia region. At the Wednesday Lunch on 8 June, Professor Anatol Lieven, Professor in the War Studies Department of King’s College, London, presented a portrait of a country with a deeply flawed but nonetheless working system, tougher and more resilient than is usually assumed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 25 May, Sir Richard Feachem summarised the history of aid over the past 60 years, the evidence on aid effectiveness, and the current controversies surrounding aid. Sir Richard proposed some building blocks for a new aid model, more suited to the geopolitical and economic realities of the 21st century.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

By 2015-16, Australia’s foreign aid budget is projected to double to $8 billion, an unprecedented expansion. In his Lowy lunch speech on 18 May, Federal member for Fraser Dr Andrew Leigh supported the importance of the Australian aid program, in terms of generosity, national security and promoting economic growth in our region.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.