Articles

Fight for freedom: new research to map violence in the forgotten conflict in West Papua

By Camellia Webb-Gannon, Jaime Swift, Michael Westaway and Nathan Wright

Indonesia has recently indicated it is considering investigating the killings of hundreds of thousands of people in the 1965 “anti-communist” purge under authoritarian leader Suharto.   Read more

Migration: how Europe is using coronavirus to reinforce its hostile environment in the Mediterranean

By Maurice Stierl

“You have to understand,” Warsan Shire writes in her poem Home, “that no one puts their children in a boat, unless the water is safer than the land.”   Read more

Cybercriminals in the backyard

By Jonathan Lusthaus

There’s a popular perception that cybercrime is an anonymous activity.   Read more

Coronavirus: Another chance to transform the global food trade

By Rhonda Ferguson

For the second time this century, the interdependence of the global food supply is in sharp focus. In the first instance, the economic crisis of 2008 created high food prices and pushed an additional 100 million people toward hunger.   Read more

PNG and Covid-19: The costs of economic stress

By Catherine Wilson

Many people will seek cultural supports, while a few might turn to crime. But this is far from a harbinger for chaos.   Read more

Covid-19 and foreign policy: What's changed, what hasn't

By Dick Grant

Health, climate, migration and foreign investment ­must each contend with the virus. But it’s not all doom and gloom.   Read more

VE day 75 years on: a personal reflection from Warsaw

By Roberto Rabel

The 75th anniversary of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender to the Allies is a chance to reflect on the relief brought to the citizens of Europe by the end of World War II - and the scars that stayed with them, Roberto Rabel writes   Read more

How will history judge the global epilogues on two of the world’s greatest challenges?   Read more

The prospects for China's post-Covid-19 economy

By Rowan Callick

Big questions loom around how China can jump-start growth after the coronavirus crisis and the US trade war.   Read more

Regional security measures include hearing diverse women’s voices

By Jane Alver

Diverse women’s voices are often left out of discussions about security in the Pacific.   Read more

The Trump effect on global press freedom

By Mellissa Fung

I had been captive in Afghanistan for about two weeks when the government of my home country, Canada, contacted those attempting to negotiate my release.   Read more

Weaponised Deep Fakes

By Hannah Smith and Katherine Mansted

Fakes are all around us. Academic analysis suggests that they’re difficult to spot without new sensors, software or other specialised equipment, with 1 in 5 photos you see being fraudulent.   Read more

A response to the coronavirus pandemic has stumpred EU leaders

By Colin Chapman FAIIA

With Europe at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brussels has been slow to come to the aid of member states.   Read more

Hong Kong's autonomy, dying in full view

By Keith B Richburg

It may have gone unnoticed as the world continued to deal with the coronavirus pandemic that the Chinese Communist Party has taken the opportunity to effectively kill off Hong Kong’s ‘one country, two systems’ experiment.   Read more

By Trinh Le

Like a Tidal Wave: Coronavirus in Countries Already Facing Development Challenges

By Dr Eleanor Gordon and Dr Samanthi Gunawardana

Countries facing the biggest development challenges are the most vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19.   Read more

Seoul's top-down approach to Pyongyang

By Lauren Richardson

North Korea’s nuclear weapons program remains one of the key challenges to regional security in Asia.   Read more

Saving Southeast Asia from another economic crisis

By Andrea Goldstein and Giulia Ajmone Marsan

The apparent success of China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan in de-escalating the COVID-19 crisis contrasts with experiences in Europe and the United States where casualties have grown rapidly.   Read more

New Zealand: Running the marathon

By Dick Grant

Having started well, there’s a lot to happen yet. And so far this race is not a team event, internationally.   Read more

Trade in time of corona: food security implications

By Stephanie Honey

The pandemic is changing the way that we live, work and do business; the ‘Great Lockdown’ is a jarring juxtaposition against the great unlocking of global markets over the last fifty years.   Read more

The complex consequences of a plunging oil price

By Christian Downie

The cost of planes on runways and cars in garages looks very different with an economics, security, or governance lens.   Read more

The facts about trade in face masks, ventilators and test kits

By John Edwards

Policies that injure global trade in medical products would hurt the US and Western democratic allies more than most.   Read more

What future do airlines have?

Three experts discuss

By Darren Ellis, Jorge Guira, and Roger Tyers

Airlines face an unprecedented international crisis in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.   Read more

Quantum computing has far greater promise than just nuclear security

By Alexander Ratcliffe

Most people have heard about quantum computing and know that it will be revolutionary. Few people, even government representatives, would be able to say exactly why.   Read more

Hit hard, could Covid lead Europe to rethink economic policy?

By Lisa Louis

Airlines could be nationalised, global supply chains severed. Will a once familiar market-led dogma survive the crisis?   Read more

It's the Institutions

By Alexander Thalis and Lewis Jackson

The democracies of the developed world are in the grip of a crisis. The price of failure to embrace institutional reform may be democracy itself.   Read more

Covid-19 response: New Zealand and Singapore launch initiative to ensure free flow of essential goods

By Hon David Parker

New Zealand and Singapore today launched a new trade initiative to ensure supply chain connectivity and the removal of blockages to trade in a list of essential products that includes medicines, medical and surgical equipment.   Read more

Trading our way out of the Covid-19 lockdown

By June Ma, Rohan Pitchford and Rabee Tourky

Protectionism, either within or between countries, is a sure way of achieving a prolonged recession.   Read more

Covid-19 and Pacific Labour

By Murray Ackman and Tautalaaso Taulealo 

Visa extensions keep an essential financial lifeline open – but the challenge to help seasonal workers has only begun.   Read more

Covid-19: Why did global health governance fail?

By Sharhar Hameiri

Despite the existence of a “World Health Organization”, very limited collective capacity had developed previously.   Read more

Privacy amid a pandemic

By Anna Zam 

How much of our personal data should be shared to stop the spread of COVID-19? Lawyer Anna Zam takes a look at what's happening in New Zealand, Australia, and Asia during the pandemic.   Read more

China, Japan and South Korea can marshal a collaborative response to COVID-19 

By Choong Yong Ahny

With the spread of COVID-19 triggering global economic disruptions and threatening a repeat of the 2008 financial market meltdown, it’s time for high East Asian economic performers like China, Japan and South Korea (CJK) to marshal their experience and resources to fight the pandemic.   Read more

Vietnam's War on COVID-19

By Nguyen Khac Giang 

Vietnam has been one of Asia’s most successful nations in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Its first confirmed case was announced on 23 January, at the same time as France.   Read more

Asia after the pandemic

By Nick Bisley

The stabilising force of shared economic interests could be lost after the crisis, leaving the region more dangerous.   Read more

After the lockdown

By Dylan James and David Gawith

As the costs of regulatory responses to COVID 19 mount, we have developed a framework analyzing which measures governments should adopt, when, and for how long.   Read more

COVID-19 is exposing the complexity of connectivity

By Evelyn Goh and Jochen Prantl

Historically, more people have been killed by infectious diseases and pandemics than by deadly conflict. Societies have expended considerable effort strategising, in Clausewitz’s words, the employment of battle to achieve the end of war.   Read more

COVID-19 calls for international economic policy coordination

By Masahiko Takeda, ANU

The COVID-19 outbreak is ravaging the world. The human costs are rising day by day, and its social, financial and economic ramifications are already immense.   Read more

A global call to arms

By Dominic Meagher

For poorer nations, stopping a pandemic might lead to starvation. The world must be ready to help the neighbours.   Read more

Coronavirus support packages will reshape the future economy, and that presents an opportunity

By IIan Noy

Governments across the world have rolled out extensive financial packages to support individuals, businesses and large corporations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.   Read more

COVID-19 is an environmental crisis too

By Nicolas de Sadeleer and Jacques Godfroid

The environment has all but disappeared from political discourse as the world grapples with a pandemic. COVID-19 is seems to be our “payback” for the excesses of globalisation.   Read more

COVID-19 and the 'zoom' to new global value chains

By Christopher Findlay, Fukunari Kimura, and Shandre Thangavelu

COVID-19 has sent shock waves running up and down global value chains (GVCs). Social distancing and high levels of uncertainty have caused a significant drop in demand for goods, with GVCs carrying the economic shock through supplier countries.   Read more

COVID-19 and geopolitics in the Pacific

By Anna Powles and Jose Sousa-Santos 

The COVID-19 pandemic in the Pacific has several frontlines. In addition to health security, a geopolitical front has opened up: China and the contest for influence in the Pacific region. The Pacific is a contested arena between China and US allies such as Australia.  Read more

COVID-19 exposes crack in Pacific regionalism

By Anna Powles and Jose Sousa-Santos

At the time of writing, there are 63 reported cases of COVID-19 in the Pacific. This includes one in Papua New Guinea, three in Fiji, seven in New Caledonia, 23 in French Polynesia, 29 in Guam and suspected cases in Samoa.   Read more

How the climate is benefiting from Covid-19 

By Max Towle

As the coronavirus pandemic sends countries - including New Zealand - into lockdown, there's evidence emerging that the world's climate is dramatically benefiting.   Read more

Covid-19: New Zealand, isolated, yet far from alone

By Dick Grant

The government acted swiftly to lockdown, leaving the economy reeling.  People are supportive - so far.   Read more

COVID-19: Calls for Change

By Colin James

On 26 March, as COVID-19 was pushing countries into defensive lockdown, former Swedish Prime Minister, Carl Bildt, called for a ‘much stronger global mechanism’ than the World Health Organisation to deal with future pandemics.   Read more

Disinformation and coronavirus

By Natasha Kassam

The dilution of information on the internet is currently posing a risk to global health and safety.   Read more  

COVID-19 Has Exacerbated Anti-Globalisation Sentiments

By Roman Darius

Narratives of isolation and self-sufficiency have arisen in attempt to curb the spread of disease. Like the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 and the migration crisis of 2015/2016, the Coronavirus pandemic is likely to feature as a catalyst in the shift towards deglobalisation.  Read more

The future ain't what it used to be

By Gordon Peake and Christian Downie

Middle East dispatch: MBS purge, dam dispute, refugees in jeopardy

By Lauren Williams

COVID-19: How Asian countries are dealing with the virus

By Graeme Acton

How are countries around Asia managing the spread of COVID-19? Graeme Acton from the Asia Media Centre rounds up what's been happening.   Read more

The Mistakes That Brought Down Flight 752

By Sirous Amerian

Several key shortcomings in Iran’s defence infrastructure and capability compounded the night Ukrainian Airlines flight 752 was shot down.  While uncertainty since that night has slightly abated, little seems to have changed.   Read more

It is Time to Rethink Our Approach to Nuclear Weapons Policy: A Gendered Perspective

By Rhiannon Corinaldi

The patriarchy and male privilege are dominant features of conventional security policy.  For nuclear disarmament to ever be viable, alternative perspectives must be considered.   Read more

Future of island states: Expert emphasises rule of law at sea

By Christine Rovoi

Solidarity among Pacific nations is key to protecting their maritime, fisheries, and mineral resources in exclusive economic zones (EEZs), says a researcher.   Read more

PNG: Booting Exxon gives Marape a boost - for now

By Bal Kama

The rejection of P'nyang LNG deal signals a new way of doing business, and a shifting landscape for US concerns.  Read more

Trump impeachment: The aftermath

By Erin Hurley

It was clear Senate Republicans would ensure acquittal, but the process put Trump's corruption on full display.  Read more

Despite its Pacific 'step-up', Australia is still not listening to the region, new research shows

By Leanne Smith

The Australian government has spent the past year promoting its “Pacific step-up” as one of the country’s “highest foreign policy priorities”.   Read more

Brexit and the Pacific: Sink or swim?

By Alexandre Dayant

Growing UK presence in the Pacific Islands aims to boost prosperity, but a range of factors could tip the balance.   Read more

Russia and China's Assault on the International Human Rights System

By Geoffrey Roberts

Russia and China have waged a decade-long campaign to dismantle the global human rights order.   Read more

The Ideology of Iran (Part Two)

By Dr Paul G Buchanan

This article is a continuation of Paul Buchanan’s article “Iran As A Strategic Actor.”

Iran’s ideology is driven by a need to defend Shiia Islam, with the goal of being recognised and treated as a key player in the regional political, cultural, economic, and security architecture.    Read more

Iran as a strategic Actor (Part One)

By Dr Paul G Buchanan

In order to understand Iran as a strategic actor, we must first understand the geopolitical, religious, and security concerns behind their actions.   Read more

Forging consensus in the South China Sea

By Michael Nguyen

By backing each other’s claims, a united Southeast Asian front would be difficult for Beijing to divide and conquer.   Read more

The 'new normal' in the South China Sea

By Roberto Rabel

Roberto Rabel recently attended the 11th South China Sea International Conference ‘Cooperation for Regional Security and Development’ in Hanoi, with the support of the Asia New Zealand Foundation.   Read more

Russia makes its presence known in Iran crisis

By Alexey Muraviev

Through military and diplomatic manoeuvres, Russia has signalled its stance on further US intervention in the region.   Read more

The real US-China competition: Competing theories of influence

By Ali Wyne Michael J. Mazarr

Both can be coercive, but the US is in danger of surrendering what is arguably the more sustainable model of influence.   Read more

The impact of accuracy

By Victor Abramowicz

Iran’s demonstration in last’s week strike at US bases will have effects around the world.  Read more

Taiwan voters reject Beijin, but not populism

By Nick Aspinwall

Tsai Ing-wen’s party used fear of Beijing to see off a weak opponent. She’ll have much to prove during her second term.  Read more

India has left RCEP behind, but not its ambition in Southeast Asia

By Mustafa Izzuddin

Withdrawing from a mega-regional trade deal is a setback, but New Delhi has other ways of enhancing regional engagement.   Read more

Best of The Interpreter 2019: The rising climate chorus

The Interpreter

For a world joined by an ideal of united nations, the response to global warming has shown anything but.   Read more

Chart of the week: Global trade through a US-China lens

By Alyssa Leng and Roland Rajah

Two thirds of the world trade more goods with China than the US.  Read more

Middle East protests: Careful what you wish for

By Rodger Shanahan

For all the good intentions and international support, a locl patronage system is the true lodestone on the region.  Read more

Perfect economic storm fuels new protests in Iran

By Sirous Amerian

Even as unrest in Islamic republic cools and Internet is restored, underlying drivers of discontent remain.

Iran on Monday was reeling from 10 days of demonstrations, in which more than 100 protesters are believed to have been killed in cities across the country amid a near-total Internet blackout.  Read more

When price hikes pour fuel on the fire

By Vani Swarupa Murali

The recent protests in Iran illustrate the cost of ignoring the vulnerability of the poor.   Read more

Renewable Energy for Australia’s Security: Integrating Domestic and Foreign Policy

By Xavier Wilks

The relationship between energy policy and national security has been overlooked in discussions of Australian renewable energy policy. The Australian government should invest in renewables to strengthen our security.   Read more

The Hidden Goldmine Behind Sustainable Development

By Jasmine Brinsmead

Since its conception, the sustainable development (SD) concept has been embraced by civil society as an opportunity to salvage the earth without hindering economic prosperity. However, the ideal “sustainable” global economy cannot be completely understood unless it is placed in the context of unequal power relations within the global financial system.   Read more

Transactionalism in International Relations: Turkey's Relations with the European Union

By Ihsan Yilmaz and Galib Bashirov

Despite accession to the EU being one of Turkey’s long-term goals, its strategic gaze has recently shifted from Europe to the Middle East.  Read more

Economic diplomacy: Free trade disputes, WTO appeals, DFAT on China

By Greg Earl

A shortage of judges on the WTO trade court is bringing appeals to a halt, just as trade disputes are on the rise.  Read more

How Dangerous is the South China Sea?

By Dr Huiyun Feng

While territorial disputes in the South China Sea are hotly debated in international relations, they hold relatively little weight in the grand scheme of China’s security concerns.  Read more

Behrouz Boochani: Still in limbo

By Madeline Gleeson

The Kurdish-Iranian journalist left Manus Island after six years, but the bureaucratic hurdles still lie before him.  Read more

World diplomacy stocktake:
A shifting of the ranks

By Bonnie Bley

China has overtaken the US with the largest diplomatic network in the 2019 Lowy Institute Global Diplomacy Index.  Read more

Vietnam's Refugees and the Slave Trade

By Richard Broinowski AO

The discovery of 39 dead Vietnamese in a lorry in Essex is part of a wider, global network of people-smuggling. This incident also demonstrates the changing motivations of refugees from Vietnam.   Read more

Lebanon Protests: A New Generation Calls for Change

By Dr Vanessa Newby

The Lebanese protests have made significant ground and are sophisticated in nature. However, they also risk opening some of Lebanon’s old historical wounds.   Read more

Killing the Caliph Won’t Kill the Islamic State

By Kiriloi M. Ingram

The recent killing of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is indeed cause for celebration, however, leadership decapitation does not guarantee total defeat of the organisation. Kiriloi M. Ingram explores the dynamics which impact the potential for Islamic State to survive its current predicament.   Read more

Pacific Conference 2019 - Highlights

By Dr James Kember

In partnership with the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade, the Pacific Cooperation Foundation and support from the University of Otago, the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs organised a one-day conference focusing on the influences and challenges facing the Pacific region.  Read more

Brexit: Will a General election Change the Game?

By Colin Chapman, FAIIA

Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party face three significant obstacles in their efforts to be re-elected, though none of these problems rule them out as potential victors.   Read more

Scandals Reveal South Korea's Broken Politics

By Christopher Khatouki

The scandal surrounding South Korea’s short-lived justice minister, Cho Guk, has brought to light the deeper sentiments of ordinary Koreans that only the rich and powerful can succeed. It also raises deeper questions regarding the efficacy of Korean politics and whether the entire political system may be broken.  Read more

11,000 Scientists warn: climate change isn't just about temperature

By Thomas Newsome and William Ripple

Exactly 40 years ago, a small group of scientists met at the world’s first climate conference in Geneva. They raised the alarm about unnerving climate trends.   Read more

Syria and the Shaping of Turkish, Russian and US Interests

By Ian Dudgeon

Despite heavy criticism of Trump and the US for abandoning the Kurdish forces, there are some cautious positives to the situation in Syria.  Read more

Impeachment Will Polarise the US Further, But Will It Dislodge Trump?

By Dr Andrew Gawthorpe

New revelations have emerged at a blistering pace in the Congressional impeachment inquiry.  Trump is unlikely to be removed from office but will emerge with significant political damage.   Read more

(Old) Challenges and (New) Crises in Latin America

By Dr Raul Sanchez Urribari

Recent civil unrest across Latin America is a result of institutional flaws which have consistently plagued the region. This could lead to long-term instability and even the erosion of democracy.   Read more

Navigating Economic Integration amidst US-China Strategic Competition and Rising Uncertainties

By Dr Karen Pitakdumrongkit

Over the past 52 years, ASEAN coined various initiatives which have contributed to regional economic integration. Against the backdrop of rising US-China strategic competition, is the organisation able to help the ASEAN member states further pursue their economic integration?    Read more

Connectivity with Consent: The EU in Eurasia

By Professor Sven Biscop

The search for connectivity is nothing new.  But the EU has realised that competition, not dominance, is the key to connectivity to today's world.    Read more

In the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Cyber Security and Great Power Politics

By Dr Ashok Sharma

Artificial Intelligence and cyber warfare are emerging as key components in great power rivalry. The international community needs to act fast to develop legal and political frameworks that can mitigate their deleterious effects.        Read more

Two Pacific states drop Taiwan for China

By Stephen Hoadley

Two Pacific states last week dramatically switched diplomatic allegiances from Taiwan to China, a shift with possibly wide-ranging implications writes Stephen Hoadley of  the University of Auckland.     Read more