The Lowy Institute

Over the course of nearly 60 years’ engagement with Southeast Asia, Milton Osborne has become one of Australia’s leading authorities on the region. His Southeast Asia: An Introductory History, first published in 1979, is now in its 12th edition and has been translated into five Asian languages.Osborne’s latest work, Pol Pot Solved the Leprosy Problem: Remembering Colonial and Post-Colonial Worlds, 1956–1981, is a memoir of his career as a young diplomat in Phnom Penh, from 1959–61, and later as an academic and consultant to UNHCR, when he worked in Vietnam and along the Thai–Cambodian border.Following remarks on his experience of these early postcolonial years in Southeast Asia, Dr Osborne was joined in conversation by Aaron Connelly, Director of the Southeast Asia Project at the Lowy Institute.Dr Milton Osborne has held various academic appointments, including as a nonresident fellow of the Lowy Institute. From 1982 to 1993, he returned to government service as head of the Asia Branch of the Office of Nation

Papua New Guinea is about to step onto the global stage. In November, leaders representing half of the world’s GDP will descend on Port Moresby for the APEC Leaders’ Summit. This will be the largest event the country has ever hosted. In the context of a struggling economy and development challenges, what benefits will APEC have for the people of PNG? What are the major opportunities and difficulties in hosting such an event? How will the links forged by the summit help bolster and diversify the country’s economy? The Hon. Charles Abel, Deputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, delivered an address at the Lowy Institute.Charles Abel has served as a Member of Parliament representing the Alotau Open Electorate since 2007. He has served as Minister for Culture and Tourism; Minister for Trade, Commerce and Industry; and Minister for National Planning. In July 2017 he was appointed Treasurer and Deputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The defeat of Malaysia’s ruling party on 9 May was unlike any election result the region has ever seen. No party in Southeast Asia has held power for so long, only to lose it at the polls. In its place, a broad coalition led by 92-year-old former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has formed a new government. Can such a diverse coalition remain united as it addresses fundamental questions of the Malaysian social contract, including racial preferences? Mahathir once jailed Anwar Ibrahim, but has now freed him: how will their relationship develop as they seek to govern together? Will former Prime Minister Najib Razak be held to account for the 1MDB scandal, and how will the United Malays National Organisation react to its first experience in opposition? What will the change in government mean for Malaysia’s relationship with Australia, given Mahathir’s difficult history with earlier Australian prime ministers? The Lowy Institute’s Director of the Southeast Asia Project, Aaron Connelly, hosted a panel discussion wi

The latest Lowy Institute Paper published by Penguin Random House, Remaking the Middle East: How a Troubled Region May Save Itself by Anthony Bubalo, was launched in Sydney on 31 May.The Middle East is experiencing a period of concentrated turmoil unlike anything since the end of the Second World War. Uprisings, coups, and wars have seen governments overthrown, hundreds of thousands killed, and millions displaced.Anthony Bubalo argues that the current tumult is the result of the irrevocable decay of the nizam – the system under which most states in the region are ruled. But amid the ferment there are also “green shoots” of change which could remake the Middle East in ways that are more inclusive, more democratic, less corrupt, and less violent.Anthony Bubalo has worked on the Middle East for more than 25 years as a diplomat, intelligence analyst, and researcher. He has lived in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. He led the Lowy Institute’s Middle East research for 14 years, and regularly comments on the region’

The latest Lowy Institute Paper published by Penguin Random House, Remaking the Middle East: How a Troubled Region May Save Itself by Anthony Bubalo, was launched in Canberra on 29 May.The Middle East is experiencing a period of concentrated turmoil unlike anything since the end of the Second World War. Uprisings, coups, and wars have seen governments overthrown, hundreds of thousands killed, and millions displaced. Anthony Bubalo argues that the current tumult is the result of the irrevocable decay of the nizam – the system under which most states in the region are ruled. But amid the ferment there are also “green shoots” of change which could remake the Middle East in ways that are more inclusive, more democratic, less corrupt, and less violent. Anthony Bubalo has worked on the Middle East for more than 25 years as a diplomat, intelligence analyst, and researcher. He has lived in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. He led the Lowy Institute’s Middle East research for 14 years, and regularly comments on the reg

A highly anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is still set to take place on 12 June in Singapore. Beyond theatrical spectacle and global media attention, what can the unprecedented US–North Korea summit realistically hope to achieve? The Lowy Institute’s Director of Research, Alex Oliver, moderated a panel discussion with Dr Euan Graham, Director, International Security at the Lowy Institute, and renowned expert on Asia-Pacific security Professor Bates Gill, of Macquarie University, as they previewed the major issues likely to define the Trump–Kim summit and weighed its prospects for success or failure.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matthew Busch, Research Fellow, East Asia Program at Lowy Institute and special guests Rahimah ‘Ima’ Abdulrahim, Executive Director of The Habibie Centre, Jakarta, and Sandra Hamid, Indonesia Country Representative for The Asia Foundation, had a discussion about Indonesia in an era of vigorous electoral competition and growing sectarianism. In advance of more than 100 local elections in 2018 and presidential and legislative elections in 2019, now is an ideal time to take stock of the trajectory of politics in Indonesia. Should we expect a repeat of the religious and ethnic mobilisations deployed during the divisive 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election? How have other civil society groups responded to an injection of religious identity into the political sphere? Do these trends complement or threaten to undermine the consolidation of Indonesia’s democratic institutions on the 20-year anniversary of Reformasi?The Lowy Institute is grateful to the Australia-Indonesia Institute of the Department of Foreign Affairs

There is no more urgent security issue for Australia than North Korea, a nuclear-armed power with a regime described by Professor Robert Kelly as a ‘mafia state’. At his only public appearance in Canberra, Professor Kelly discussed North Korea’s enigmatic regime, its confrontation with the United States, and the likelihood of war. The conversation was moderated by Lowy Institute Senior Fellow Sam Roggeveen, and questions were taken from the audience. Robert Kelly is a professor of international relations in the Political Science and Diplomacy Department of Pusan National University in Busan, Korea. He is a regular contributor to The Interpreter and has written for The Diplomat, Foreign Affairs, The Washington Post, and The New York Times.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Turnbull government has announced it will introduce legislation to combat foreign intervention in Australian politics, after allegations of interference by the Chinese party-state. The government’s critics, in turn, say it has mishandled the issue, alienating Australia’s biggest trading partner, and unfairly targeting Chinese-Australians.Richard McGregor, Lowy Institute’s Senior Fellow for East Asia, hosted a panel discussion with Adam Ni, Australian National University (ANU); Maree Ma, Vision Times; and Su-Lin Tan, Australian Financial Review, for a discussion on the Chinese party-state’s influence operations in Australia and their fallout in domestic politics, regional diplomacy, and within the Chinese-Australian community.Adam Ni is a researcher at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, ANU. His main areas of interest include China’s foreign and security policy.Maree Ma is the General Manager of Vision Times, the largest independent Chinese-language media organisation in Australia.Su-Lin Tan is a re

“Prosperity” has been a significant theme in several of President Xi Jinping’s major speeches over the past year, both at home and abroad. But what does he mean by prosperity? And what challenges does this nebulous concept create? Domestically, Xi’s promise to transform China into a “moderately prosperous society” by 2020 has been well-received. But does it have global resonance?Australian National University’s Dr Jane Golley and Linda Jaivin discssed with Dr Merriden Varrall, Director of the Lowy Institute’s East Asia Program, about the myriad ways in which prosperity is evident in China today and what this means for the rest of the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Panel discussion on policy implications for Australia at the Lowy Institute conference between Dame Meg Taylor, Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Dr Colin Tukuitonga, Dr James Batley, chaired by Dr Euan Graham. The discussion took place at the Lowy Institute conference Australia in the Pacific: enhancing security through regional resilience, held in Canberra on 5 April 2018.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Senator Marise Payne, Minister of Defence, delivering the keynote address at the Lowy Institute conference Australia in the Pacific: enhancing security through regional resilience, held in Canberra on 5 April 2018.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will launch its flagship publication, the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2018, with its focus on “How Technology Impacts Jobs”. The report examines how, as increased automation displaces some tasks, new occupations emerge to take their place. The displacement of workers due to technology is real, but with the right skills, training, and regulation, Asia can overcome this challenge.ADO also presents economic analyses of 45 economies, including the People’s Republic of China, India, and Indonesia. The publication examines Asia’s prospects by subregion: Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific.This address on how technology impacts jobs, development, and forecasts for the Asia Pacific region was led by Ananya Basu, Principal Economist from ADB’s Pacific Department; and Valerie Mercer-Blackman, Senior Economist from ADB’s Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department; and was chaired by Roland Rajah, Director of the International Economy Progra

Terrorists are recruited via social media, nuclear weapons programs are disrupted via computer viruses, world leaders communicate via Twitter, and some foreign affairs departments have larger online followings than traditional media outlets. What will global politics become in this digital age?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Russian president or prime minister, for the last 18 years Vladimir Putin has been one of the most prominent but enigmatic figures on the global stage. He has led Russia’s evolution from a deep post-Soviet torpor to an authoritarian power which asserts itself abroad, is a key player in the Syria conflict, and faces allegations of interfering in the US presidential elections. But in the West, Russia remains shrouded in myths and stereotypes, its behaviour often misdiagnosed. In this Lowy Institute address, one of Russia’s finest political commentators, Igor Yurgens, examined the West’s misunderstanding of Russia.Igor Yurgens is Chairman of the Institute for Contemporary Development, a Moscow-based think tank dedicated to a modern Russia. He was one of former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s closest economic-policy advisers. He graduated from Moscow State University with a PhD in Economics, worked in the trade union movement in the USSR for more than two decades, and served five years in UNESCO.See omnyst

The Korean Peninsula has historically been a battleground for the major powers. But with successful economic modernisation and transition to democracy, South Korea has sought to navigate rising tensions between the United States and North Korea, and to strategically benefit from China’s economic growth while relying on the United States for security. Dr Snyder discussed debates over South Korea’s strategic choices in the context of rising tensions in Northeast Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific, including in partnership with Australia.Scott Snyder is Senior Fellow for Korea Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a contributor to CFR’s group blog Asia Unbound, and the author of several books about Korean security policy and regional relations in Northeast Asia, most recently South Korea at the Crossroads: Autonomy and Alliance in an Era of Rival Power (2018).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Announced in late 2013, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is both a colossal infrastructure development scheme and a grandly ambitious undertaking of geostrategic proportions. Mixed responses to the BRI are now emerging as it begins to reshape economic and political decisions across Eurasia. In Europe, Germany’s foreign minister recently stated his view that the BRI is designed to promote a value system different to that in the West. In response to the BRI, Australia, India, Japan, and the United States are reported to be considering an Asian infrastructure development plan of their own. Our panel considered the BRI’s implications for China’s role in the region, and for Australia’s interests going forward.The Lowy Institute hosted a panel discussion with Dr Mathieu Duchâtel, Senior Policy Fellow and Deputy Director of the Asia and China Programme at the European Council of Foreign Relations; Professor Bates Gill, Department of Security Studies and Criminology at Macquarie University; Dr Merriden Varrall,

Asia’s economic transformation is reshaping the global distribution of power, changing the way the region and the world operates politically and strategically. The Lowy Institute discussed the growing wealth, influence, and military might of new and reviving Asian powers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Following a period spent in Japan developing its national security apparatus and international security cooperation with partners from Europe to the Indo-Pacific, Yukio Okamoto, Adjunct Professor at Ritsumeikan University and former Japanese diplomat, addressed Japan’s evolving security role in the Indo-Pacific, with a focus on Japan–China relations. This was followed by a discussion with the Lowy Institute’s International Security Program Director, Dr Euan Graham, about how Japan will adapt and respond to future regional security concerns. Yukio Okamoto was a career diplomat in Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including postings in Paris at the OECD as well as in Cairo and Washington. Since retiring in 1991, Mr Okamoto has directed a political and economic consultancy, and served in a number of senior advisory positions. He has worked on multiple Japanese Government committees, including as a Special Advisor to Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto (1996–98), Special Advisor to the Cabinet (2001–03) and Speci

Now that Islamic State has been defeated militarily, what does the future hold for Iraq? Deputy Director of the Lowy Institute Anthony Bubalo discussed this and other issues, including Iraq’s forthcoming elections and evolving relations with its neighbours, in conversation with Hayder al-Khoei. Hayder al-Khoei is Director of the Centre for Shi’a Studies in London and a doctoral researcher at the University of Exeter, focusing on US foreign policy and ethno-sectarian politics in Iraq. Prior to this, he was a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and an associate fellow of the Middle East and North Africa Program at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.