Events

The biggest geopolitical rivalry of the 21st century has just been jolted into a new period of uncertainty and risk by the coronavirus pandemic. Join Australia’s leading authority on US foreign policy, Dr Michael Fullilove, and senior China analyst, Richard McGregor, as they examine the implications of this global health and economic emergency for the most important international relationship of our time. Lowy Institute Director of Research Alex Oliver will chair this first-ever Lowy Institute Live Event, which will be live-streamed and include audience questions.

Due to the changing COVID-19 situation we have decided to postpone this event.

In one of the hottest Australian summers on record, bushfires on an unprecedented scale ravaged the east and south coasts of Australia in 2019–20. Images of the fires, and the human, biological, and environmental damage they caused, appeared as front-page news around the world. The international prominence of the fires has put Australia’s climate change policies in the global spotlight in the lead-up to the UN climate change conference to be held in Glasgow in November 2020.
 
Join the Lowy Institute’s Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove together with Laura Tingle, Innes Willox, and Patrick Suckling for a discussion of the impact of the fires on Australia’s international reputation, climate stance, and domestic policy.
 

Due to the changing COVID-19 situation we have decided to postpone this event.

Since 2017, the Chinese government has detained more than a million people from the far west Xinjiang region, most of them ethnic Uyghur Muslims, in internment camps and prisons. This targeting of ethnic and religious groups on the grounds of anti-terrorism has seen detainees forced to denounce their Islamic faith and swear allegiance to the ruling communist party. Thousands of Uyghurs have also been conscripted to work in factories across China, many making global brand-name products, such as Nike. Australian citizens and permanent residents are among those detained in the camps.

Join the Lowy Institute’s Natasha Kassam for a panel discussion on Xinjiang and its implications for Australia and the world. The panel will feature Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, China reporter for Axios in Washington; Dr James Leibold, Associate Professor at La Trobe University; and Nurgul Sawut, Oceania Board Director of the Campaign for Uyghurs.

Due to the changing COVID-19 situation we have decided to postpone this event.

Re-elected last year by an increased margin, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has offered an ambitious vision for his final term in office. He has promised to push through business-friendly reforms, revamp the ailing education system, and even build a new capital city in the jungles of Kalimantan.
 
However, the road ahead for Jokowi is challenging, with stagnating economic growth and big questions about his ability to implement tough reforms when his cabinet is packed with vested interests. Civil society activists are also increasingly concerned about the trajectory of democracy, with the powers of the respected Corruption Eradication Commission weakened and proposals afoot to abolish direct elections for local leaders.
 
Join Wijayanto Samirin, economic adviser to the governor of Jakarta, and Ben Bland, Director of the Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia Program, to discuss the outlook for the economy, the state of democracy, and Indonesia’s place in the world.

Due to the changing COVID-19 situation we have decided to postpone this event.

Please join the Lowy Institute for a conversation with two rising stars of Australian politics, Peter Khalil MP and Dave Sharma MP. The conversation will be moderated by the Institute’s director of research, Alex Oliver.

Due to the changing COVID-19 situation we have decided to postpone this event.

Re-elected last year by an increased margin, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has offered an ambitious vision for his final term in office. He has promised to push through business-friendly reforms, revamp the ailing education system, and even build a new capital city in the jungles of Kalimantan.
 
However, the road ahead for Jokowi is challenging, with stagnating economic growth and big questions about his ability to implement tough reforms when his cabinet is packed with vested interests. Civil society activists are also increasingly concerned about the trajectory of democracy, with the powers of the respected Corruption Eradication Commission weakened and proposals afoot to abolish direct elections for local leaders.
 
Join Wijayanto Samirin, economic adviser to the governor of Jakarta, and Ben Bland, Director of the Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia Program, to discuss the outlook for the economy, the state of democracy, and Indonesia’s place in the world.

Due to the changing COVID-19 situation we have decided to postpone this event.

Re-elected last year by an increased margin, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has offered an ambitious vision for his final term in office. He has promised to push through business-friendly reforms, revamp the ailing education system, and even build a new capital city in the jungles of Kalimantan.
 
However, the road ahead for Jokowi is challenging, with stagnating economic growth and big questions about his ability to implement tough reforms when his cabinet is packed with vested interests. Civil society activists are also increasingly concerned about the trajectory of democracy, with the powers of the respected Corruption Eradication Commission weakened and proposals afoot to abolish direct elections for local leaders.
 
Join Wijayanto Samirin, economic adviser to the governor of Jakarta, and Ben Bland, Director of the Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia Program, to discuss the outlook for the economy, the state of democracy, and Indonesia’s place in the world.

Today Iraqis find themselves caught in an array of competing forces. Their country is a battleground for foreign actors, from militias to major powers. Their domestic politics are increasingly violent as the state reacts brutally to popular demands for better governance and accountability. Yet we rarely hear Iraqi perspectives on these turbulent events.

Join us for a conversation between one of the Middle East’s leading young political analysts, Hafsa Halawa, and Lowy Institute Nonresident Fellow Anthony Bubalo, who will discuss how Iraqis see the future of peace and politics in their country and the wider region.

Richard McGregor will discuss how the Chinese political system works and how it has been remoulded under Xi Jinping, as he pushes tighter political controls in China, and a more assertive foreign policy abroad. In particular, he will describe in detail the inner workings and power dynamics of the communist party.

The term ‘Indo-Pacific’ has gained wide use in recent years, including among the leaders of Australia, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, and the United States. But what does it really mean? The name of a region is as much symbolic as physical – and can be a mental map that guides the decisions of leaders and the narrative of international order, war, and peace.

The Lowy Institute is pleased to host the Sydney launch of a new book by Rory Medcalf, Contest for the Indo-Pacific, which weaves together history, geopolitics, cartography, military strategy, economics, games, and propaganda to examine the rising tensions in the region and address the question of how China’s dominance can be restrained without war.
 

Dr James Renwick CSC SC is Australia’s Independent National Security Legislation Monitor. In 2019, he was tasked by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security to review the controversial Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018 (Cth). As Dr Renwick moves to finalise his report of the review, he will discuss possible models for reconciling the legitimate interests of individuals, organisations, and business, and intelligence, police and integrity agencies.

In celebration of International Women’s Day and in conjunction with the NGV, you are invited to a special event including a complimentary viewing of Shirin Neshat: Dreamers, followed by a panel discussion.

Last year saw a surge of civil unrest across the globe so widespread that 2019 has been dubbed “the year of the street protestor”.

In places as diverse as Hong Kong, Chile, the United States, the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, people came together for a variety of causes and grievances. These included demands for economic, racial, and gender equality; the preservation of democracy against a growing authoritarian tide; confronting climate change; opposing corruption; and addressing migration and refugee issues.

Today, the liberal democratic model faces its biggest challenge in generations. Since the global financial crisis, democratic systems have faced a crisis of public confidence, and open economies have struggled to deliver the broad-based growth of the past.
 
At the same time, in a number of nations around the world, an alternative model of ‘techno-authoritarianism’ has emerged in which mass surveillance and artificial intelligence are being used to build systems of social control.

Please join the Lowy Institute for an address in Canberra by Tim Watts MP, in which Mr Watts will discuss the ways these competing models of organising society are challenging the health of our democratic institutions – political parties, parliaments, and the media.

The Interpreter is pleased to invite you to the 2020 World Politics Trivia Challenge on Wednesday, 26 February.

This is a fun night that brings together Canberra’s public servants, diplomats, students, academics, and journalists where emcee Andrew Probyn tests who is the biggest foreign policy wonk.

The spread of the novel coronavirus in and beyond China has potentially profound implications, for Xi Jinping's standing and China's global weight and prestige. For countries like Australia, the virus has already inflicted a sharp economic shock.

Please join the Lowy Institute for a panel discussion on the impact of the virus on Australia and the world. Natasha Kassam, Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute, will host a discussion with a panel of experts including Richard Yetsenga, ANZ's Chief Economist; Philippa Jones, Managing Director of China Policy; and Richard McGregor, the Institute’s Senior Fellow for East Asia.

Since 2012 several hundred Australians have travelled to Syria and Iraq to undertake jihad with Islamic State, al-Qaeda or other radical Islamist groups. Dozens more supported them financially or in the planning of attacks. There are many preconceptions about the types of people in Australia attracted to jihad, but there has been little data publicly available on which to base these assumptions. For the first time, Lowy Institute Fellow Rodger Shanahan has collected and analysed data on 176 individuals known to have joined radical Islamist terrorist organisations or who have been charged with terrorism offences. This new analysis provides comprehensive information on the backgrounds of Australians who have undertaken jihad, which will enhance our understanding of the typologies and motivations of those who are likely to be attracted to similar messaging in the future.

In his role as United States Indo-Pacific Commander, Admiral Philip S. Davidson is responsible for military operations in an area that stretches from the waters off the west coast of the United States to the west coast of India, and from the Arctic to the Antarctic – over 200 million square kilometres and more than half the world’s surface. Admiral Davidson is a surface warfare officer who has deployed across the globe in frigates, destroyers, cruisers, and aircraft carriers. He has also served as the Director of Maritime Operations at US Fleet Forces Command, the senior military advisor to the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the State Department, and the Navy’s military aide to the vice president of the United States. Admiral Davidson is a distinguished graduate of the US Naval War College. He assumed command of US Indo-Pacific Command in May 2018.

The Lowy Institute invites you to this popular annual panel discussion with Institute experts on the key issues likely to dominate the international agenda in 2020. 

Managing Editor of The Interpreter Daniel Flitton will chair an expert panel including Dr John Edwards, Senior Fellow in the International Economy Program; Jonathan Pryke, Director of the Pacific Islands Program; Lydia Khalil, Research Fellow in the West Asia Program; and Bonnie Bley, Research Fellow in the Asian Power and Diplomacy Program.

The Lowy Institute invites you to this popular annual panel discussion with Institute experts on the key issues likely to dominate the international agenda in 2020. 

Director of Research Alex Oliver will chair an expert panel including Lowy Institute Senior Fellow Richard McGregor; Hervé Lemahieu, Director of the Asian Power and Diplomacy Program; Rodger Shanahan, Research Fellow, West Asia Program; and Shane McLeod, Research Fellow with the Australia-PNG Network.
 

The new year has seen tensions between the United States and Iran increase to levels rarely seen before. The assassination of Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the ballistic missile response from Iran, and then the tragic downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 have yet again focused the world’s attention on this region. The vision of enormous crowds that turned out for Soleimani’s funeral procession, contrasted with the small but vocal crowds in response to Tehran’s shooting down of Flight 752, show how difficult it can be to understand how Iranian society sees the actions of the Iranian and US governments and Iran’s place in the region and the world.