Lowy Institute

In this episode of Rules Based Audio, Sasha Fegan talks to Carl Miller about online manipulation, disinformation, misinformation and inauthentic behaviour. We know it is proliferating, and we know it has a corrosive impact on trust and democratic institutions. But are liberal democracies responding in the right ways? Is the solution technical? Educational? Or is it legislative?   Carl Miller is the Research Director at the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at UK think tank Demos.Sasha Fegan is a Research Associate in the Australia’s Security and the Rules-Based Order Project at the Lowy Institute.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is becoming increasingly important to Indian, Japanese, Australian and American efforts to balance Chinese power and extend the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific. Its strategic importance to Australia was underscored this May when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made the Quad leaders’ meeting in Tokyo his first foreign engagement as Prime Minister. At this special event, the Lowy Institute’s Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove discussed the Quad’s evolving role with leading thinkers from two other Quad countries:Dr Samir Saran, President of India’s Observer Research Foundation. Dr Saran curates the Raisina Dialogue, India’s annual flagship platform on geopolitics and geo-economics, and is the founder of CyFy, India’s annual conference on cybersecurity and internet governance. Samir has authored four books, including The New World Disorder and the Indian Imperative with Shashi Tharoor, and Pax Sinica: Implications for the Indian Dawn with Akhil Deo. Dr Kori Schake, Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Dr Schake was the Deputy Director-General of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. She has had a distinguished career in government, working at the US State Department, the US Department of Defense, and the National Security Council at the White House. She has also taught at Stanford, West Point, Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, National Defense University, and the University of Maryland.Recorded on 17 June 2022See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Moscow’s escalating confrontation with the West means that Russia is now more reliant on China, geopolitically and economically, than at any time in the two countries’ history. What are the implications arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — the most serious conflict in Europe since the end of the Second World War? What impact will the war in Ukraine’s have on the evolution of the Sino-Russian partnership, which has assumed pivotal importance — not just for the outcome of the war, but for the future of global order?On 1 June 2022, the Lowy Institute hosted an event at the National Press Club of Australia with Dr Bobo Lo, Nonresident Fellow to discuss his new Lowy Institute Analysis Paper Turning point? Putin, Xi and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The event was hosted by Hervé Lemahieu, Director of Research at the Lowy Institute. Dr Bobo Lo is a Nonresident Fellow with the Lowy Institute and is an independent analyst on global affairs. He is an Associate Research Fellow with the Russia/NIS Center at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) and has written extensively on Russian foreign and security policy, with a particular focus on Sino-Russian relations. Dr Lo is a former diplomat and served as Deputy Head of Mission at Australia’s Embassy in Moscow. He is the author of Russia and the New World Disorder, which was shortlisted for the 2016 Pushkin House Prize and was described by The Economist as the ‘best attempt yet to explain Russia’s unhappy relationship with the rest of the world’. His most recent book is A Wary Embrace: What the China-Russia relationship means for the world. He holds an MA from Oxford and a PhD from Melbourne University.Read Bobo Lo's full paper here: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/turning-point-putin-xi-and-russian-invasion-ukraineSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a special Women in Politics  series for the  Australia-PNG Network, in which the Lowy Institute's Jessica Collins sits down with prominent women from Papua New Guinea (PNG) to discuss the deep-seated challenge of women’s political representation in PNG.In this fifth and final episode of the series, Jessica speaks with Dame Carol Kidu, about the discrimination and disadvantage experienced by indigenous Papua New Guinean women as they seek to get elected.Carol is one of seven women who served in PNG’s National Parliament. She also managed to get re-elected twice, despite half of all politicians losing their seat at every election.Carol’s tenure as a politician is remarkable, but she said her husband’s legacy and her European background helped secure ongoing community support. She often heard from her community, “We don’t mind you being here, but we don’t want our own women here [in parliament].”Carol talks us through the issues that are increasingly disadvantaging women during campaigns, such as bloc voting and tribal intimidation, campaign or cell houses, violence, and financial barriers. But she offers a silver lining: “PNG is a nation based on relationships, and if you can nurture relationships, that will get you into politics.”Join Jessica and Carol as they talk through why women getting elected is critical to PNG’s development, and as she shares her views on what women need to do to get over the line at the upcoming election. Jessica Collins is a Research Fellow in the Pacific Islands Program and Aus-PNG Network at the Lowy Institute. Prior to joining the Institute, Jessica completed a PhD in Anthropology at the Queensland University of Technology. Jessica also holds a Master of Global Development from Griffith University. Her Honours research project, completed at the Queensland University of Technology, explored diasporic life for Samoans living in Brisbane, and her undergraduate studies at the University of Sydney focused on the anthropology of the Pacific. Dame Carol Kidu served in Papua New Guinea’s National Parliament for three terms (1997-2012). Between 2002 and 2012, Dame Carol was the only female in Parliament. She served as  Minister for Community Development, and as  Opposition Leader  for her last five months in office. Dame Carol is now supporting other women to get elected to its all-men parliament.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Conversations, Lowy Institute Research Director Hervé Lemahieu talks to Gabriele Visentin, EU Special Envoy for the Indo-Pacific, and Susannah Patton, Research Fellow in the Lowy Institute’s Power and Diplomacy Program, about the European Union's Indo-Pacific Strategy. How will Canberra’s burgeoning regional collaboration with Brussels and individual European capitals change in the wake of AUKUS, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a change of government in Australia?More detail: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/conversations-europe-and-australia-indo-pacificSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Moscow’s escalating confrontation with the West means that Russia is now more reliant on China, geopolitically and economically, than at any time in the two countries’ history. What are the implications arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — the most serious conflict in Europe since the end of the Second World War? What impact will the war in Ukraine’s have on the evolution of the Sino-Russian partnership, which has assumed pivotal importance — not just for the outcome of the war, but for the future of global order? On 26 May 2022, the Lowy Institute hosted this event with Dr Bobo Lo, Nonresident Fellow to mark the launch of his Lowy Institute Analysis Paper Turning point? Putin, Xi and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Dr Lo’s address was followed by a conversation with Hervé Lemahieu, Director of Research of the Lowy Institute and audience questions. Dr Bobo Lo is a Nonresident Fellow with the Lowy Institute and is an independent analyst on global affairs. He is an Associate Research Fellow with the Russia/NIS Center at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) and has written extensively on Russian foreign and security policy, with a particular focus on Sino-Russian relations. Dr Lo is a former diplomat and served as Deputy Head of Mission at Australia’s Embassy in Moscow. He is the author of Russia and the New World Disorder, which was shortlisted for the 2016 Pushkin House Prize and was described by The Economist as the ‘best attempt yet to explain Russia’s unhappy relationship with the rest of the world’. His most recent book is A Wary Embrace: What the China-Russia relationship means for the world. He holds an MA from Oxford and a PhD from Melbourne University.Read the full paper: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/turning-point-putin-xi-and-russian-invasion-ukraineEvent video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPMRHp-XUq0Recorded on 26 May 2022See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a special  Women in Politics series for the  Australia–PNG Network in which the Lowy Institute's Jessica Collins sits down with prominent women from Papua New Guinea (PNG) to discuss the deep-seated challenge of women’s political representation in PNG. In this fourth episode of the series, Jessica speaks with Tania Bale, an urban candidate seeking election to PNG’s National Parliament. Tania shares her views on the challenges of standing for election, including the difficulties of campaigning in rural settings and how “obscene” amounts of money is spent in cash handouts to gain voters’ support. Tania is one of the few women endorsed by a political party and says her endorsement for a national capital district (NCD) seat, along with three other female party colleagues endorsed for the remaining NCD seats, is unprecedented and historic. Tania’s view is that the endorsements will resonate for years to come and that they send a powerful message to the citizenry of PNG. Yet regardless of endorsements, Tania believes her electorate is ready to elect women to the currently all-male parliament — a silver lining for women who are trying to represent their communities. Join Jessica and Tania as they talk through the challenges of getting elected, including Australia’s role in supporting “home grown” programs that reflect PNG’s unique characteristics. Jessica Collins is a Research Fellow in the Pacific Islands Program and Aus–PNG Network at the Lowy Institute. Prior to joining the Institute, Jessica completed a PhD in Anthropology at the Queensland University of Technology. Jessica also holds a Master of Global Development from Griffith University. Her Honours research project, completed at the Queensland University of Technology, explored diasporic life for Samoans living in Brisbane, and her undergraduate studies at the University of Sydney focused on the anthropology of the Pacific. Tania Bale is a prominent television presenter, journalist and a fervent advocate for social justice, equity, equality and the empowerment of women and youth in Papua New Guinea. She is a vocal champion for the arts, music, culture and the environment. She is also an urban candidate in the upcoming PNG national election.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Conversations, Susannah Patton talks to Charmaine Willoughby, Assistant Professor at De La Salle University in Manila, about the foreign policy implications of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr’s election as president of the Philippines. The Philippines is a US treaty ally in Asia, but under the outgoing President Duterte, these ties were put to the test, with his administration keen to attract Chinese investment and downplay the South China Sea dispute. How will an incoming Marcos Jr administration handle its ties with the superpowers, and what should countries such as Australia be aware of when engaging the next administration?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US National Cyber Director Chris Inglis addressed the Lowy Institute on the role of cyber in US strategy and the outlook for international cyber cooperation to build resilience and counter threats. Afterwards, he spoke in conversation with Research Fellow Ben Scott, the Director of the Australia's Security and the Rules Based Order Project at the Institute.Recorded on Wednesday 11 May 2022See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To mark the 70th anniversary of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, ASIS Director-General Paul Symon addressed the Lowy Institute on the past, present and future of foreign espionage from an Australian perspective. After the speech, Mr Symon spoke in conversation with Dr Michael Fullilove, Executive Director of the Lowy Institute.Paul Symon’s military career spanned 35 years and culminated in the rank of Major General. He served as the Deputy Chief of the Australian Army from late 2008 until 2011, and from 2011–14 was Director of the Defence Intelligence Organisation. In mid-2015, Paul left the military and joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He was appointed Director-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service on 18 December 2017.https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/foreign-espionage-australian-perspectiveSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.