ASPI Podcast: Policy, Guns & Money

Now that COP26 has concluded, ASPI’s Dr Robert Glasser and Anastasia Kapetas break down the commitments made at the summit, where they fell short, and what needs to be done to limit warming to 1.5 degrees. As society’s reliance on technology continues to grow, regulating and securing technology becomes increasingly important. ASPI’s Dr Teagan Westendorf speaks to Professor Jeannie Paterson from the University of Melbourne about the need to regulate digital technology in a way that aligns with democratic values. ASPI’s Nathan Ruser and Baani Grewal recently released a multimedia project looking at the increasing border tensions between China and India in the Doklam region. Their ground-breaking work uses open-source satellite imagery to develop a unique 3D view of the mountainous region which helps viewers understand the strategic importance of the roads and military infrastructure being established by both sides. Mentioned in this episode: ‘A 3D deep dive into the India-China border’: https://pageflow.aspi.org.au/mappingdoklam#313455 Guests (in order of appearance): Anastasia Kapetas: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/anastasia-kapetas Dr Robert Glasser: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/robert-glasser Dr Teagan Westendorf: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/teagan-westendorf Professor Jeannie Paterson: https://law.unimelb.edu.au/about/staff/jeannie-paterson Baani Grewal: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/baani-grewal Nathan Ruser: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/nathan-ruser Header image: "COP26 Global Day of Action" via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:COP26_Global_Day_of_Action_(51662172113).jpg Background music: "Mallet Play" by Maarten Schellekens via Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/maarten-schellekens/neo-classical-works/mallet-play

In this episode of Policy, Guns and Money’s ‘Bigger Picture’ series, Fergus Hanson speaks to Sir Nick Clegg, vice president of global affairs and communications for Meta on technology policy. They discuss the greatest tech challenges currently facing the international community and how governments and the private sector can better collaborate on these issues going forward, something that Sir Nick will discuss in a panel session at ASPI’s inaugural Sydney Dialogue on 19 November. Nick Clegg is the vice president of global affairs and communications for Meta. Previously, he served as deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015. In 2018, he received a knighthood in recognition of his political and public service. He also established the think tank Open Reason, which examines issues pertaining to drugs policy and the fourth industrial revolution. From 1994 to 2004, he worked as a senior adviser in the European Commission, and between 1999 and 2004 he was a member of the European Parliament. Sir Nick is the best-selling author of Politics: between the extremes and How to stop Brexit (and make Britain great again). Mentioned in this episode: https://tsd.aspi.org.au/ Guests (in order of appearance): Fergus Hanson: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/fergus-hanson Sir Nick Clegg: https://nickclegg.medium.com/

This week on Policy, Guns and Money’s Bigger Picture series, Peter Jennings speaks to His Excellency Shingo Yamagami, Ambassador of Japan to Australia about the Australia-Japan strategic relationship. They discuss the evolution of Australia-Japan trade, defence and people-to-people ties, and Japan’s perspective on AUKUS, the Quad and the strategic outlook in the Indo-Pacific. Guests (in order of appearance): Peter Jennings: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/peter-jennings H.E. Mr Shingo Yamagami: https://www.au.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/about_ambassador_profile_en.html Background music: "Salt Lake Swerve - Chillout Remix" by Maarten Schellekens - via the FreeMusicArchive.org

The first week of Glasgow’s COP26 summit is over, and we have seen a number of countries make landmark promises to help mitigate the effects of climate change. Dr Robert Glasser and Anastasia Kapetas discuss these commitments, Australia’s position during the conference and what’s in store for the remainder of the summit. With the government’s recent announcement that it will acquire nuclear-powered submarines and cancel the attack-class program, it looks like we might be waiting until the late 2030s until the first submarine is in service. Defence capability experts Dr Marcus Hellyer and Dr Andrew Davies consider the decision to acquire nuclear-powered submarines and discuss Australia’s potential naval capability gaps and how these gaps can be addressed. As international travel begins to re-open, digital vaccine passports are set to be a requirement in many parts of the world to prove your vaccination status. Gill Savage and Dr Teagan Westendorf discuss the challenges for the rollout of vaccine passports, potential issues with interoperability and how to address cybersecurity risks. Guests (in order of appearance): Anastasia Kapetas: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/anastasia-kapetas Dr Robert Glasser: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/robert-glasser Dr Marcus Hellyer: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/marcus-hellyer Dr Andrew Davies: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/andrew-davies Dr Teagan Westendorf: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/teagan-westendorf Gill Savage: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/gill-savage

In this episode of Policy, Gun’s and Money’s ‘The Bigger Picture’ series, Dr. Robert Glasser speaks to Dr. Dino Patti Djalal, Founder of Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) about climate change. They consider Indonesia’s climate vulnerabilities and why climate change needs to be placed at the top of Indonesia’s national agenda. They highlight the need for governments to be bold when it comes to climate and to create policies that incentivise and encourage green growth. Dr. Dino Patti Djalal is the founder and chairman of the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia, a former Indonesian ambassador to the United States, and a former Indonesian deputy foreign minister. Guests (in order of appearance): Dr. Robert Glasser: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/robert-glasser Dr. Dino Patti Djalal: https://www.fpcindonesia.org/about-us/ ; Twitter: @dinopattidjalal Background music: "Salt Lake Swerve - Chillout Remix" by Maarten Schellekens - via the FreeMusicArchive.org

This Sunday 31st October, the COP26 Summit kicks off in Glasgow, where it’s expected that leaders will bring bigger commitments to 2030 emissions reduction targets and outline bolder climate policies. Dr Robert Glasser and Anastasia Kapetas discuss Australia’s climate commitments going into COP, and whether they are sufficient to address climate impacts in Australia and our region. They also discuss the recent U.S. 'Department of Defense Climate Risk Analysis'. Recently, Australian authorities seized a record 450kg heroin shipment, the largest heroin shipment ever detected in Australia. Dr John Coyne and Dr Teagan Westendorf discuss the significance of this seizure and consider whether a seizure of this size means less product is available or leads to less consumption. Earlier this month, a global outage left users unable to access Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger for 6 to 7 hours. Karly Winkler and Jocelinn Kang discuss the causes and impacts of the outage, and the potential for such outages to impact critical infrastructure. Mentioned in this episode: Department of Defense Climate Risk Analysis: https://bit.ly/3nFxsNe Guests (in order of appearance): Anastasia Kapetas: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/anastasia-kapetas Dr Robert Glasser: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/robert-glasser Dr Teagan Westendorf: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/teagan-westendorf Dr John Coyne: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/john-coyne Jocelinn Kang: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/jocelinn-kang Karly Winkler: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/karly-winkler

In this episode of ‘The Bigger Picture’ series, Michael Shoebridge speaks to Dr Charles Edel. They consider everything from US politics and Biden’s domestic agenda to US foreign policy and the significance of AUKUS. They also discuss the strategic outlook in the Indo-Pacific, opportunities for US engagement in the region, and the Biden Administration’s China strategy. Dr. Charles Edel is a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center and a Senior Fellow at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. Previously, Dr. Edel was Associate Professor of Strategy and Policy at the U.S. Naval War College, and served on the U.S. Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff from 2015–2017. In that role, he advised the Secretary of State on political and security issues in the Asia-Pacific region. Guests (in order of appearance): Michael Shoebridge: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/michael-shoebridge Dr Charles Edel: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/charles-edel Background music: "Salt Lake Swerve - Chillout Remix" by Maarten Schellekens via the freemusicarchive.org

Anastasia Kapetas speaks to Elmira Bayrasli, Co-Founder of Foreign Policy Interrupted and Director of Bard College’s Global and International Affairs program about gender, geopolitics and national security. They discuss the importance of women in national security and the critical contributions they make to global security, and what motivated Elmira to co-found Foreign Policy Interrupted. Elmira Bayrasli is the author of From the Other Side of the World: Extraordinary Entrepreneurs, Unlikely Places, a book that looks at the rise of entrepreneurship globally. She is also the CEO and co-founder of Foreign Policy Interrupted and a professor at Bard College’s Global and International Affairs program and teaches at the City College of New York’s Newmark School of Journalism. She has lived in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina where she was the Chief Spokesperson for the OSCE Mission. From 1994-2000 she was presidential appointee at the U.S. State Department, working for Madeleine Albright and Richard Holbrooke, respectively. Guests (in order of appearance): Anastasia Kapetas: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/anastasia-kapetas Elmira Bayrasli: https://www.elmirabayrasli.com/#!/bio

In this episode of ‘The Bigger Picture’ series, Anastasia Kapetas speaks to Professor Mary Kaldor about the concept of human security and how it evolved. They consider whether the lessons being learned from recent events in Afghanistan are the right ones, what a human security approach to terrorism looks like and the need to strengthen democracies in the context of rising authoritarianism. Mary Kaldor is a Professor of Global Governance and Director of the Conflict and Civil Society Research Unit in the LSE Department of International Development. Professor Kaldor is highly regarded for her innovative work on democratisation, conflict, and globalisation. She was a founding member of European Nuclear Disarmament (END), a founder and Co-Chair of the Helsinki Citizen's Assembly and a member of the International Independent Commission to investigate the Kosovo Crisis, established by the Swedish Prime Minister. Professor Kaldor pioneered the concept of new wars and global civil society and her work on the practical implementation of human security has directly influenced European and national politics. Guests (in order of appearance): Anastasia Kapetas: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/anastasia-kapetas Professor Mary Kaldor: https://www.lse.ac.uk/international-development/people/mary-kaldor Background music: "Salt Lake Swerve - Chillout Remix" by Maarten Schellekens - FreeMusicArchive.org

ASPI's Executive Director Peter Jennings speaks to the Honourable Joe Hockey, former Australian Ambassador to the United States of America and Treasurer of Australia, and Founding Partner and President of the advisory firm Bondi Partners. They discuss the recent AUKUS announcement, what it was like to be ambassador to the United States during the Trump administration and opportunities for growth in the US-Australia relationship as well as the challenges that lay ahead. This is the first episode in our 'The Bigger Picture' series which will consider some of the big strategic challenges currently facing Australia and the international community. In this episode: Peter Jennings: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/peter-jennings The Hon. Amb. Joe Hockey: https://bondipartners.com/joe-hockey/ Music: "Salt Lake Swerve - Chillout Remix" by Maarten Schellekens - FreeMusicArchive.org