Lowy Institute

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In conversation: Ross Garnaut on Australia as a low-carbon superpower Nov 20, 2019

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“The fog of Australian politics on climate change has obscured a fateful reality: Australia has the potential to be an economic superpower of the future post-carbon world,” argues Dr Ross Garnaut in his new book Superpower: Australia’s low-carbon opportunity.
The Lowy Institute hosted a conversation between Dr Garnaut and Roland Rajah, Director of the Lowy Institute International Economy Program, about the role Australia can play in meeting this critical global challenge.
Ross Garnaut is Professorial Research Fellow in Economics at the University of Melbourne. In 2008, he produced the Garnaut Climate Change Review for the Australian government. He is the author of many books, including the bestselling Dog Days (2013).

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Globalisation's Next Wave: The Jobs Apocalypse Nov 18, 2019

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The mass commercialisation of artificial intelligence, machine learning technologies and automation, combined with outsourcing to lower income countries is about to cause massive upheavals and hundreds of millions of job losses in developed economies, according to my guest this episode of Rules Based Audio, economist and globalisation expert Professor Richard Baldwin.
He warns that the next phase of globalisation is different, because of the speed and scale of the likely changes, and the expected impact on the middle classes in rich countries. Professionals who thought their jobs were safe are now directly in the firing line. There’s likely to be earth-shaking political consequences.
It sounds pretty grim for the developed economies, but Professor Baldwin says he’s an optimist about where this will get us to in the future – if we can survive the socio-political earthquakes in the meanwhile.
Richard Baldwin is a professor of international economics at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva; and the author of several books on globalisation, trade and European integration. In this episode of Rules Based Audio, we discuss his latest book, 'The Globotics Upheaval: Globalization, Robotics and the Future of Work'.

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In conversation: Sam Roggeveen on how Brexit happened, and could it happen here? (Melbourne) Nov 12, 2019

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The Lowy Institute’s Sam Roggeveen has written a provocative new book, 'Our Very Own Brexit', arguing that the political conditions which created Brexit also exist in Australia. But forget what you have read about populism and the rise of right-wing xenophobia. What Australia has in common with Britain and other Western democracies is something we rarely talk about: the steady decline of our big political parties. The ‘hollowed out’ state of contemporary politics could lead one of our political parties to exploit an issue that ties Australia to Asia and which will determine our future security: immigration.
The Lowy Institute hosted an in-conversation event with Sam and award-winning journalist George Megalogenis to mark the launch of 'Our Very Own Brexit'.
Sam Roggeveen is Director of the Lowy Institute’s International Security Program. Sam writes for newspapers, magazines, and websites around the world about Australian politics, foreign policy, and defence policy. He is the founding editor of the Lowy Institute’s digital magazine, 'The Interpreter'.
This event was presented by Lowy Institute at the NGV.

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In conversation: Pat Cox on The EU and Ireland after Brexit Nov 11, 2019

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As the United Kingdom faces a divisive but potentially decisive election framed around Brexit, the European Union is contemplating a future without the UK.
If British voters back Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit plan, what sort of future relationship will the EU look to build with the UK? What will be the impact on Ireland and Northern Ireland? And how will Brexit affect Australia's ties with the EU?
If the opposition triumphs, what are the chances that Brexit could be reversed and the UK's relationship with the EU reset?
Ben Bland, the Director of the Lowy Institute's Southeast Asia Project, had a conversation with Pat Cox, former European Parliament President, on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and its implications for the Union, the UK, and Ireland.
Pat Cox served three terms in the European Parliament, and was President of the Parliament from 2002 to 2004. Prior to entering the European Parliament, he served in Ireland’s national parliament and worked in academia and the media. He is currently President of the Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe.

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October in Syria: The US withdrawal and the death of al-Baghdadi, with Rodger Shanahan Nov 04, 2019

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Dr Rodger Shanahan unpacks the implications of the US withdrawal from Syria and the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October 2019 in Syria. Are the two events linked?
US President Trump’s decision to withdraw US forces from northeast Syria, abandoning the Kurds who fought with the US against Islamic State, allowed Turkey to invade and gave what Dr Shanahan says was “a gift” to Moscow and Damascus. He also discusses what the death of al-Baghdadi means for the future of the Islamic State terrorist group and other militant Islamist groups in the region; and whether the timing and proximity of the two events might be more more than coincidence.
Dr Rodger Shanahan is a Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute specialising in Middle East security and terrorism studies. A former army officer, he had extensive service within the Parachute Battalion Group (PBG) and has had operational service with the UN in South Lebanon and Syria, with the PBG in East Timor, in Beirut during the 2006 war, and in Afghanistan. He was the former director of the Army's Land Warfare Studies Centre, and has also been posted to the Australian Embassies in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. Dr Shanahan has a PhD in Arab and Islamic Studies from the University of Sydney.

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In conversation: Lydia Khalil on what's next for Islamic State Oct 23, 2019

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In March 2019, Islamic State officially lost its caliphate. The last remaining sliver of territory under its control was overtaken by Coalition forces, and US President Donald Trump declared the militant group “100% defeated”.
Yet Islamic State remains defiant. Its reclusive leader has made two public pronouncements encouraging his followers since the fall of the caliphate. It retains affiliate networks around the world, and in the wake of its defeat, it committed one of the largest terrorist attacks ever – the Easter Bombings in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
But what does Islamic State mean without its caliphate, and in what ways does the organisation still pose a global threat? How are we to deal with the thousands of supporters, mostly women, who remain held with their children in camps run by Syrian Democratic Forces? How has Islamic State managed to maintain its presence in Asia while it has lost its caliphate? Has Asia become a new growth area for the group after its decline in the Middle East?
Daniel Flitton, the Managing Editor of the Lowy Institute's digital magazine, The Interpreter, discussed these questions and more with Lowy Institute Research Fellow Lydia Khalil, following her latest analysis on the future of Islamic State.

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Nicholas Burns on restoring American leadership Oct 22, 2019

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What made America a great power? What is Trump doing to weaken America on the global stage, and what must the US do to revive its global leadership after the Trump presidency?
Distinguished American diplomat Nicholas Burns, the Lowy Institute’s 2019 Rothschild & Co Distinguished International Fellow, gave a speech at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne
Nicholas Burns is a Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and served for 27 years in the US Foreign Service. Ambassador Burns was Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, US Ambassador to NATO for President George W Bush and to Greece for President Bill Clinton, and State Department spokesman for Secretaries Warren Christopher and Madeleine Albright.

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Agent of Instability: Trump’s America, with Ambassador Nicholas Burns Oct 21, 2019

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Former US Ambassador to NATO Nicholas Burns talks about the instability of US foreign policy under Trump and how to recover from it, the significance of US alliances in great power competition with China, and also why he rejects former US Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ pointed criticism of Senator Joe Biden’s foreign policy record.
Ambassador Burns is the 2019 Rothschild Distinguished International Fellow at the Lowy Institute. He is one of the US’s most eminent former diplomats, having served under Republican and Democrat administrations in a 27 year career in the foreign service. He was US Ambassador to NATO and later Under Secretary for Political Affairs, the State Department’s third-ranking official. He is now a Professor of Diplomatic Practice and International Relations at Harvard University; and has more recently joined Senator Joe Biden’s campaign as foreign affairs advisor.

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An address by Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Oct 10, 2019

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On October 10, the Lowy Institute hosted Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte for a public address.
Mr Rutte spoke about the future of the global rules-based order. Following his speech the Institute’s Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove conducted a Q&A session with Mr Rutte.
Described by the BBC as a “modest but steely liberal”, Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte is an important figure in European politics. He has been at the centre of Europe’s Brexit negotiations with the UK, has led the Netherlands’ response to the Malaysia Airlines MH-17 tragedy, in which 193 Dutch citizens and 27 Australians lost their lives, and he has witnessed and fought the rise of populist parties in Dutch elections. He has served as Prime Minister since 2010.

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2019 Owen Harries Lecture: Nicholas Burns on the China challenge Oct 08, 2019

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How should the US and Australia plan for a future of both strategic competition and cooperation with China? How do we get the balance between them right?
The distinguished American diplomat Nicholas Burns, the Lowy Institute’s 2019 Rothschild & Co Distinguished International Fellow, addressed these questions in the 2019 Owen Harries Lecture.
The annual Owen Harries Lecture honours the enormous contribution Mr Harries, a Nonresident Fellow at the Lowy Institute, has made to the international policy debate in Australia.
Nicholas Burns is a Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and served for 27 years in the US Foreign Service. Ambassador Burns was Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, US Ambassador to NATO for President George W Bush and to Greece for President Bill Clinton, and State Department spokesman for Secretaries Warren Christopher and Madeleine Albright.
The Lowy Institute acknowledges the generous support of Rothschild & Co for the Fellowship.

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