Lowy Institute

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In conversation: Former National Security Adviser to George W. Bush - Stephen J. Hadley Mar 29, 2019

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Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove had a conversation about global issues with Stephen J. Hadley, former National Security Adviser to President George W. Bush.
Stephen Hadley is one of the most respected foreign policy makers in Washington, DC. He served for four years as the Assistant to President George W. Bush for National Security Affairs from 2005 to 2009. From 2001 to 2005, Mr Hadley was the Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser, serving under then National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. Mr Hadley had previously served on the National Security Council staff and in the Defense Department including as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy. Mr Hadley now serves as a Principal at RiceHadleyGates LLC and as Chair of the Board of Directors of the United States Institute of Peace.

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Mike Burgess on offensive cyber and the people who do it Mar 27, 2019

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The Lowy Institute hosted Mr Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), for an address on ASD’s offensive cyber capabilities.
Mr Burgess has served as the head of ASD since 4 January 2018, becoming the first director-general of ASD on 1 July 2018. He has worked as an intelligence official, consultant, and private-sector chief information security officer. He has served on the Federal Government’s naval shipbuilding advisory board, the Australian Cyber Security Growth Network board, and as a non-executive director of SC8 Limited. Mr Burgess holds a degree in electronics engineering from the South Australian Institute of Technology.

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In conversation: Dewi Fortuna Anwar on Indonesia’s elections - democracy on trial (Sydney) Mar 26, 2019

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On 17 April, 190 million Indonesians will vote for their president and parliament in one of the largest single-day elections the world has ever seen. Incumbent President Joko Widodo and rival Prabowo Subianto are facing off in a replay of the bitterly-fought 2014 campaign.
Indonesia has become a vibrant and competitive democracy. But human rights activists are worried about the government’s use of legal tools against its opponents and the exploitation of heated religious rhetoric as a campaign tool. Meanwhile, vested interests in the armed forces, bureaucracy, and established political parties are stymying much-needed reforms.
Eminent Indonesian political expert Professor Dewi Fortuna Anwar, and Director of Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia Project Ben Bland, discussed the elections, the state of democracy in Indonesia, and the implications for Indonesia’s international relations.
Professor Dewi Fortuna Anwar is a Research Professor at the Centre for Politics at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences. She previously served as Deputy Secretary in the Vice President’s office from 2010-2017 and as a senior foreign affairs official from 1998-1999. She has also advised many international organisations and is currently a governing board member of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Professor Dewi Fortuna Anwar’s visit to Australia is part of the ASEAN-Australia Visiting Fellows Program at the Lowy Institute, which is supported by the Australian Government through the Australia-ASEAN Council of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

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In conversation: Gidon Bromberg on environmental peacemaking in the Middle East Mar 21, 2019

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The implications for national security are often overlooked in discussions on climate change. In the Middle East, however, regional cooperation is vital when responding to the declining availability of water and periods of prolonged drought. How do you foster cooperation in a troubled region?
Gidon Bromberg is co-founder of EcoPeace Middle East, an organisation which brings together Jordanians, Palestinians, and Israelis to advance sustainable and peaceful regional development, including in an ambitious project for the Jordan Valley. Mr Bromberg has written extensively on the relationship between water, peace, and security in the Middle East, and has presented to United Nations forums, the US Congress, and the European Parliament.
Dr Rodger Shanahan, Lowy Institute Research Fellow, had a conversation with Gidon Bromberg about security, cooperation, and the preservation of scarce natural resources in the Middle East.

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In conversation: Gareth Evans and Michael Kirby on Australia and nuclear non-proliferation Mar 15, 2019

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The nuclear non-proliferation regime is under threat. Disarmament has stalled. Challenges from Moscow, Pyongyang, and Washington are mounting. Deteriorating trust between nuclear states threatens the emergence of a new arms race.
What does this mean for Australia? What role should we play in the global effort against nuclear proliferation? Should we sign the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty? And how does our nuclear stance affect our alliance with the United States?
The Lowy Institute hosted former foreign minister the Hon Gareth Evans AC QC and former chairman of the UN Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry on Democratic People’s Republic of Korea the Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG for a discussion on Australia’s nuclear weapons policy.
The event was introduced by Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove and moderated by Research Director Alex Oliver.

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Panel discussion: Marise Payne and Tobias Feakin on Australia’s international cyber strategy Mar 11, 2019

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Cyber issues are increasingly important — to governments, to businesses, to organisations and to individuals. Cyber affairs also play a significant role in Australia’s relations with other countries. In 2017 the Australian Government adopted the International Cyber Engagement Strategy to advance and protect Australia’s national security and national interests in cyberspace and to work with partners in the Indo-Pacific to improve cyber security and connectivity.
The Lowy Institute hosted the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Marise Payne, and Australia’s Ambassador for Cyber Affairs, Dr Tobias Feakin, for a discussion of these issues. The discussion was chaired by the Lowy Institute’s Executive Director, Dr Michael Fullilove.
Senator Payne has served as a senator for New South Wales since 1997. She served 12 years on the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, including a period as chair of its Human Rights subcommittee. She was Minister for Human Services from 2013 to 2015 when she assumed the Defence portfolio, becoming the first woman to hold the position of Minister for Defence. She was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in August 2018.
Dr Tobias Feakin is Australia’s inaugural Ambassador for Cyber Affairs. He was a member of the Independent Panel of Experts that helped develop Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy. He was Director of National Security Programs at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute from 2012 to 2016.

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Panel Discussion: Women in the era of strongmen Mar 07, 2019

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To mark International Women’s Day in 2019, the Lowy Institute in partnership with Telstra hosted a special event on the impact of authoritarian regimes on women.
Today is the era of the “strongman”, as a new wave of authoritarianism spreads across the globe. In countries as diverse as Russia, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Poland, Brazil, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines, macho leadership reigns. Even in contemporary western democracies such as the United States, the ranks of authoritarian populists have swelled.
Aside from the grand displays of force, clampdown on minority rights and gagging of the press which typically characterise authoritarian regimes, another striking feature is the limits they impose on the freedoms and power of women.
The panel featured:
Dr Nicole Curato, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance
Lydia Khalil, Research Fellow in the Lowy Institute’s West Asia Program
Alex Oliver, Director of Research at the Lowy Institute (moderator)
Elaine Pearson, Australia Director, Human Rights Watch
Dr Rebecca Sheehan, Lecturer in the Sociology of Gender and Program Director of Gender Studies at Macquarie University

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In conversation: Kori Schake on America vs the West Mar 07, 2019

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The latest Lowy Institute Paper published by Penguin Random House, America vs the West: Can the liberal world order be preserved? by Dr Kori Schake, was launched in Canberra on 5 March.
Schake, one of America’s most respected foreign policy practitioners, argues that the success of the liberal order is not preordained. It will have to be fought for, compromised for, and rejuvenated. Whether it can be done without American leadership will depend on the strengths of the major challengers — Russia and China — but above all on whether the West’s middle powers are prepared to band together.
Dr Kori Schake is the Deputy Director-General of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. She is a contributing editor at The Atlantic, the author of Safe Passage: The Transition from British to American Hegemony and editor with General James Mattis of Warriors and Citizens: American Views of Our Military. She has worked as Director for defence strategy and requirements on the National Security Council staff, as Deputy Director of policy planning in the State Department, and in both the military and civilian staffs in the Pentagon. In 2008 she was senior policy adviser on the McCain–Palin presidential campaign. She teaches in War Studies at King’s College London and has previously taught at Stanford University, the United States Military Academy, the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and the University of Maryland.

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In conversation: Sir Adam Roberts on Britain's Brexit confusion Mar 06, 2019

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The United Kingdom faces a fast-approaching but possibly flexible deadline to leave the European Union on 29 March. What are the underlying reasons for the UK’s ambivalence about Europe? Why are both the main political parties split on this subject? Can Prime Minister Theresa May secure a deal acceptable to both Brussels and Westminster? Could there be a second referendum? What will other countries learn from this extraordinary period of British and European political history?
Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove and eminent British academic Sir Adam Roberts discussed the state of British politics and the future relationship between the UK and its European neighbours.
Sir Adam Roberts is Senior Research Fellow of the Centre for International Studies in Oxford University's Department of Politics and International Relations. He is also Emeritus Professor of International Relations at Oxford University, and Emeritus Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford. He is one of Britain’s leading scholars of international relations and is the author or editor of more than ten books.

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Panel Discussion: Lauren Williams and Rodger Shanahan on Syria in 2019 Feb 25, 2019

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The recent decision by United States President Trump to withdraw US forces from Syria has again focused attention on the ongoing Syrian civil war. The move has been heavily criticised by many in and outside the US, although others have questioned what purpose the forces were serving inside Syria on an ill-defined mission.
Lowy Institute Nonresident Fellow Anthony Bubalo moderated a panel discussion with Dr Rodger Shanahan, Research Fellow in the West Asia Program, and Lauren Williams, journalist, researcher, and analyst specialising in Syria and the Levant. The panel analysed the possible ramifications of the withdrawal and examined the military and political situation in Syria and the challenges of reconstructing the war-torn country.

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