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Latest Episodes:

EVENT: Launch of the Asia Power Index 2025 Dec 17, 2025

Show notes

The Lowy Institute launched the 2025 edition of the Asia Power Index on 9 December in Melbourne.

Lydia Khalil convened this conversation with Susannah Patton, project lead for the Asia Power Index, Richard McGregor, senior fellow for East Asia at the Lowy Institute, and Professor Bec Strating, director of the La Trobe Centre for Global Security.

The panellists discussed the 2025 Asia Power Index findings, focusing on the shrinking power gap between the US and China, with the US experiencing decline due to Trump's tariff policies and reduced diplomatic engagement, while China positions itself as a stable regional partner. They also examined the challenges facing middle powers like Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian nations, as well as Australia falling to sixth place amid questions about its ability to resource its growing security commitments in the region.

The Asia Power Index is the Lowy Institute's annual flagship publication tracking the changing distribution of power in Asia.

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City Diplomacy: The role of cities in international relations Dec 16, 2025

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Foreign policy is dominated by nation states and international organisations. Yet municipalities are rarely thought of as having a seat at the geopolitical table. Ika Trijsburg, Director of Urban Analytics at the Australian National University, speaks with the Lowy Institute’s Lydia Khalil about how international engagements, conversations, and even negotiations are happening at a city level, as well as the role of cities in addressing global issues.

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Conversations: Small but mighty — Lessons from Baltic national security officials Dec 08, 2025

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Since Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the world has come to better recognise the geopolitical importance of the Baltic states. In this episode of Conversations, Executive Director Michael Fullilove is joined by Deividas Matulionis, Chief National Security Adviser to the President of Lithuania, Airis Rikveilis, National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of Latvia, and Liina Areng, Director of EU CyberNet. Our guests address the war in Ukraine, hybrid threats, and the tightening of connections between authoritarian states.

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Conversations: A Curious Diplomat Dec 01, 2025

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Is there an Australian way of diplomacy? How can Australia navigate an increasingly complicated and dangerous world? The Lowy Institute’s Research Director David Dutton speaks with former senior diplomat Lachlan Strahan about his new memoir The Curious Diplomat, in which he takes readers inside the world of Australian diplomacy. In their conversation, Lachlan shares anecdotes and experiences, and reflects on how Australian diplomacy has shifted along with a changing world.

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Conversations: Inside COP30 — A former climate envoy on the United States’ absence and the future of global cooperation Nov 25, 2025

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This month, the world gathered in the Amazonian city of Belém for COP30, the UN’s annual climate summit. It was the first time in 30 years that the United States was absent from the talks. Todd Stern, former US Special Envoy for Climate Change under President Obama, spoke to the Lowy Institute’s Ryan Neelam on the ground in Belém about the impact of the US withdrawal from talks, the big issues at COP30, and the challenges and benefits of addressing climate change through multilateral frameworks.

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EVENT: Present at the Destruction Nov 20, 2025

Show notes

Dr Michael Fullilove AM, Executive Director of the Lowy Institute, gave a speech to the Institute titled "Present at the Destruction" on Tuesday 29 November 2025. In these remarks, he reflects on the ABC Boyer Lectures he delivered a decade ago.

Dr Fullilove believes we are present at the destruction of an international order that served our interests well. The liberal order has become something illiberal and disorderly. On the other hand, the return of political stability to Australia's government should set us up to make bold decisions. He assesses Australia's international policies, in particular the stabilisation of relations with China, the energetic diplomacy in Southeast Asia and the Pacific and the agreements Canberra has signed with Pacific Island countries and Indonesia. In time, he hopes these agreements will come to form a latticework of mutual strategic trust.

This is the moment, Dr Fullilove suggests, for Australia to increase its investment in both diplomacy and deterrence. Our country should take on an even more demanding regional role, including by helping to coordinate the Indo-Pacific allies in their dealings with the Trump administration.

After his speech, Dr Fullilove joined the Institute’s Deputy Research Director Susannah Patton for a conversation.

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Development Futures: United Nations’ reform and relevance Nov 18, 2025

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The United Nations is facing two simultaneous disruptions: the planned UN80 reforms, timed to refine the organisation’s structure and mandate during its 80th anniversary, and budget cuts led by the Trump administration. Lowy Institute Research Fellow Grace Stanhope speaks with UN financing expert and author Dr Ronny Patz, and Ryan Neelam, the Lowy Institute’s Director of Public Opinion and Foreign Policy, about the financial viability and geopolitical dynamics of the UN.

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Conversations: A Pacific Eyes intelligence-sharing agreement Nov 13, 2025

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The Pacific Islands face converging transnational and geopolitical threats, yet existing intelligence exchanges are fragmented and inadequate to meet the scale of these challenges. The Lowy Institute’s Oliver Nobetau and Mihai Sora discuss a new policy proposal to create a Pacific Eyes agreement — a dedicated intelligence-sharing framework that could transform regional security cooperation.

You can read about the Pacific Eyes intelligence-sharing agreement here:

https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/pacific-eyes-intelligence-sharing-agreement

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Conversations: Trump, Albanese and critical minerals Nov 11, 2025

Show notes

What exactly is the nature of the deal struck between the US and Australian governments on critical minerals? How is it different to the agreements Washington later signed with Southeast Asian countries? And why are we worried about supplies of (not very) rare earths anyway? Explore the economics and politics with the Lowy Institute's Sam Roggeveen and Robert Walker.

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EVENT: 2025 Lowy Lecture — Director-General of Security Mike Burgess Nov 06, 2025

Show notes

The Director-General of Security Mike Burgess delivered the 2025 Lowy Lecture before a packed Sydney Town Hall on Tuesday 4 November 2025.

In his address and subsequent conversation with the Lowy Institute's Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove, Mr Burgess spoke about the interplay between threats to Australian security, including those which emanate from abroad, and our country’s social cohesion.

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