Lowy Institute Conversations

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has travelled relentlessly since his inauguration in October 2024. Yet questions remain about the direction of Indonesian foreign policy under his leadership. How will Indonesia manage its relationships with China, the United States and Russia? And what role will it play within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)? In this episode, the Institute's Susannah Patton discusses these q...

US Senator Chris Coons joined the Lowy Institute's Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove at the Institute's Bligh Street headquarters for a special episode of Lowy Institute Conversations. They discussed US President Donald Trump's forthcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the first 200 days of President Trump's foreign policy, AUKUS, defence spending, and Senator Coons' optimism about the Democrats’ electo...

Washington says the Pacific is a critical arena for strategic competition, yet recent US actions suggest otherwise. In this episode, the Institute’s Mihai Sora talks with Dr Charles Edel, Australia Chair at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, and Kathryn Paik, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director with the Australia Chair, about America’s Pacific drawdown, what’s at stake for US and regional security, ...

Traditionally, Australian governments have tried to pursue the relationships with its main trading partner and its security guarantor in parallel. Now that the dynamics are becoming increasingly intertwined, how will Australia make its way forward? Lowy Institute Program Director Sam Roggeveen and Senior Fellow for East Asia Richard McGregor discuss Australian PM Anthony Albanese’s recent six-day visit to ...

In this episode, Edward Luce, Financial Times columnist and author of Zbig, a new biography of US President Jimmy Carter’s national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, talks with Sam Roggeveen. They discuss Zbig’s stature as a foreign policy sage, his friendship and rivalry with Henry Kissinger, and what remains of the Washington foreign policy establishment that Zbig symbolised.

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The Institute’s Director of Research Hervé Lemahieu and Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove discuss the US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Iran’s response, and the uncertainty of a reported ceasefire. They analyse the strategic stakes, the role of diplomacy and international institutions, and the risks and advantages of President Donald Trump’s unpredictability.

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Earlier this year, reports emerged of Russia seeking to base military aircraft at Indonesia’s Manuhua Airforce Base. While the request was rejected by Indonesia, it raises a broader question: what are Russia’s interests in Southeast Asia and how should Australia respond to its attempts to seek access to military facilities in the region?

In this podcast, Lowy Institute Research Fellow Rahman Yaacob and Ian Storey, ...

Join Sam Roggeveen and Managing Editor Daniel Flitton for a conversation about what we covered this week in Australia’s best foreign affairs magazine, The Interpreter.

Further reading:

Sadly, Russia’s mercenary verdict means Oscar Jenkins won’t be coming home anytime soon by Donald Rothwell

Why Oscar Jenkins’ trial in the Luhansk People’s Republic is a sham by Shannon Bosch

US troops in Korea may soon ...

In this episode, we bring you highlights of a recent Lowy Institute event on the future of warfare. Christian Brose, President and Chief Strategy Officer of Anduril Industries, and Sam Roggeveen, Director of the Lowy Institute’s International Security Program discuss the key trends in modern warfare revealed through the world’s ongoing armed conflicts. They share their thoughts on how any future wars between major power...

Anthony Albanese has been returned as Australia’s prime minister in a landslide. In this episode, Program Directors Mihai Sora and Susannah Patton speak with host Lydia Khalil about what that means for the region. They discuss how Albanese’s re-election is being received in the Pacific and Southeast Asia and examine the continuities, opportunities and challenges for Australia’s foreign policy over the government&r...

In this episode, host Lydia Khalil speaks with former US Ambassador and Director-General of ASIO Dennis Richardson and Interpreter Managing Editor Daniel Flitton, about the Five Eyes — the powerful and strategically important intelligence sharing alliance. Its member countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, have sustained and protected one of the world's most unified multi...

With US President Donald Trump unleashing a blitz of policy changes in his first few months in office and an Australian federal election just ahead, the Lowy Institute has released selected results from the 2025 Lowy Institute Poll. The findings provide a snapshot of how Trump is changing Australian attitudes towards the United States, and on Australians’ confidence in their political leaders’ foreign policy abilities. ...

Two weeks ago, Myanmar was struck by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that devastated much of the central heartland of the country. Already ravaged by civil war, the destruction and humanitarian crisis caused by the earthquake have brought the country to the brink. The Lowy Institute’s Hervé Lemahieu talks with Vicky Bowman CMG, the Director of the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business &m...

Since his election, foreign policy coverage has been dominated by US President Donald Trump. But there is a lot more going on in the world than Trump 2.0. Many important global developments are not getting the attention they deserve. The Lowy Institute’s Lydia Khalil and Daniel Flitton, Managing Editor of The Interpreter, highlight the stories you might have missed.  

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Retired Australian Army General Mick Ryan is one of the most influential and prolific analysts of the Ukraine war. This conversation with Sam Roggeveen, Director of the International Security Program, was intended as a reflection on the three-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion, but instead becomes a much broader and deeper conversation about the sensational diplomatic events of the last few weeks, and about America’s...