COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the next few weeks, Lowy Institute experts will sit down to discuss the implications of coronavirus for the world. In Episode 3, Lowy Institute’s Director of Research, Alex Oliver, sits down with Richard McGregor, our resident senior China expert and author of several books on China’s politics and government. This episode focuses on the story of China. Our Institute experts discuss US-China power competition, including the recent expulsion of American journalists from China and Hong Kong, Chinese disinformation and propaganda, something we’ve dubbed the 'geopolitics of infection etymology' and more.

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COVIDcast Episode 3: the China story

Today, the liberal democratic model faces its biggest challenge in generations. Since the global financial crisis, democratic systems have faced a crisis of public confidence, and open economies have struggled to deliver the broad-based growth of the past. At the same time, in a number of nations around the world, an alternative model of ‘techno-authoritarianism’ has emerged in which mass surveillance and artificial intelligence are being used to build systems of social control. Tim Watts MP addressed the Lowy Institute in Canberra on 27 February 2020 and discussed the ways these competing models of organising society are challenging the health of our democratic institutions – political parties, parliaments, and the media. After the address, Mr Watts joined Lowy Institute Director for International Security, Sam Roggeveen, for a conversation and Q&A.

Tim Watts on democracy and the authoritarian challenge

COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the next few weeks, Lowy Institute experts will sit down to discuss the implications of coronavirus for the world. In Episode 2, Lowy Institute’s Executive Director, Michael Fullilove, sits down with Alex Oliver, the Institute’s Director of Research; Herve Lemahieu, Director of the our Asian Power and Diplomacy Program; and Roland Rajah, Director of the Institute’s International Economy Program. They discuss coronavirus anxiety, including #toiletpapergate, panic buying and hoarding; the effect of the virus on public sentiment and the emerging gap in public trust of governments and leaders; vulnerabilities in the international system and the lack of international leadership; and the Australian government’s response, including the $2.4 billion health plan and the $17.6 billion economic stimulus package.

COVIDcast Episode 2: virus is declared a pandemic

Today Iraqis find themselves caught in an array of competing forces. Their country is a battleground for foreign actors, from militias to major powers. Their domestic politics are increasingly violent as the state reacts brutally to popular demands for better governance and accountability. Yet we rarely hear Iraqi perspectives on these turbulent events. One of the Middle East’s leading young political analysts, Hafsa Halawa, and Lowy Institute Nonresident Fellow Anthony Bubalo, discuss how Iraqis see the future of peace and politics in their country and the wider region. Hafsa Halawa is an independent political and development consultant and a Nonresident Scholar at the Middle East Institute in the United States. Of Egyptian and Iraqi heritage, she has lived and worked across the region for over a decade. Since 2018, she has been working in Iraq on a range of projects aimed at promoting social cohesion, conflict management, and women’s rights.

In conversation: Hafsa Halawa and Anthony Bubalo

The term ‘Indo-Pacific’ has gained wide use in recent years, including among the leaders of Australia, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, and the United States. But what does it really mean? The name of a region is as much symbolic as physical – and can be a mental map that guides the decisions of leaders and the narrative of international order, war, and peace. The Lowy Institute was pleased to host the Sydney launch of a new book by Rory Medcalf, Contest for the Indo-Pacific, which weaves together history, geopolitics, cartography, military strategy, economics, games, and propaganda to examine the rising tensions in the region and address the question of how China’s dominance can be restrained without war. Professor Rory Medcalf is Head of the National Security College at the Australian National University, with experience as an Australian diplomat and as senior strategic analyst in Australia’s Office of National Assessments. He was the founding director of the international security program at the Lowy Institute, where he remains a Nonresident Fellow. Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove hosted Professor Medcalf for the launch of his new book, followed by a conversation and Q&A.

Professor Rory Medcalf on ‘Contest for the Indo-Pacific: Why China won’t map the future’

COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the next few weeks, Lowy Institute experts will sit down to discuss the implications of coronavirus for the world. In Episode 1, Lowy Institute’s Executive Director, Michael Fullilove, sits down with Richard McGregor, Senior Fellow and a world expert on the Chinese Communist Party; Natasha Kassam, Research Fellow, expert in China’s domestic politics, and a former Australian diplomat in Beijing; and Ben Bland, director of the Institutes Southeast Asia Program and an expert in China-ASEAN relations. They discuss the effectiveness of China’s response to coronavirus and its implications for the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping, both internally and on the world stage; the limitations of populism and nationalist governments in responding to threats like coronavirus; increasing support for multilateralism and international cooperation; the effect of coronavirus on the 2020 US Presidential election; and Australia’s response to date.

[HD] COVIDcast Episode 1: the global response to coronavirus

Dr James Renwick CSC SC is Australia’s Independent National Security Legislation Monitor. In 2019, he was tasked by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security to review the controversial Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018 (Cth). As Dr Renwick moves to finalise his report of the review, he will discuss possible models for reconciling the legitimate interests of individuals, organisations, and business, and intelligence, police and integrity agencies. Dr Renwick joined the Lowy Institute for an address, chaired by Lowy Institute Fellow and Middle East security expert Rodger Shanahan. Dr James Renwick CSC SC is a member of the NSW Bar with a general commercial, regulatory, and public law practice. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Australian National University and has been the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor since 2017.

Dr James Renwick on What are the right encryption laws for Australia?

Last year saw a surge of civil unrest across the globe so widespread that 2019 has been dubbed “the year of the street protestor”. In places as diverse as Hong Kong, Chile, the United States, the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, people came together for a variety of causes and grievances. These included demands for economic, racial, and gender equality; the preservation of democracy against a growing authoritarian tide; confronting climate change; opposing corruption; and addressing migration and refugee issues. Increasingly, it is women-led movements that play an important role in advocacy, activism, and protest around the world, especially in places where authoritarian leaders have come to power. One hallmark of these protests is their breadth: as well as women, they include others marginalised by such regimes. Another is their tendency to be non-violent, which evidence suggests can be as effective at achieving change as violent uprisings. Accompanying the increased participation of women in activism and protest is their increased representation in politics and media. Women such as Greta Thunberg, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Maria Ressa, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg have arisen in popular consciousness as symbols of moral courage in an era of turbulence. In celebration of International Women's Day we were joined at the National Gallery of Victoria by: Lydia Khalil, Lowy Institute Research Fellow and Middle East expert (moderator) Louisa Lim, Senior Lecturer in journalism at the University of Melbourne and co-host of The Little Red Podcast Amanda McKenzie, CEO of The Climate Council Nyadol Nyuon, commercial lawyer and community advocate for African Australians for a discussion of this turbulent time.

Panel Discussion: International Women's Day - Women's Activism in an Era of Protest

COVIDcast Episode 1: the global response to coronavirus

The spread of the novel coronavirus in and beyond China has potentially profound implications, for Xi Jinping's standing and China's global weight and prestige. For countries like Australia, the virus has already inflicted a sharp economic shock. The Lowy Institute hosted a panel discussion on the impact of the virus on Australia and the world. Natasha Kassam, Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute, hosted the discussion with a panel of experts: Richard Yetsenga, ANZ's Chief Economist; Philippa Jones, Managing Director of China Policy; and Richard McGregor, the Institute’s Senior Fellow for East Asia. Richard Yetsenga is the Chief Economist and Head of Research at ANZ. Prior to joining ANZ, he was an economist and strategist at HSBC and Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong. Philippa Jones is a regulatory and trade policy specialist. She founded China Policy, a strategic advisory firm based in Beijing, and formerly held roles at the EU-China Trade Project and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Richard McGregor is a Senior Fellow at the Lowy Institute. He is the award-winning author of The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers and the recent Lowy Institute Paper Xi Jinping: The Backlash.

Panel discussion: China and the novel coronavirus

In his role as United States Indo-Pacific Commander, Admiral Philip S. Davidson is responsible for military operations in an area that stretches from the waters off the west coast of the United States to the west coast of India, and from the Arctic to the Antarctic – over 200 million square kilometres and more than half the world’s surface. Admiral Davidson is a surface warfare officer who has deployed across the globe in frigates, destroyers, cruisers, and aircraft carriers. He has also served as the Director of Maritime Operations at US Fleet Forces Command, the senior military advisor to the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the State Department, and the Navy’s military aide to the vice president of the United States. Admiral Davidson is a distinguished graduate of the US Naval War College. He assumed command of US Indo-Pacific Command in May 2018. Following his address, Admiral Davidson joined Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove AM for a conversation and Q&A.

Philip S. Davidson on the United States’ interests in the Indo-Pacific

The Lowy Institute hosted a panel discussion with Institute experts in Melbourne on the key issues likely to dominate the international agenda in 2020. Managing Editor of The Interpreter Daniel Flitton chaired an expert panel including Dr John Edwards, Senior Fellow in the International Economy Program; Jonathan Pryke, Director of the Pacific Islands Program; Lydia Khalil, Research Fellow in the West Asia Program; and Bonnie Bley, Research Fellow in the Asian Power and Diplomacy Program.

Panel discussion: The year ahead (Melbourne)

The Lowy Institute hosted a panel discussion with Institute experts in Sydney on the key issues likely to dominate the international agenda in 2020. Director of Research Alex Oliver chaired an expert panel including Lowy Institute Senior Fellow Richard McGregor; Hervé Lemahieu, Director of the Asian Power and Diplomacy Program; Rodger Shanahan, Research Fellow, West Asia Program; and Shane McLeod, Research Fellow with the Australia-PNG Network.

Panel discussion: The year ahead (Sydney)

The new year has seen tensions between the United States and Iran increase to levels rarely seen before. The assassination of Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the ballistic missile response from Iran, and then the tragic downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, have yet again focused the world’s attention on this region. The vision of enormous crowds that turned out for Soleimani’s funeral procession, contrasted with the small but vocal crowds in response to Tehran’s shooting down of Flight 752, show how difficult it can be to understand how Iranian society sees the actions of the Iranian and US governments and Iran’s place in the region and the world. To better understand the situation in Iran and how Iranians view recent events, Lowy Institute Research Fellow Dr Rodger Shanahan hosted a panel discussion with Dr Amir Mogadam from the University of Newcastle, Mahmoud Pargoo from the Australian Catholic University, and Mrs Azadeh Davachi from Deakin University to discuss the current tensions in the Gulf from US and Iranian policy perspectives.

Panel discussion: Iran - Where to from here?

With the threat of armed conflict looming more seriously over Asia than it has in decades, Oriana Skylar Mastro discussed Asian approaches to diplomacy during war. Professor Mastro’s new book, 'The Costs of Conversation', covers the diplomatic decisions of China and India in past conflicts in Asia and provides signposts for crisis management and conflicts in the future. After a war breaks out, what factors influence states’ decisions to talk to their opponent, and when might their position on wartime diplomacy change? How do we get from only fighting to also talking? The Lowy Institute hosted a panel discussion moderated by Natasha Kassam, Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute, to discuss the obstacles to peace talks in wartime. Professor Oriana Skylar Mastro is an assistant professor of security studies at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, a Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, and an officer in the United States Air Force Reserve. Professor James Goldrick AO CSC is an Adjunct Professor of the University of New South Wales, Visiting Fellow of the Sea Power Centre – Australia, and a Professorial Fellow of the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security. He spent 38 years in the Royal Australian Navy, retiring as a two-star Rear Admiral.

Panel discussion: Avoiding war - how states negotiate

The Lowy Institute is an independent, nonpartisan international policy think tank located in Sydney, Australia. The Institute provides high-quality research and distinctive perspectives on foreign policy trends shaping Australia and the world. On Soundcloud we host podcasts from our events with high-level guest speakers as well as our own experts. Essential listening for anyone seeking to better understand foreign policy challenges!

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