Lowy Institute

Share on emailShare on printAt Lunch at Lowy on 16 February an exceptional panel of visiting international experts and policy practitioners from India, Pakistan, China and the USA discussed the risks of nuclear competition between the nuclear armed states in South West Asia and China. The panellists are in Sydney for a workshop on Asia's nuclear future, co-hosted by the Institute and the US-based Non-proliferation Policy Education Center. We thank NPEC for bringing the panellists to Australia. Photo: Professor Gareth Evans spoke at the workshop dinner on the Report of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, 'Eliminating nuclear threats: a practical agenda for global policymakers', which he co-authored with Yoriko Kawaguchi.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Afghanistan, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are now the number one killer of coalition forces, and the 2009 campaigning season is seeing a record number of IED attacks. At this week's Wednesday Lowy Lunch, the Commander of Australia’s Counter-IED Task Force, Brigadier Phil Winter, described how Australia and its partners in Afghanistan are dealing with the lethal harvest of what Afghans are now calling the 'evil flowers'. Brigadier Winter's PM interview on the topic is at: http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2009/s2740062.htm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

t the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 10 June, Professor Robert Lawrence of Harvard University spoke on the global financial crisis and international trade. At precisely the time when coordinated global action is required to meet the GFC, there are worrying signs in the US and other leading economies of new forms of protectionism stemming from government stimulus and bailout packages. Professor Lawrence’s address focused on the impact of the global recession and how trade and cooperation will play prominent roles in the recovery.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the Wednesday Lowy lunch on 1 July, Dr Michael Wesley, the new Executive Director of the Lowy Institute, talked about the challenges ahead for Australia and the Lowy Institute. The world after the Global Financial Crisis will be a world which asks some very searching questions of Australia's foreign policy makers, businesspeople, and citizens. How should Australia respond to the new position of China as a key power determining the future of collective global issues? What are the challenges to Australia’s economy as posed by an increasingly knowledge-intensive and Asia-centric global economy? Michael Wesley discussed these and other issues, and in doing so, outlined his vision for the Lowy Institute over the next five years.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Tuesday 23 September, as part of the Lowy Institute's Distinguished Speaker Series, Dr Phil Burgess, outgoing General Managing Director, Public Policy and Communications and Special Adviser to the CEO at Telstra, shared some parting observations about our 'lucky country' and its prospects in a globalised world, based on his experience as a senior executive in Australia, during which time he engaged deeply and widely with Australians at every level of the community in every state of the Commonwealth.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With much of the developed world in recession, Asia's economies are suffering as exports crumble, capital flows reverse, and business and consumer confidence deteriorates. The ADB's Senior Economist Donghyun Park addressed these issues within the context of the Asian Development Outlook 2009, ADB's flagship economic publication. ADB Country Economist Craig Sugden presented highlights of the Pacific portion of the report and discussed the policy options available to the region to minimise the impacts of the global economic crisis.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Tuesday 23 September, as part of the Lowy Institute's Distinguished Speaker Series, Dr Phil Burgess, outgoing General Managing Director, Public Policy and Communications and Special Adviser to the CEO at Telstra, shared some parting observations about our 'lucky country' and its prospects in a globalised world, based on his experience as a senior executive in Australia, during which time he engaged deeply and widely with Australians at every level of the community in every state of the Commonwealth.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Friday, 18 July the Lowy Institute was honoured to host a speech in our Distinguished Speaker Series by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Stephen Smith MP. The focus of the Minister's presentation was on the Government's thinking about Australia's evolving engagement in our region. Recognising that the Asia-Pacific will always be critically important to Australia's strategic and economic interests, the Minister spoke about the Government's policies to ensure, through bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation, that we are collectively well placed to advance our common interests and respond to the challenges ahead.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first global economy ended in fire and destruction with World War One. A new global economy was born with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Key features included the explosive growth of private capital flows, the Washington Consensus, and the IMF as crisis manager.A new, new global economy may now be emerging from the rubble of the subprime crisis. To date, key features include the explosive growth of state-controlled capital flows, the Beijing consensus, and emerging market-led bailouts of Wall Street.In the latest in our Wednesday Lunch at Lowy series, Mark Thirlwell, Director of the Institute's International Economy program, described how the international economic order hasn't turned out quite the way the West thought it would.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 17 October at the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy, Visiting Fellow Professor Hugh White examined the wider implications for Australia's foreign policy of the emphasis put on helping Australians in trouble while travelling overseas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.