Lowy Institute

Interpreter Managing Editor Emma Connors speaks to Matthew Dal Santo, a Danish Research Council post-doctoral fellow at the Saxo Institute at the University of Copenhagen, about the assassination of Andrei Karlov, Russia's Ambassador to Turkey, and the general state of the Turkey-Russia relationship.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Admiral Harris visits Australia at an important juncture in alliance relations and regional security, as a new administration prepares to take over the reins in Washington. This year has seen a number of key regional developments, from the Arbitral Tribunal case in the South China Sea, to presidential elections in the Philippines and the United States. There were also a number of other key developments in Australia’s defence, including a new White Paper, a decision on future submarines, and agreement on the terms for hosting rotational US Marine deployments in the Northern Territory. Admiral Harris will highlight key enduring security interests for the US in this fast-moving regional and alliance context.In his role as Commander US Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris is responsible for military operations in an area which encompasses more than 100 million square miles—more than half the earth’s surface. Admiral Harris graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1978 and undertook graduate studies in East Asia security at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, and Oxford University. He has served in every geographic combatant command region, and participated in a range of major operations, including Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, and Odyssey Dawn (Libya, 2011). Harris’ staff assignments include aide to commander, US Naval Forces Japan; chief speechwriter for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and three tours on the Navy Staff. Harris was promoted to Admiral and assumed command of the US Pacific Fleet in October 2013. In May 2015, he assumed command of the US Pacific Command.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia has long been a proponent of international efforts to advance the cause of human rights. This is all the more important at a time when democracy and human rights have suffered serious setbacks in many parts of the world. On 12 December Australia's Foreign Minister the Hon. Julie Bishop MP visited the Lowy Institute for World Human Rights Day, which commemorates the date that the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The Minister discussed Australia’s candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council in 2018-2020.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 6 December, Natasha Stott Despoja AM, Australia’s Ambassador for Women and Girls, looked at destinations reached and travels still to be undertaken in the global journey towards gender equality. At the conclusion of her three year term as one of Australia’s key international advocates for gender equality, Ms Stott Despoja reflected on the progress on the global goal of gender equality. Drawing from her visits to 31 countries to promote Australia’s programs and policies to advance women’s empowerment, and her representation of Australia at 29 multilateral and regional gender equality conferences, Ambassador Stott Despoja provided insights into progress towards “Planet 50:50”.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Interpreter Managing Editor Emma Connors speaks to Lowy Institute Research Fellow Rodger Shanahan about Neil Prakash and the likely consequences of extraditing him to Australia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whatever form the resolution to the Syrian civil war takes, one of the by-products will be thousands of experienced, ideologically motivated foreign fighters who will remain an international security threat for years, if not decades, to come. On 29 November the Lowy Institute convened a panel in Melbourne of the Lowy Institute's Dr Rodger Shanahan and Dr Lydia Khalil (chaired by Anthony Bubalo) to examine the ways in which the foreign fighter threat may develop, and how Australia and the rest of the international security community can best prepare for the ‘day after’.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lowy Institute Research Fellow Rodger Shanahan updates Interpreter Managing Editor Emma Connors on the advances made by the Syrian government in the city of Aleppo.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Associate Editor at the Interpreter John Gooding speaks with Dr Sam Geall, research fellow at the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex, associate fellow at Chatham House, and executive editor of China Dialogue, about Trump's and China's approach to international climate change negotiations, China's environment and energy policies, and grassroots environmentalism in China.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 15 November, a panel of Alex Oliver, director of the Lowy Institute’s Polling Program, Daniel Flitton, senior correspondent for The Age, and Aaron Connelly, East Asia Research Fellow and an American who has watched the Washington foreign policy scene from inside the beltway, discussed the results of the US election, the likely foreign policy direction of the new administration and its ramifications for Australia during an event at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Interpreter's Managing Editor Emma Connors speaks to Peter Feaver, professor of political science and public policy at Duke University and former National Security Council advisor under George W Bush, about what to expect during the transition of the US presidency from Barack Obama to Donald Trump.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.