Section: Australian Institute of International Affairs (Australia)
Oil: The Underlying Reason for Gallipoli
This historical account demonstrates that a desire to control significant oil reserves can dictate the course of action during wartime. The Ottoman Empire, which controlled the Middle East in 1914, became the centre of conflict between the British and the German Empires, both of which wanted access to its vast oil fields. The route the British...
China Economy To Slow, Hurting Australia: IMF
The news that Australia faces a $30 billion revenue hit over the next four years as a result of lower iron ore prices, combined with a slowdown in China’s growth, spells bad news for the Australian economy. This report looks at predictions for the wider global economy. A crackdown on cheap credit in China is expected to help reduce the rate...
Central Europe’s Response to Conflict in Ukraine
AIIA National Office intern Alexia Jablonski interviews Dr Katarzyna Pisarska on the Visegrad group, the European Union’s response to Russia’s intervention in Ukraine and the public diplomacy efforts of Central European countries. Dr Katarzyna Pisarska is the Founder and Director of the European Academy of Diplomacy and the Visegrad...
The Adolescent Country
In his keynote address to world leaders at the G20 Summit in Brisbane last November, Australia’s Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, chose to complain about the difficulty of getting his domestic budget, including a $7 co-payment for medical patients, through a fractious parliament. World leaders were openly bemused. In this Lowy Institute essay...
A New Vision for China–Australia Relations
Australian foreign policy towards China needs to focus on long-term strategic thinking. Australia’s foreign policy has been a mix of positives and negatives under the Liberal-National Coalition government, as was true of the previous Labor government. Former prime ministers Gough Whitlam and Bob Hawke recognised the need for Australia to...
The Murder of Boris Nemtsov – And Three Other Deaths
The shocking murder of Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov, literally in sight of the Kremlin, clearly marks the beginning of a new era in Russian politics and Russiawatching alike. And it is unlikely to be pretty. Who killed Nemtsov, who was behind it? At this stage, I have absolutely no idea. The government? I find it hard to think Vladimir...
Who Will Bell the Nuclear Cat?
The global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation agenda has stalled. Yet disarmament is the only way to fully eliminate nuclear weapons risk. Five years ago hopes were high that the world was at last headed towards nuclear disarmament. In April 2009 the (then) exciting new US President Barack Obama gave an inspiring speech in Prague wherein...
