Philippine elections and the politics behind it | Lowy Institute
Feb 7, 2022 · Political parties serve as candidate-centric, non-ideological alliances. While they have names that describe them as “nationalist”, “democratic”, and “liberal”, the various Philippine political parties are far from being ideological organisations.
Why China remains unlikely to invade Taiwan | Lowy Institute
Plenty of Americans — including senior military officers, academics, and politicians — think Chinese leader Xi Jinping sees war as the best option. Those making this argument typically say Xi is tired of waiting for unification to happen peacefully, sees a military window of opportunity, or has set a deadline for finishing the job. Some think China’s recent economic problems create an ...
De-dollarisation: shifting power between the US and BRICS
For decades, the United States has been considered the global hegemon. However, BRICS nations now account for more than 40 per cent of the world’s population and have an aggregated global GDP of 31.5 per cent. This surpasses the G7’s (United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom) GDP of 30.7 per cent.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: Why and why now? - Lowy Institute
Jun 22, 2023 · Meanwhile, he saw Washington as focused on its growing rivalry with China, while America’s international standing had been diminished by the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Biden administration also seemed preoccupied and weakened at home by partisan politics.
By the numbers: China’s nuclear inventory continues to grow
Feb 27, 2024 · The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists’ 2024 Nuclear Notebook estimates that China now has about 500 nuclear warheads, and more are being produced to equip future delivery systems. Of the nine nuclear-armed powers, China is thought to have one of the fastest-growing nuclear arsenals at present. Last October, the US Department of Defence in its 2023 Annual Report made two forecasts: First, as of ...
Why Russia has only now declared war on Ukraine | Lowy Institute
Apr 3, 2024 · The Kremlin spokesman’s recent comments have been widely interpreted as the first official acknowledgment from Russia that the conflict in Ukraine is a war. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin already used the term “war” on 22 December 2022 to refer to the fighting in Ukraine. On that occasion, Putin’s remark was likely a slip of the tongue.
North Korea’s population problem | Lowy Institute
May 13, 2024 · In a rare display, North Korea’s Chairman Kim Jong-un shed tears when discussing his country’s declining birth rate in December 2023. It was the first time that North Korea had publicly acknowledged population decline to be a problem. Kim chose to put the onus on mothers to prevent “the birth rate from falling” and to nurture children. This month, North Korea promoted a maternity ...
Is Russia really European anymore? | Lowy Institute
Aug 30, 2024 · The Russian government issued a strategic planning document on foreign policy in March 2023, a year after troops rolled across the Ukraine border for a full-scale invasion. The planning document reconceptualised Russia not as a European nation but as “a vast Eurasian and Euro-Pacific power.”
The Black Sea battle: Learning the right maritime lessons from …
Ukraine’s bold naval campaign against Russia in the Black Sea offers crucial lessons for Australia. Despite facing a far superior navy, Ukraine has used innovative tactics, rapid adaptation and modern technology to disrupt Russian operations in the Black Sea.
Russia’s ally Kazakhstan turns eyes to the West - Lowy Institute
Jun 14, 2023 · Kazakhstan, Russia’s nominal ally in the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), seeks to strengthen economic and political ties not only with the West, but also with various international institutions. That, however, does not mean that Astana aims to completely turn its back on the Kremlin, although there are indications that, in the coming months and years, the Central Asian nation ...
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