Episodes
Wednesday Mar 11, 2020
Back from the Barracks: Why Indonesia's Military Still Reigns Supreme
Wednesday Mar 11, 2020
Wednesday Mar 11, 2020
This presentation by Natalie Sambhi takes a socio-cultural look at why Indonesia wants, and might need, a politically active military. For twenty years, democracy in Indonesia saw the formal exit of the military from politics, the end of its independent business interests, and its nominal return to barracks. Despite those developments, and the need for further reform and professionalisation, it appears that under President Joko Widodo, the Indonesian military is again becoming influential in politics, society, and economics. Jokowi has surrounded himself with former army generals as key cabinet ministers, power brokers, and close advisors.
What explains the enduring role and influence of the armed forces in contemporary Indonesia? What is the impact of current civil-military relations on Jokowi's second term agenda, particularly on maritime security? With an imbalance of power and unresolved issues from the past, how can Indonesia make the most of its military's capacity and influence in the face of pressing traditional and non traditional security issues?
Wednesday Dec 04, 2019
Crisis in Yemen
Wednesday Dec 04, 2019
Wednesday Dec 04, 2019
The war in Yemen has been raging for more than 4 years with catastrophic outcomes for its people. Out of a population of 28 million, 24 million are in need of humanitarian assistance. Fifteen million of them are on the brink of famine. Vital infrastructure in Yemen has been destroyed and its people are suffering the worst outbreak of cholera in history. This is the world’s largest humanitarian disaster, yet there is hardly any international news coverage.
Melissa Parke is a member of the UN Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen. At our November meeting, Melissa talked about how what began as a civil war, has broadened into a regional conflict involving powerful states. She discusses the parties involved and their responsibility for human rights violations according to the UN Human Rights Council, as well as the responsibility of states that are supplying weapons and other assistance to parties to the conflict.
To see the video that was played at the start of this presentation click here
The read the Report of the detailed findings of the Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts on Yemen, click here
Wednesday Oct 30, 2019
Defending the Maritime Rules-Based Order: Perspectives from the Indo-Pacific
Wednesday Oct 30, 2019
Wednesday Oct 30, 2019
Maritime disputes are multifaceted. They include overlapping claims of sovereignty and jurisdiction, contests over freedom of navigation, island-building and militarization, and the use of ‘grey zone’ tactics to harass, intimidate and advance strategic interests. Maritime disputes have become highly visible microcosms of broader discord between the US-led regional security order, and challenger conceptions of order that see a bigger role for rising powers in generating new rules and alternative interpretations of existing international law. In this presentation Dr Bec Strating compares and contrasts the maritime security interests of key Indo-Pacific states and their attitudes to maritime rules, and reflect on the potential implications for regional maritime order building.
Tuesday Oct 01, 2019
Australian soft power (and soft thinking) in the Indo-Pacific
Tuesday Oct 01, 2019
Tuesday Oct 01, 2019
Australia is a country with considerable, if under-utilised, reserves of soft power – the ability to achieve influence internationally via attraction rather than compulsion. In this presentation Professor Ben Reilly will discuss some claims regarding Australian soft power, including our democratic political system, multicultural society, and open economy, all based on broad-based norms of social equality and the rule of law. It will then discuss how these ideas have found their way into recent Australian foreign policy doctrine via recent White Papers, in which norms and values have been elevated to frame the Indo-Pacific region.
Wednesday Sep 04, 2019
Beyond Trump
Wednesday Sep 04, 2019
Wednesday Sep 04, 2019
Donald Trump's election campaign has been described as 'explosive, populist, and polarising, and his direct to market use of social media has been unprecedented. His election signified a powerful rejection of establishment consensuses on trade, immigration, and other issues. And while constraint on executive power was a key intention in the design of the US Constitution, it is hard to imagine that the presidency of Donald Trump will not leave some lasting impacts on the nature and practice of US politics.
In this panel discussion, Professor Gordon Flake, Michael Wood, and Dr Sherry Sufi explore the implications of the administration of President Donald Trump.
Wednesday Jul 31, 2019
Rethinking Global Governance
Wednesday Jul 31, 2019
Wednesday Jul 31, 2019
Mark Beeson provides an overview of the key issues and problems currently facing global governance and explains why international cooperation has become so difficult. Mark’s presentation is a snapshot of his new book, Rethinking Global Governance.
The world currently faces a number of challenges that no single country can solve. Whether it is managing a crisis-prone global economy, maintaining peace and stability, or trying to do something about climate change, there are problems that need collective action on the part of states and other actors. Yet despite global governance seeming like a good idea, it's proving increasingly difficult to provide.
Click here to see a video of the slides used to accompany this presentation with the audio.
Wednesday Jul 03, 2019
Poverty and Development: Theory vs Reality
Wednesday Jul 03, 2019
Wednesday Jul 03, 2019
With reference to case studies in Africa and South East Asia, Dr Paul Schaffer challenges the theory of Export Oriented Industrialisation to show that successful development can be driven by strategies tailored to specific circumstances and that are directly focused on the alleviation of poverty in agricultural communities.
Dr Schaffer also talks about middle income countries of Latin America explaining how regulatory and training responses to high risk governance and corruption have blocked the professionalisation of management and caused conflicts in public expenditure. Dr Schapper will discuss the outlook for the resolution of this issue, arguing that there will need to be difficult transition from procedural compliance to performance accountability in public sector administration.
Click here to see a video of the slides used in this presentation with the audio.
Wednesday Jun 05, 2019
Midwifery in PNG: Making a world of difference
Wednesday Jun 05, 2019
Wednesday Jun 05, 2019
Sara David is a midwife and the founding CEO of Living Child Inc. She has been working in the Keram River area of East Sepik Province where, in recent decades, women have had little access to family planning, pregnancy and birth care and immunisation. Sara will discuss how she has negotiated cultural taboos and myths to enable the delivery of equitable, evidence based birthing practices with greatly improved outcomes for mothers and babies.
Sara now organises teams of midwives to provide support, simple teaching resources and professional development to local health workers and village volunteers. She one of the inaugural recipients of The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's new Australian Aid: Friendship Grant program.
To see the slides that accompanied this presentation click here
Thursday Apr 25, 2019
Australia-Indonesia Politics and Trade : Indonesian Election and IA-CEPA
Thursday Apr 25, 2019
Thursday Apr 25, 2019
On 17 April 2019 up to 193 million eligible voters in Indonesia went to the polls. For the first time in Indonesian history, the president, the vice president and members of the local and national legislatures were elected on the same day. The two presidential candidates were the incumbent t President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and former Lieutenant-General Prabowo Subianto. The election was a re-match of the 2014 presidential election, in which Widodo defeated Prabowo.
The new make-up of parliament is of significant interest to Australia, as it will determine whether or not the recently signed Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) will be ratified by Indonesia and, if so, how long it may take to get through. If ratified the IA-CEPA is expected to help build economic prosperity throughout the region since most predictions have Indonesia on track to be the world's fifth-largest economy by 2030.
Join the panelists Phil Turtle, Ella S. Prihatini, and Associate Professor Hadrian Djajadikerta to discuss what the presidential election and the IA-CEPA mean for Australia.
Thursday Mar 21, 2019
Professor Richard Whitman| Brexit: where next for the UK?
Thursday Mar 21, 2019
Thursday Mar 21, 2019
The UK plans to leave the European Union on 29th March 2019, nearly three years after a referendum vote in June 2016. Negotiating Brexit has been a major preoccupation for the UK over the last two years. It has caused major political dislocation in the UK and divided the government, parliament, political parties, and the public.
The UK has been a participant in the European integration process since 1973 and over the last 45 years its politics, economy, society, and place in the world have been increasingly tied to Europe. Brexit is a major point of departure for the UK.
On the eve of the UK’s departure from the EU Professor Whitman will untangle the intricacies of the Brexit process, look at the state of play in the UK’s relationship with the EU, and offer an assessment of the UK’s future place in Europe.