AIIA

AIIA VIC The World of Terrorism 10 Years after 9/11, Prof. Greg Barton, Dr Pete Lentini and Dr Natal

Thursday 8 September, 2011 5.30pm – 7.30pm Dyason House 124 Jolimont Road, East Melbourne Terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, launched the ill-named global war on terror and profoundly altered the course of international politics.  Subsequent military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have cost several trillion dollars and countless tens of thousands of lives.  Increased global direct spending on counter-terrorism costs billions of dollars a year. Costs aside, what has been achieved in the last 10 years?  Major terrorist attacks in the West largely have been thwarted as intelligence agencies and police have demonstrated a remarkable capacity to interrupt terrorist plots.  Al Qaeda’s central leadership and organisational core have been curtailed and loosely affiliated groups in South-East Asia have been forced to disengage from large-scale violence.  In particular, the recent death of Osama bin Laden is seen as a milestone. Nevertheless, terrorism movements in general and jihadi Islamist movements in particular remain potent, with South Asia, East Africa, the Middle East and South-East Asia facing threats from insidiously complex and resilient terrorist networks.  Weak and failing states such as Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Philippines remain particularly vulnerable.  So, while the threat posed by terrorism is often understood in ways that are distorted and exaggerated, terrorism remains a very real threat and shows no signs of disappearing. Prof. Greg Barton is the Director, Centre for Islam and the Modern World, at Monash University.  Dr Pete Lentini is the Director, Global Terrorism Research Centre.  Dr Natalie Doyle is the Deputy Director, Monash European and EU Studies Centre.  Mr Chris Heffelfinger is a former FBI Fellow at the Combatting Terrorism Centre, West Point, in the US.  Dr Barton and Dr Lentini are conducting a research project to examine radicalisation in Australia and around the world.  This involves a partnership of Monash University, Victoria Police, the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet, Corrections Victoria, and the Australian Federal Police.  Mr Heffelfinger is contributing.  Interim findings from the radicalization project were presented at a recent conference entitled Globalisation, Illiberalism, the West and Islam: European and Australian Perspectives organised by Dr Doyle and held in conjunction with MEEUC at Monash University’s Prato Campus in Italy.  It brought together specialists from Australia, Europe, Canada and Turkey to examine the impact of Muslim minorities in European countries.

Dr Daniel Twining - The future of the US role in the Indo-Pacific and implications for US allies and

The future of the US role in the Indo-Pacific and implications for US allies and partners Dr Daniel Twining Will a declining, broke United States “come home” from Asia, leaving its friends in the region to fend for themselves in the shadow of Chinese power? Such an outcome is unlikely. The United States is likely to remain the region’s pivotal power – though its future role and presence will hinge on its friends and allies in the region as they make their own calculations about how to mix balancing and accommodation of China’s rise. In addition to key allies like Australia and Japan, a driving factor of the future U.S. role in the wider region will be the quality of U.S.-India relations; their strategic relationship could reshape Asia as fundamentally as has China’s own ascent. Daniel Twining is Senior Fellow for Asia at the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF). He is also a consultant to the U.S. government on international security affairs. He previously served as a Member of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff, as Foreign Policy Advisor to Senator John McCain, and as a staff member of the United States Trade Representative. He holds a doctorate in international relations from Oxford University, an MPhil with distinction in East Asian international relations from Oxford, and a BA with highest distinction from the University of Virginia. Dr. Twining is a regular contributor to Foreign Policy and the Weekly Standard and has written for the Washington Post, Financial Times, Times of India, Newsweek, the Washington Quarterly, and elsewhere, as well as in a range of academic journals and monographs. He is currently writing a book on U.S. grand strategy in Asia after the Cold War. He has lived in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Africa. About The German Marshall Fund The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is a non-partisan American public policy and grant making institution dedicated to promoting better understanding and cooperation between North America and Europe on transatlantic and global issues. GMF does this by supporting individuals and institutions working in the transatlantic sphere, by convening leaders and members of the policy and business communities, by contributing research and analysis on transatlantic topics, and by providing exchange opportunities to foster renewed commitment to the transatlantic relationship. In addition, GMF supports a number of initiatives to strengthen democracies. Founded in 1972 through a gift from Germany as a permanent memorial to Marshall Plan assistance, GMF maintains a strong presence on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition to its headquarters in Washington, DC, GMF has six offices in Europe: Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Belgrade, Ankara, and Bucharest. GMF also has smaller representations in Bratislava, Turin, and Stockholm.

Prof Tsutomu Kikuchi - Regional Institution Building in the Asia-Pacific: A Japanese View

Regional Institution Building in the Asia-Pacific: A Japanese View Prof Tsutomu Kikuchi KIKUCHI Tsutomu is professor of international political economy of the Asia-Pacific at the Department of International Politics, Aoyama-Gakuin University, Tokyo. He has been an adjunct fellowat the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) since 1987. He was a visiting fellow at the Australian National University (ANU) and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) and a visiting professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He has been engaged in various track 2 activities such as the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) and the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP). He has published many books and articles on international political economy (especially regional institution-building) of the Asia-Pacific. He obtained his doctoral degree (LL.D) from Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo.

Rowan Callick - Refugees: The International Dimension

Refugees: The International Dimension Mr Rowan Callick View this event on Facebook Rowan Callick will talk about the international dimensions of the debate about refugees: who is travelling where and why. He will talk about the refugee situations and the broader political and economic settings in Malaysia and Papua New Guinea, where the government proposes to send asylum seekers if arrangements can be finalised, and about Nauru. Rowan Callick grew up in England, graduating with a BA Honours from Exeter University. He worked for a daily newspaper in the north east before moving in 1976 to Papua New Guinea, where he became general manager of a locally owned publishing, printing and retail group. In 1987 he moved to Australia, working for almost 20 years for The Australian Financial Review, finally as Asia Pacific Editor. He was China Correspondent for the AFR, based in Hong Kong, from 1996-2000. From 1990-1992 he was a senior writer with Time magazine. He joined The Australian at the start of 2006, as China Correspondent. After three years in Beijing, he became The Australian's Asia-Pacific Editor at the start of 2009. He was a member of the National Advisory Council on Aid Policy from 1994-96, a board member of the Australia Indonesia Institute from 2001-2006, and a member of the Foreign Minister's Foreign Affairs Council from 2003-2006. His book "Comrades & Capitalists: Hong Kong Since the Handover" was published by the University of NSW Press in 1998. He won the Graham Perkin Award for Journalist of the Year for 1995, and two Walkley Awards, for Asia-Pacific coverage, for 1997 and 2007. He is married with two children.

An address by His Excellency James A. Michel - President of the Republic of Seychelles

An address by His Excellency James A. Michel - President of the Republic of Seychelles

The Victoria State Office of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in association with the Victorian Department of Business and Innovation and the Australian Institute of International Affairs

China’s Grand Strategy – Past, Present, and Future - Professor Gilbert Rozman, Princeton University

China’s Grand Strategy – Past, Present and Future Professor Gilbert Rozman, Princeton University Thursday 11 August, 2011 7pm – 8.30pm   Dyason House 124 Jolimont Road, East Melbourne

China’s increasing economic and military capabilities have attracted much attention in recent years.  How should the world, especially the United States and its allies in Asia and Australasia, respond to this emerging great power?  An answer requires not only understanding the speed and extent of China’s rise, but also answering questions that have received much less attention: what is China’s grand strategy, and what does this grand strategy imply for international peace and security in the coming years—and, most critically, what are the prospects for an increasingly prominent China and a dominant United States to rise to the challenge of managing their inevitable disagreements?

Professor Gilbert Rozman is the Musgrave Professor of Sociology at Princeton University, where he has studied rapidly changing Asian societies for more than four decades.  Professor Rozman is a Research Associate at Korea University and a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

Professor Rozman is a speaker at the Fulbright Symposium on: “Australia-US Relations and the Rise of China: From Bilateralism to Trilateralism?”  AIIAV has partnered with Fulbright and Deakin University for this event, and AIIAV members are invited to attend the Symposium and can register at http://www.aiia.asn.au/vic-home/event/291-fulbright-symposium-australia-us-relations-and-the-rise-of-china

 

Australia’s Struggle for Security - Mr Cameron Stewart, Associate Editor, ‘The Australian’

Australia’s Struggle for Security Mr Cameron Stewart, Associate Editor, ‘The Australian’ Thursday 28 July, 2011 5.30pm – 7pm Dyason House 124 Jolimont Road, East Melbourne

At a time when China’s military rise is threatening to recast the balance of power in Australia’s region, the nation’s security and defence policy is under severe pressure on several fronts.

The 2009 Defence White Paper which was framed to help combat a rising China is now unlikely to deliver on its grand promises.  Instead, Defence is beset by a series of high-profile scandals, multi-billion dollar blow-outs in defence acquisition projects and a budget crisis.

The Navy is struggling to put its ships and submarines to sea, and those it can are increasingly being redirected to other security issues such as intercepting asylum seeker boats.

Now the Government is considering inviting US forces to share its northern bases in a move which is likely to anger Beijing.

How has this happened and what is being debated behind closed doors in Canberra on these key issues?  What can the Government do to break this cycle?

Cameron Stewart is Associate Editor of 'The Australian' newspaper and one of Australia’s leading defence writers.  After starting his career as an intelligence officer with the Defence Signals Directorate, Mr Stewart has written on issues of defence, security, terrorism and international relations over two decades.  He recently broke the story that Australia’s largest defence project, the $8 billion plan to build three new air warfare destroyers, was already two years late, barely a year after the construction of the ships began.  Mr Stewart has won many awards for his work and in 2008 was named the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year.

From the Heart of West Africa - HE Mr Ian McConville, Australian High Commissioner in Nigeria

From the Heart of West Africa HE Mr Ian McConville, Australian High Commissioner in Nigeria Thursday 21 July, 2011 5.30pm – 7pm Dyason House 124 Jolimont Road, East Melbourne

 

No part of the world seems more mysterious or forbidding than West Africa.  Australians think of it as a region of equatorial extremes, of being beset by poverty, disease and conflict.  We reflect on the dismal colonial period including the horrors of slavery, and on a post-independence record that appears to be far from successful.

 

Yet West Africa, for all its problems, has a rich store of humanity, hope and promise.  At the heart of this highly diverse region is Nigeria, a populous giant that is pursuing democracy in the face of many internal tensions, and from whose perspective we will examine the region's progress and focus on where Australia's interests lie.

 

Following two recent AIIAV events on East Africa, we are pleased to turn our attention to another, profoundly different, part of the continent.

 

Mr Ian McConville is Australia's High Commissioner in Abuja, Nigeria, with non-resident accreditation to a wide range of other West African states: The Gambia, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, Niger, Gabon and Benin.

 

He was previously High Commissioner in Mauritius with accreditation to Comoros, Madagascar and Seychelles.  Mr McConville has also served in Phnom Penh and Islamabad and has held a number of senior positions in Canberra with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

ACCESS Annual Debate - Aid vs. Trade. Tuesday 19th July

The ACCESS Network of the Australian Institute of International Affairs Victoria (AIIAV) invites you to a discussion of this contentious issue. In the wake of the 2011 Independent Aid Review, the first of its kind ever conducted in Australia, ACCESS has found it fitting to conduct a debate to address what is the most effective and efficient means to assisting the developing world achieve inclusive and sustainable development.  The ‘Aid vs. Trade’ debate will centre on a discussion of alternative approaches to development, that is, community based development driven by the non-government sector versus economic development including foreign direct investment and infrastructure, as championed by the corporate sector.  This debate will also consider how Australia, as a nation, may best assist in this multifaceted development process.

Can the European Union Survive? Dr Stefan Auer, La Trobe University, Thursday 14 July, 2011

The ongoing debt crisis in Greece, Portugal and Ireland has raised concerns at Europe’s ability to cope with its problems. At stake is the very survival of the European Union (EU) and, more particularly, the future of the Eurozone.

With weaker members of the EU expecting to be bailed out by others, the present crisis is pulling the nations of Europe apart, reinforcing nationalistic resentments. While Germany is increasingly reluctant to continue supporting debt-laden members of the EU by providing emergency loans, there is a growing opposition amongst the receiving nations to accept the conditions that accompany this assistance. The tensions within Europe are further exacerbated by the growing reluctance of members to honour the spirit of the borderless Schengen zone, which permits the unrestricted internal migration of European citizens.

This talk will examine the future of the EU in the light of the current crisis. It will do so primarily by focusing on Germany which, alongside with France, has historically been the bedrock of European integration, both politically and economically. Is Germany’s position in Europe and the wider world once again open to speculation, reviving the proverbial ‘German question’? Two recent populist decisions, the German government’s decision to phase out all nuclear power, and its rejection of the UK-France led invasion of Libya in the UN Security Council, call into question the present German government’s capacity to deal adequately with difficult long term issues, including the future of its place in the EU.

Dr Stefan Auer is Senior Lecturer, Jean Monnet Chair of EU Interdisciplinary Studies in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne. Before this he was Lecturer and Academic Director of the Dublin European Institute, University College Dublin. He has written and lectured extensively on European issues, with particular emphasis on the EU’s democratic legitimacy, nationalism in central Europe and modern political thought. He is also a regular contributor for ‘The Australian’ on contemporary European issues. His book, Liberal Nationalism in Central Europe, won the prize for Best Book in European Studies (2005), awarded by the UK-based University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES).