Thomas Wright: From the White House to world disorder

Thomas Wright, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and former senior director at the National Security Council, joins Lowy Institute Director of International Security Sam Roggeveen to discuss the Iran conflict, the future of AUKUS, and what an era of alternating American foreign policies me…

After the unravelling: Confronting the new world order

The post–Cold War international order hasn't collapsed from a single shock. It's been deliberately unwound. Thomas Wright, a former Senior Director for Strategic Planning in President Biden's National Security Council, argues that China, Russia, and the United States have each adopted foreign poli…

Cartel Paradise: Unpacking the Pacific’s drug superhighway

Australia's appetite for methamphetamine and cocaine is reshaping Pacific communities, turning island nations into key transit points on a global drug superhighway, and exposing them to violence, corruption and addiction. In this special panel discussion, the Lowy Institute's Oliver Nobetau is joi…

Decoding ‘America First’: The origins of Trump’s foreign policy

Stephen Biegun, former US Deputy Secretary of State and Trump administration chief North Korea negotiator, joins the Lowy Institute's International Security Program Director Sam Roggeveen at the National Press Club in Canberra for a wide-ranging conversation on American foreign policy. They discus…

Tariffs, Trump and the Indo-Pacific: Reading Washington’s signals

In this Lowy Institute event held in Melbourne, former US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun offers his candid assessment of how the Trump White House views the Indo-Pacific. Drawing on his experience as a son of Detroit and his deep knowledge of US trade and security policy, Stephen Biegun …

The Trump Strategy: Stephen Biegun's 2026 Owen Harries Lecture

What is the strategy driving Donald Trump's assertive use of American power? In the 2026 Owen Harries Lecture, former US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen E Biegun offers a frank insider's assessment of President Trump's foreign policy across both his first and second terms. He discusses Presiden…

Australia's Southeast Asia blind spot with Michael Wesley

Australia's cultural and strategic ties lie in the Western world and its economic links are overwhelmingly in North Asia. So what is Southeast Asia to Australia? Why does the region matter, and what should Australia do to overcome its long-sightedness? Michael Wesley is one of Australia's most inc…

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on sovereignty, middle powers, and dealing with Trump

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the Lowy Institute in Sydney for a special event on Wednesday 4 March 2026. Speaking at a moment of acute global uncertainty, Prime Minister Carney reiterated his argument that the rules-based international order is not in transition but in rupture, and …

Ely Ratner: The China challenge — Has America lost its way?

What went wrong with America's China strategy — and can it be fixed?  In this Lowy Institute event, former US Assistant Secretary of Defense Ely Ratner traces America's long evolution from engagement to strategic competition. He delivers a pointed assessment of where the Trump administration has d…

2026: The year of rupture

After barely a month, the year 2026 is already setting a bewildering geo-political pace. A presidential snatch-and-grab raid in Venezuela, anti-government riots in Iran, a fight over Greenland and a military upheaval in China have all buttressed Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney’s claim that the…