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 emerging new global order is a rupture, not a transition.

Hear from a panel of Lowy Institute experts as they examine what these diverse, dispersed events mean, both in and of themselves and for middle powers like Australia.

The panel was chaired by Richard McGregor, Senior Fellow for East Asia; and feature Susannah Patton, Director of the Southeast Asia Program and Project Lead for the Asia Power Index; James M. Zimmerman, a Beijing-based lawyer, author, and former Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China; and Andreas Radtke, a former German diplomat, and head of the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation in Australia.

More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including Spotify, YouTube and Apple.

Follow the Lowy Institute on our website, X, Instagram or LinkedIn.

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&rsquo;s claim that the emerging new global order is a rupture, not a transition.
Hear from a panel of Lowy Institute experts as they examine what these diverse, dispersed events mean, both in and of themselves and for middle powers like Australia.
The panel was chaired by Richard McGregor, Senior Fellow for East Asia; and feature Susannah Patton, Director of the Southeast Asia Program and Project Lead for the Asia Power Index; James M. Zimmerman, a Beijing-based lawyer, author, and former Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China; and Andreas Radtke, a former German diplomat, and head of the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation in Australia.
More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including&nbsp;<a href="https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fopen.spotify.com%2Fshow%2F1CMTUWiszBFIq3UoIXW7mJ%3Fsi%3D9a8671e772364062%26nd%3D1%26dlsi%3Da2545d11f6f34d6e&amp;data=05%7C02%7CCCaldwell%40lowyinstitute.org%7Cdf2253bf2a8645900fec08de6375004f%7C1fb32338ad1940db98fdc701f150c316%7C0%7C0%7C639057551324026127%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=vuuqYi2Ge46zIai6AQv1GEshCFdMvxChf%2Fu8FiOEu8A%3D&amp;reserved=0">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fplaylist%3Flist%3DPL0bvjLds5_8SzwlqtE2U1NjCD3ftO3-QZ&amp;data=05%7C02%7CCCaldwell%40lowyinstitute.org%7Cdf2253bf2a8645900fec08de6375004f%7C1fb32338ad1940db98fdc701f150c316%7C0%7C0%7C639057551324051410%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=SNKL4SD1uY8Q%2BE6u5GTyCvbVkKnFC5DpG8c5NQLkFrA%3D&amp;reserved=0">YouTube</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpodcasts.apple.com%2Fau%2Fpodcast%2Flowy-institute%2Fid191062366&amp;data=05%7C02%7CCCaldwell%40lowyinstitute.org%7Cdf2253bf2a8645900fec08de6375004f%7C1fb32338ad1940db98fdc701f150c316%7C0%7C0%7C639057551324065273%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=kHVnZP0Ul0I70SDl4wRsQqBnybDrUbNB8Wv%2BSm6%2FuOw%3D&amp;reserved=0">Apple</a>.
Follow the Lowy Institute on our&nbsp;<a href="https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lowyinstitute.org%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CCCaldwell%40lowyinstitute.org%7Cdf2253bf2a8645900fec08de6375004f%7C1fb32338ad1940db98fdc701f150c316%7C0%7C0%7C639057551324079050%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=1edMjqhgTjJVEB57UajsQRXVLmbxJKS2Fz5F%2FJCE0Nw%3D&amp;reserved=0">website</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2FLowyInstitute&amp;data=05%7C02%7CCCaldwell%40lowyinstitute.org%7Cdf2253bf2a8645900fec08de6375004f%7C1fb32338ad1940db98fdc701f150c316%7C0%7C0%7C639057551324099712%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=6rykZ%2B2wzKzGq0sr5dBz7kSaCihpAryQuVKo4JP7V2s%3D&amp;reserved=0">X</a>, <a href="https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Flowyinstitute%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CCCaldwell%40lowyinstitute.org%7Cdf2253bf2a8645900fec08de6375004f%7C1fb32338ad1940db98fdc701f150c316%7C0%7C0%7C639057551324119760%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=gwQ9hbROcDdUXtsDjEg8bGnkOiYlXOaoT%2BzmHUoMO%2BI%3D&amp;reserved=0">Instagram</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Fthe-lowy-institute-for-international-policy&amp;data=05%7C02%7CCCaldwell%40lowyinstitute.org%7Cdf2253bf2a8645900fec08de6375004f%7C1fb32338ad1940db98fdc701f150c316%7C0%7C0%7C639057551324134649%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=z1kb9Bf%2Bb%2FY4GExnulljflzNOSwwJU4eXX9mDCWdnIE%3D&amp;reserved=0">LinkedIn</a>.

Listen to all of our events in one place. Featuring distinguished speakers from around the globe on foreign policy, defence, politics, economics, aid and development.

Listen to all of our events in one place. Featuring distinguished speakers from around the globe on foreign policy, defence, politics, economics, aid and development.