Global Challenges

8 September 2016

The G20 summit of world leaders just finished two days of meetings, during which they focused primarily on the many ongoing fires threatening the global economy. These include the alleged “dumping” of Chinese steel on other nations, worsening climate change, cybersecurity and the fear of competitive devaluations. The G20 summit of world leaders just finished two days of meetings, during which they focused primarily on the many ongoing fires threatening the global economy. These include the alleged “dumping” of Chinese steel on other nations, worsening climate change, cybersecurity and the fear of competitive devaluations. However, perhaps the biggest threat facing the current international economic...

Featured Articles

31 August 2016

Can China Mitigate Rising Global Protectionism?

As China assumes G20 leadership, the prospect of global “protectionism” is on the rise and the stakes could not be higher for cooperation and major structural reforms. Without continued investment and trade, secular stagnation in advanced economies and growth deceleration...

30 August 2016

Another Shot at Global Governance Reform

At the end of the twentieth century, China was an observer of global governance, on the sidelines of the G7 and not yet a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Encouraged by Western countries to embrace global governance, China...

26 August 2016

Inequality Creeps into the Land of the Fair Go

There is growing evidence that inequality is increasing not only in Australia but also internationally within the advanced industrial economies. The age of endless growth in prosperity for everyone is a distant memory of a more hopeful age. There is growing evidence that inequality is increasing...

24 August 2016

Are Immigrants Hurting or Helping Economic Growth?

Immigrants have become a major scapegoat in recent years for sputtering Western economies. Immigrants have become a major scapegoat in recent years for sputtering Western economies. From the U.K.’s jarring “Brexit” from the European Union to Donald Trump’s infamous wall and...

24 August 2016

The Complex Nature of a Nuclear Pledge

Barack Obama began his presidency with a dramatic gesture, which captured the world’s imagination and won him the Nobel Peace Prize. Speaking in Prague in 2009, he declared that the United States would work towards abolishing nuclear weapons. Since then,...

12 August 2016

Tired of Wasting Tires?

The number of vehicles is growing worldwide and as a result the number of tyres is increasing too. Hundreds of millions of tyres are discarded each year. The number of vehicles is growing worldwide and as a result the number of tyres is increasing too. Hundreds of...

11 August 2016

China’s Economic Woes May Affect its Commitment to Climate Change

As the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, China is under the spotlight in the global climate regime. In recent years, the country has become increasingly active in international climate negotiations, announcing ambitious mitigation goals. However, with its slowing economic...

9 August 2016

Has a Missile Defense System Ever Not Caused Tension?

After hesitating for several years, South Korea decided to let the US-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-missile system be deployed in North Gyeongsang Province. Seoul and Washington say the deployment is only targeted against North Korea, but the...

2 August 2016

Shaping a New Normal in the South China Sea

Almost 30 years to the day that a young, Harvard-trained American lawyer won a famous judgment at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the United States, Paul S Reichler pulled off another momentous victory at The Hague. This time...

1 August 2016

The Flashpoint that is the South China Sea

Clearing the haze of speculation, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) handed down its ruling on the maritime dispute between China and the Philippines on 12 July. The Philippines filed the case under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention...

26 July 2016

Hillary Clinton, the TPP, and the Environment

Hillary Clinton and many of her fellow Democrats meeting in Philadelphia hope to show the party unity arguably lacking when the Republicans gathered in Cleveland.  A sticking point to a unified Democratic Party, however, has been the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), one of...

18 July 2016

Can The Hague’s South China Sea Ruling be Enforced?

Southeast Asia has descended into a maritime insecurity spiral since the April–June 2012 standoff at Scarborough Shoal between Chinese maritime security forces and the Philippine Navy, which motivated Manila to initiate legal arbitration proceedings in The Hague. The Permanent Court...

18 July 2016

North Korea is the Thorn in Russia and China’s Side

On 25 June 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing to discuss expanding the China–Russia strategic partnership. Much of their efforts in this direction so far have entailed taking steps to promote bilateral cooperation...