This week in Australian foreign affairs: the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, IMO Council re-election bid, Operation ARGOS, and more.

The Micronesian states' decision to withdraw from the Pacific Islands Forum has fractured the esteemed organisation in a deep and potentially disruptive way for Pacific regionalism. The question of where we go from here remains unanswered.

Natasha Kassam joins the podcast this week to discuss the nature of China’s intentions for the global order and the consequences of its actions.

Jonah Schulhofer-Wohl presents a compelling case for why we must think anew about how civil wars end and how the concept of quagmire can aid us in this task. His book is essential reading for scholars interested in war-termination, civil war, and conflict resolution.

The vote for Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial and subsequent acquittal in the Senate fell largely along partisan lines. It was yet more incontrovertible proof of a five-year long process of "hostile takeover" of the Republican Party.

After a year’s experience of COVID-19 worldwide, the continuing hold of discredited mathematical models regarding lockdowns remain. As well, it is increasingly evident that medical specialists put in charge of public policy ignored existing pandemic preparedness plans, for better or worse.

The Huawei crisis has become a technological flashpoint in the US-China power struggle. The Biden administration’s response to this technological challenge will require walking a tightrope between business and geopolitics. 

Under Abe’s guidance, Japan’s energy policy was a mixed bag, with a few hits and some major misses. Now, it falls upon Japan's new prime minister to lead Japan on a path of just transition.

For years now, life in the Donbas has remained split along a “contact line” of conflict since fighting broke out in 2014. The International Committee of the Red Cross is working with those hit hardest by the fighting.

International relations are more than just government. With relations between Canberra and Beijing at a stalemate, the story of AFL team Port Adelaide’s audacious push into China reminds us of the choice between insularity and international engagement.