Obama’s account of his movement from lower reaches of Democrat politics to the White House is compelling reading. It is well written, and best digested slowly, chapter by chapter, anecdote by anecdote.

When Australians think of international education and China, they typically consider the country as a source of international students — Australia’s largest. But China is now one of the leading host countries of international students in the world.

A conversation with Australia’s Ambassador to the People's Republics of China, Graham Fletcher, and Austrade’s General Manager for Greater China, Daniel Boyer.

This week in Australian foreign affairs: Payne on Israel, the first India-France-Australia Trilateral Ministerial Dialogue, Payne’s visit to Afghanistan, the 2021-22 Budget, and more.

Germany will go the polls on 26 September 2021, and after 16 years in the Chancellor’s Office, Angela Merkel will finally retire. With less than five months to go, the outcome of the election is absolutely open.

After ten years of conflict, Syria presents a log-jam of competing forces that seem impossible to pull apart in the search for a solution. While all parties profess they must keep trying for their optimal solutions, some may be showing signs of fatigue.

The law can be a blunt instrument. Designed to cover the black and white of issues, it rarely allows for nuance.

After Tokyo was awarded the Olympics nine years ago, the Japanese public strongly supported the event, which offered hope of social and economic revitalisation after decades in the doldrums. But Tokyo 2020 has proved a curse rather than a cure.

Kishore Mahbubani argues the US has launched a contest with China, while ignoring the advice that geopolitical sage George Kenen gave America during the Cold War. Namely, that it should maintain spiritual vitality at home, cultivate friends all over the world, not insult its adversary, and be humble.

This week in Australian foreign affairs: civil penalties for entering Australia from India, Payne’s trips to Europe and the United States, diplomatic appointments, and more.