The United States is a country that has lost its way in the emerging Asian Century. The new administration will face some daunting challenges in developing an effective strategy for the Asian Century.

Narratives of isolation and self-sufficiency have arisen in attempt to curb the spread of disease. Like the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 and the migration crisis of 2015/2016, the Coronavirus pandemic is likely to feature as a catalyst in the shift towards deglobalisation.

India and Nepal’s enduring border disputes have repeatedly provoked nationalist movements and protests in Nepal and alienated Nepal from India. Resolving the disputes through cooperative rather than coercive measures will be critical for India’s ambition to become a “responsible” rising power.

Unassuming and quiet is sometimes the best way to govern in a pandemic. Southeast Asia’s most overlooked nation, Brunei, has proven its bureaucratic brass and state system functionality, and its success gives credence to its effective leadership and recent reforms in the sultanate.

As Australian universities look to bring back their international cohorts, they should look to countries such as China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea. Procedures used in these countries illustrate a safe and efficient path to a new normal for tertiary institutions.

There has been a remarkable lack of observed statistical difference in the rates of death for countries, and for US states, that have and have not locked down. An assessment of the models used to project different scenarios must be evaluated relative to the lived reality.

The COVID-19 pandemic has ignited new debate on China’s flagship foreign policy, the Belt and Road Initiative. Against the official position of the Australian federal government, the state of Victoria has recently signed on.

A decade ago, WikiLeaks shocked the world with revelations of US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. How Assange’s popular following was reversed, his reputation trashed, and his health ruined is a saga which is still playing out.

Southeast Asian nations have had varied responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Singapore shows great competence in handling the outbreak, while the majority of Southeast Asian nations struggle with the lack of technical capacity, unprepared healthcare systems, and low public awareness.

As Australia hopefully emerges from the worst of the 2019/2020 bushfires, it is quickly becoming apparent that the tourism industry has been hit particularly hard. This has rattled Australia's international image, with local industries being gravely affected.