Step ups and step downs are part of the well-established Libyan playbook of influencing context, environment, players, and observers. Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj's moves toward resignation may be more about consolidating power than relinquishing it.

Also discussed in this episode of the Australia in the World podcast: Senator Abetz and loyalty tests, and diplomacy and quarantine.

There is always some agency even in the most seemingly dire of circumstances. Whether we have the wit to recognise it and the agility and courage to use it are entirely different matters.

Kathmandu's sovereignty concerns are genuine and deserve better treatment from India. In reality, like Kathmandu does not want to compromise its sovereignty for India's national security, New Delhi would be unwilling to compromise its national security for Nepal's strategic autonomy.

Little analytical heed has been paid to the particular effects of Indonesia’s democratic transition on its relations with Australia. Indonesia’s democratisation experience did not ameliorate old constructs and resentments, but on occasions served to exacerbate them.

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh was frozen for over two decades. The involvement of Turkey has upended the balance maintained by Russia throughout this period, and the ensuing great-power entanglements have complicated efforts at a definitive resolution.

Three important questions arise from the Australian government’s 2020 Defence Strategic Update in relation to Japan. How does Japan figure in the Update, how was the Update received in Japan, and how does the Update fit with Japan’s broader security strategy?

New Zealand Prime Minster Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Party can govern alone. But the 2020 election was not just down to her successful leadership style, and electoral considerations may see Labour govern moderately over the next three years.

Last week, Europe’s Council of Ministers convened virtually.  Their meeting was hijacked by debate, the terrifying resurgence of the pandemic across the continent, and by a gritty and irritable discussion on Boris Johnson’s latest antics on Brexit.

This week in Australian foreign affairs: Australia to participate in naval exercises with India, the United States and Japan; more commercial flights back to Australia; the establishment of the Pacific Fusion Centre in Vanuatu; a statement on Dr Yang Hengjun; and more.