A close look at the major parties’ election platforms is one of the best approaches to assess whether international anarchy will intensify after the US presidential election. Who wins will have implications for the whole world. 

For a time, it appeared that the European Union and Turkey were on a convergent path. These days, the differences between Turkey and Europe are significant and worrying.

Despite recent advances in renewable energy production, we still live in a fossil-fuel driven civilisation. The global energy challenge of ensuring secure, sustainable, and affordable access to energy for all is deeply political. 

Also discussed in the Australia in the World podcast: The Quad and democracy; fearing abandonment in Australian foreign policy; and assigning a grade to Australia's China policy.

Harold Evans had an indefatigable role in encouraging and expanding coverage of international affairs in the publications he edited and in the books he published. He also had great enthusiasm for hiring and fostering well-trained Australian journalists.

The German government’s new policy guidelines for the Indo-Pacific region appear to be an appropriate recognition of the issues at stake. In reality, Germany continues to shy away from analysing the violations of international law in the South China Sea and developing a political response beyond technical cooperation.

One particularly Australian dimension to our national obsession with borders is that they are exclusively maritime. But this was not always the case.

This week in Australian foreign affairs: Safe Travel Zone with New Zealand, 2020-21 budget comments, the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting, and more.

The politics of regime survival will continue to be the dominant force diving Cambodia’s foreign policy post-COVID-19. This will push Cambodia deeper into China’s orbit.

Australian-British academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert remains imprisoned in Iran on charges of espionage after attending an academic conference in Qom two years ago. Her mounting psychological distress is exacerbated by the prevalence of  COVID-19, and a renewed call for action is essential.