The development of a de facto alliance between Moscow and Beijing, driven by their increasing anti-Western alignment, could mark the return of the “old-fashioned” great power alliances between equals.

In this episode with Associate Professor Alexey Muraviev of Curtin University, we discuss the role that Russia plays in the Pacific, the ways in which soft and hard power can be asserted, and why we should never forget that Russia never gave up its title of super-power.

The newly-developed ACMI Soft Power Map visualises the attraction of museums in global cities and, with the development of a forecasting layer, could help Australia to better generate cultural attraction.

Track Two dialogues, like the recent Asia-Pacific Roundtable (APR), transverse the barriers between official and unofficial and allow participants to shed official mantles and embrace much-needed free and frank conversation.

If Facebook was an experiment in creating a true “marketplace of ideas,” the results are disappointing, naively utopian and sometimes dangerous. Yet the platform has no easy solution for the daunting problem of moderating its two billion subscribers.

The “Avia law” is presented as a victory of the French state over Facebook, but it’s unclear if it primarily combats online hate speech or the power of American multinationals.

In this week’s episode, Allan and Darren discuss Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's recent foreign policy speech, the results from the latest Lowy Institute poll of the Australian public’s attitudes towards foreign policy and international affairs and, finally, the seemingly gloomy outcomes of the G20 Leaders’ Summit, although Darren seeks a glimmer of optimism from game theory.

With no sign of Hong Kong protestors letting up or the crisis being substantively resolved, the Australian Government and Parliament should each take three initial measures to stand up for democratic values, rule of law and human rights.

Between 28–29 June, G20 leaders successfully produced substantial achievements on the central trade questions and many development, social, ecological and security issues. But they failed on their greatest challenge: controlling climate change.

Despite their regional proximity, the political engagement of youth in recent major elections in Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia has differed from the very vocal to the more subtle and secretive, reflecting the distinct challenges in each nation.