Lowy Institute

Fault lines beneath the Blue Pacific: Deep-sea mining and the future of Pacific unity

Commercial extraction may arrive as early as 2027, but without a rulebook — Australia must enter the fray.

Australia and China: Embracing while sparring

After a downturn and then stabilisation, have Canberra and Beijing settled on a tenuous middle ground?

The rise of authoritarian cooperation: A new illiberal order?

The world's leading autocracies, notably China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, are increasingly pulling in the same direction but the grouping is transactional, leaderless, and riven by competing interests.

2026 Pacific Aid Map Report

How great power rivalry returned to the Indian Ocean and the stakes for Australia

The Iran war has turned the Indian Ocean into a volatile new strategic theatre. Australia is well placed to shape its post-war order, but only if it updates strategic guidance, reinvigorates regional institutions, and deepens ties with Japan, India, and France.

Democratic Erosion Report

Democracies do not usually collapse abruptly; they erode due to the gradual weakening of democratic norms, guardrails, and institutions.

Between the superpowers: Southeast Asia’s strategic supply chain dilemma

2026 Lowy Institute Poll

Understanding the Chinese military threat to Australia

An assessment of the size and shape of the PLA's growing capabilities in the Indo-Pacific.

Modern war and the systemic learning deficit in Western military institutions

Battlefield evidence is everywhere. The will to act on it is the missing Western capability.