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Opinion & Commentary

opinion

Opinion and Commentary contains media articles written by CIS researchers.

  • Moral mission of small government

    27 Jun 2013 | The Australian Financial Review

    Regardless of which party wins the election in September, the new government will have much more important issues to deal with than whose turn it is to be leader. Read More

  • Business didn’t wait for White Paper

    09 Nov 2012 | The National Business Review

    We can expect meagre policy returns from the Asian Century White Paper. Read More

  • A cultural revolution to celebrate

    27 Oct 2012 | The Spectator

    In a very real sense, Australia is already Asian. Read More

  • Sorry, Malcolm, Australia needs the US in the Asian century

    13 Jun 2012 | The Age

    Now is the time for our friendship with America to prosper and thrive. Read More

  • Faith placed in Uncle Sam as neighbourhood warily welcomes China

    29 Mar 2012 | The Sydney Morning Herald

    Australians have become used to thinking about the rise of China, the role of America, and what the interplay between these two powers means for us. Related Read More

  • The march of democracy in Southeast Asia

    20 Sep 2011 | Online Opinion

    Both Malaysia and Singapore are nominally democratic. Yet both are what Fareed Zakaria calls 'illiberal democracies': "democratically elected regimes... routinely ignoring constitutional limits on their... Read More

  • Complacency is the danger in Asia's power games

    01 Aug 2011 | The Australian

    Even if one disagrees with Wolfowitz's thinking on the Middle East, this viewpoint on China policy cannot be easily dismissed. The assistant secretary of state for east Asia and the Pacific when Ferdinand... Read More

  • Complacency is the danger in Asia's power games

    01 Aug 2011 | The Australian

    Even if one disagrees with Wolfowitz's thinking on the Middle East, this viewpoint on China policy cannot be easily dismissed. The assistant secretary of state for east Asia and the Pacific when Ferdinand... Read More

  • Pakistan a Chinese pawn to stall India

    19 Jul 2011 | The Australian

    AT the Shangri-La Dialogue meeting of defence ministers in Singapore last month, Indian Defence Minister Pallam Raju was asked whether India could exercise similar self-restraint should another terrorist... Read More

  • ASEAN must include US in talks on South China Sea

    05 Jul 2011 | The Jakarta Post

    Indonesia was positioning itself as an ‘honest broker’ in the South China Sea dispute. Now it appears much more circumspect. Read More

  • Malaysia's phony war on affirmative action

    04 Mar 2011 | Business Week

    Policies favouring the Malay majority over Chinese and Indian Malaysians must change, but progress so far has been slight. Read More

  • Why Rudd has overstayed his welcome in Asia

    John Lee | 16 Jan 2010 | The Spectator

    John Howard had far more gravitas and influence in Australasia than Kevin Rudd, who is starting to look like he doesn’t know how to respond to China’s rise in Asia. Read More

  • Chinese Urbanization Put on Hold

    John Lee | 19 Dec 2009 | The Korean Herald

    Beijing will gradually relax the hukou, or household registration system, to give rural Chinese citizens an opportunity to seek a better life in the city – not just speeding up the rate of poverty alleviation... Read More

  • We must dance with the devil

    Owen Harries | 29 Oct 2002 | The Australian

    IN the wake of the Bali bombing, it is imperative that we think clearly and, if necessary, coldly, about what the national interest requires with respect to Indonesia. Read More

  • Be a realist, not a lap dog: A cooling off period will improve ties with indonesia

    Owen Harries | 04 Mar 2002 | The Australian

    Ours is an age that believes in action. Faced with a problem, virtually any problem, the demand is that someone—and these days it is invariably the state—should act immediately. Action is evidence... Read More

  • Publications

    1. Future Submarine Project Should Raise Periscope for Another Look

      Simon Cowan | 24 Oct 2012 | Policy Monographs

      Australia should not spend $40 billion to repeat the mistakes of the Collins Class submarine. Nuclear submarines, such as... Read More...

    2. BOOK REVIEW: Rivals: How the Power Struggle Between China, India and Japan Will Shape Our Next Decade

      Eric Jones | 15 Sep 2008 | POLICY Magazine

      Rivals: How The Power Struggle Between China, India and Japan Will Shape Our Next Decade by Bill Emmott (Allen Lane, 2008).

    3. Australia and the Future of Nuclear Deterrence

      Robyn Lim | 01 Mar 2007 | Issue Analysis

      Strategic developments in North Asia are being driven by North Korea’s dangerous missile and nuclear brinkmanship, as well... Read More...

    4. INTERVIEW: Jihad In The Near North

      Dominic Rolfe | 12 Dec 2006 | POLICY Magazine

      Dominic Rolfe talks to Sidney Jones about Islamist movements in Indonesia and other south-east Asian countries.

    5. FEATURE: Australia's Position in Asia: Closer Than Ever

      Andrew Robertson | 07 Jul 2006 | POLICY Magazine

      John Howards' Government has improved Australia's relations with Asian countries.

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    Opinion & Commentary

    1. Moral mission of small government

      Greg Lindsay | 27 Jun 2013 | The Australian Financial Review

      Regardless of which party wins the election in September, the new government will have much more important issues to deal ... Read More

    2. Business didn’t wait for White Paper

      Benjamin Herscovitch | 09 Nov 2012 | The National Business Review

      We can expect meagre policy returns from the Asian Century White Paper.... Read More

    3. A cultural revolution to celebrate

      Benjamin Herscovitch | 27 Oct 2012 | The Spectator

      In a very real sense, Australia is already Asian.... Read More

    4. Sorry, Malcolm, Australia needs the US in the Asian century

      Benjamin Herscovitch | 13 Jun 2012 | The Age

      Now is the time for our friendship with America to prosper and thrive.... Read More

    5. Faith placed in Uncle Sam as neighbourhood warily welcomes China

      Jessica Brown | 29 Mar 2012 | The Sydney Morning Herald

      Australians have become used to thinking about the rise of China, the role of America, and what the interplay between these ... Read More

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    Ideas@TheCentre

    1. The morality of US military might

      Benjamin Herscovitch | 14 Dec 2012

      Arguments for a US drawdown in the Asia-Pacific betray a lack of appreciation of the moral dimension of the US military presence ...

    2. Half-baked language policy is al dente

      Benjamin Herscovitch | 02 Nov 2012

      White Paper is a triumph for commonsense as a false victory for the Asia literacy lobby....

    3. Australia’s Asian embrace

      Benjamin Herscovitch | 15 Jun 2012

      As profound as the changes heralded by the dawn of the Asian Century might be, it does not require a great nation-building ...

    4. Lessons from Southeast Asia

      Jessica Brown | 30 Mar 2012

      Bob Carr must now navigate Australia’s developing relationship with China....

    5. Southeast Asia’s American Embrace

      Jessica Brown | 02 Mar 2012

      In November 2011, Barack Obama made his first (and long-awaited) official visit to Australia. Australia and the United States ...

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