Australia in World Affairs series Navigating the New International Disorder edited by Mark Beeson and Shahar Hameiri Since 1950, the Australian Institute of International Affairs has been publishing what its first editors, Gordon Greenwood and Norman Harper, described as “a series of volumes …in which at regular intervals Australian scholars would attempt to measure the problems of the Australian position, present the actual course of policy, and appraise the record”. The latest book in this invaluable national resource is Navigating the New International Disorder: Australia in World Affairs 2011 to 2015. Two new editors, Mark Beeson and Shahar Hameri, have taken on the task. In contrast to earlier volumes, the new book is arranged thematically in five broad sections covering Australia and world order; security; prosperity; global issues; and managing Australia’s foreign policy. The editors explain their decision by noting that the “most important issues today … cannot be simply or adequately captured through an emphasis on the relations between two or more governments”. In addition, the period saw the international disorder of the title reflected in domestic politics as four Australian prime ministers brought very different approaches to foreign policy. Individual chapters deal in more detail with subjects ranging from international order-building to gender and foreign policy. Important contributions come from Nick Bisley on the contested regional order, Hugh White on the ‘China choice’, Melissa Conley Tyler, Shirley V. Scott and Duc Dao on the UN, G20 and international law, and Michael Wesley on the foreign policy process. Sara Davies covers the international question that most preoccupied Australian governments over these five years, refugees and asylum seekers. Andrew Walter, Elizabeth Thurbon and Jeffrey Wilson deal effectively with the principal international economic concerns of the period. ….as Australian policy makers grapple with a new sort of global environment, deglobalising and fragmented, it is all the more important that the lessons of the past are learned. Navigating the New International Disorder is an important place to begin this task. (From the review by Alan Gyngell).     About Mark Beeson Mark Beeson is Professor of International Politics at the University of Western Australia. Before joining UWA, he taught at Murdoch, Griffith, Queensland, York (UK) and Birmingham, where he was also head of department. His work is centred on the politics, economics and security of the broadly conceived Asia-Pacific region. He is the co-editor of Contemporary Politics, and the founding editor of Critical Studies of the Asia Pacific.      

The Australian Institute of International Affairs WA and the Centre for Muslim States and Societies invite you to a public lecture by Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan Ms Margaret Adamson on Women in Pakistan: An Australian Perspective. Ms Adamson is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, having served previously as Ambassador to Poland and Ambassador to Cambodia. Most recently, she was Deputy High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea. In Canberra, Ms Adamson’s appointments have included head of Public Diplomacy Branch, European Union and Western Europe Branch, and Pacific Islands Branch. This event is free, but please register through Eventbrite by clicking here To download the flyer for this event click here  

The Australian Institute for International Affairs Western Australia, in collaboration with Curtin University and the Sir Walter Murdoch School of Public Policy and International Affairs, is hosting a discussion on Recent Developments in Myanmar to be presented by Professor Ben Reilly and Elliot Brennan This event is free but please register by clicking the 'Buy Tickets' button. About the presenters: Professor Benjamin Reilly Professor Benjamin Reilly is Dean of the Sir Walter Murdoch School of Public Policy and International Affairs at Murdoch University. He is a political scientist specialising in democratisation, comparative politics and political development. Formerly Professor of Political Science, head of the Policy and Governance program and Director of the Centre for Democratic Institutions in the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University (ANU), Professor Reilly has also worked with the Australian government, the United Nations and other international organisations, and held visiting appointments at Harvard, Oxford, and Johns Hopkins universities. He has authored or edited seven books and over 100 scholarly papers, and received financial support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the United States Institute of Peace, the East-West Centre, the National Endowment for Democracy and the Australian Research Council. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the ANU.   Elliot Brennan Elliot Brennan is a non-resident research fellow with the Institute for Security and Development Policy (Sweden). He previously worked as the Southeast Asia Analyst for the Lowy Institute’s Interpreter (Australia), a contributor analyst at IHS Jane’s Intelligence, and as a non-resident WSD-Handa fellow with CSIS’ Pacific Forum (USA). In 2015 and 2016 he worked with the Ceasefire Negotiation and Implementation Program at the Myanmar Peace Center and with the Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee as Conflict Analyst and Early Warning Specialist, Myanmar. In recent years, Elliot has led policy planning workshops with the German Foreign Office, acted as advisor to the former prime minister of Somalia, lectured at SIPRI, Yangon University and Otago Foreign Policy School, and has been a panelist at conferences such as the German Marshal Fund’s India Trilateral Forum.   Banner Image created by: J Durok .  This image is licensed under Creative Commons License.

At our first event for 2017, Dr Ian Chalmers will discuss ISIS and radicalisation in Indonesia.   There is growing concern amongst observers about the impact that the return of Indonesian militants fighting in Syria and Iraq will have on local communities. It has been estimated that over 400 Indonesians have participated directly in that conflict, and that there are over 1,000 active local supporters of ISIS (Daesh, Islamic State). As ISIS’s fortunes in the Middle East continue to wane, many fear that its global struggle will be ‘brought home’ by returning jihadists. The return of dozens of experienced fighters from the Afghan conflict in the 1990s lay the basis for the militant actions that took place in the 2000s.  Could the return of perhaps an even larger number of militants from the Syria-Iraq conflict lead to a more serious escalation of militancy? Do these jihadists have the local support that would make this likely? This presentation will assess the likelihood that local militants will adopt the ‘ISIS model’ of globalised struggle, describing both the strengths and limitations of government policies aimed at limiting its appeal.    Dr Chalmers has researched and taught on the societies, politics and cultures of Southeast Asia for more than twenty years.  He has conducted research and published on a wide range of topics, including the political economy of development, the political role of NGOs, Islam in Southeast Asia, ethnic politics, the religions of Borneo, and the resurgence of Islam in Indonesia.  Since 2015,  Dr Chalmers has been an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the University of Western Australia where he has been carrying out a study into the life histories of Indonesian jihadists. For more information about Dr Ian Chalmers click here  Time: Light refreshments served from 6pm for a 6:30pm start Place: St Catherine's College, opposite the University of Western Australia. Parking is most easily found at the rear of the college on Park Road. Price: $5 for members, $15 for guest and non-members. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Members and guests are invited to join the speaker for dinner afterwards at the Chinese Village Restaurant on Broadway. $30 per person including beverages. RSVPs taken on the night.