Asia Rising La Trobe University

Sexual misconduct by military peacekeepers and abuses perpetrated by civilian peacekeepers and non-UN civilian interveners is a serious problem to local peoples and humanitarian efforts. It affects the capacity of the international community to achieve its goals related to stability and peacebuilding, and its legitimacy in the eyes of local and global populations.

In her new book 'Violating Peace: Sex, Aid and Peacekeeping', Dr Jasmine-Kim Westendorf draws on extensive field research in Bosnia, Timor-Leste, and with the UN and humanitarian communities, to investigate the impact of these behaviours.

This panel will discuss the implications of the findings in relation to Asia.

Recorded live as a webinar on 24th November 2020.

The election of Joe Biden to serve as the 46th President of the United States comes at a critical moment of the country’s relationship with Asia. A global pandemic, frayed diplomatic relations and struggling economies make the next four years internationally significant, and Biden is assumed to reset many relationships and to bring an old-school sensibility back to diplomacy His actions will have a major impact on regional prosperity and security.

In this special episode of the Asia Rising podcast Bonnie Glaser, Senior Adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, will speak about the outcome of the United States election and what Biden Presidency will mean for Asia.

Guest:
Bonnie Glaser (Senior Adviser for Asia, Center for Strategic and International Studies)

Recorded 17 November 2020.

In 2020, Australia and China relations appeared to hit new lows. Diplomatic tensions flared over a range of issues, including Australia’s unilateral calls for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, Beijing’s trade strikes on key industries, and raids on journalists.

In Australia, concerns about foreign interference and human rights violations have encouraged an increasingly hardline anti-China stance in some quarters, including among the so-called ‘Wolverines’. In Chinese media, Australia is presented as a lackey of the United States and a satellite of American interests in the Indo-Pacific.

Despite these challenges, China remains Australia’s biggest trade partner. Are Australia-China relations where they need to be? To what extent does Australia remain reliant upon trade with China? And is the Morrison government’s adoption of a more assertive, ‘sovereign first’ approach to Sino-Australian relations helpful, or likely to do more harm than good?

In this La Trobe Asia webinar a panel of experts will discuss these questions.

Speakers:
Dr Gerald Roche (Senior Research Fellow, Politics, La Trobe University)
Assistant Professor Dan Hu (Deputy Director, Australian Studies Centre, Beijing Foreign Studies University)
Richard McGregor (Senior Fellow, Lowy Institute)
Mike Smith (China Correspondent, Australian Financial Review)

Chair: Dr Bec Strating (Executive Director, La Trobe Asia)

Recorded live via zoom on 11 November, 2020.

Over the past five years India and Australia’s bilateral relations appear to be deepening. Both states agree that the future security challenges are likely to occur in the world’s oceans, and other common domains such as space. As a response to rising regional contestation, India and Australia have both expanded defence cooperation activities, including through the development of multiparty initiatives such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (the ‘Quad’) and the new India, France and Australia trilateral grouping. Yet, differences in strategic outlook and trade relations remain that may hinder closer cooperation.

Are Australia and India’s strategic interests closely aligned? How does India’s leadership define its core national security interests, and seek to manage relationships with rising China and the US? And what practical steps can India and Australia take to further strengthen bilateral and regional cooperation?

A live recording of the Asia Rising podcast as part of the Australia India Institute’s 'India Week' via zoom.

Guest:
Dr Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan (Distinguished Fellow and Head of the Nuclear and Space Policy Initiative, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi)

Recorded 27 October 2020.

India has a long and unique history with a rich cultural heritage, but in the modern race for progress it can be difficult to conserve the past. The country boasts 38 recognised UNESCO world heritage sites with many more under consideration, ranging from natural wonders like the Himalayan National Park, to the cultural treasures such as the Agra Fort, the Taj Mahal, and the Historic City of Ahmedabad. These sites are treated with respect and pride by India, but many intersect with conflicting demands of tourism, religion, and everyday living.

How can India preserve its heritage while pursuing a ‘smart-city’ agenda? Who holds the responsibility for maintaining and preserving these sites? How does heritage status affect the local individuals and communities?

Panel:
Dr Kiran Shide (Planning, La Trobe University)
Professor Utpal Sharma (Dean and Director at the Institute of Architecture and Planning at NIRMA University, India)
Dr Anita Smith (Archeology and History, La Trobe University)

Chair:
Dr Bec Strating (La Trobe Asia)

A La Trobe Asia event as part of the Australia India Institute’s 'India Week'.

Recorded live via zoom on 29 October, 2020.

From a riverside shack to the presidential palace, Joko Widodo surged to the top of Indonesian politics on a wave of hope for change. However, six years into his presidency, he is struggling to deliver the reforms that Indonesia desperately needs. Despite promising to build Indonesia into an Asian powerhouse, Jokowi, as he is known, has been challenged by regular crisis, from COVID-19 to an Islamist mass movement. How does Indonesia balance the competing demands of democracy and authoritarianism, openness and protectionism, Islam and pluralism?

Guest: Ben Bland (Author of Man of Contradictions, Director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute).

Recorded 13 October 2020.