Boat arrivals have been the focus for a flurry of policy-making in 2010. This paper asks why, and whether it has been worth it. It argues that Australia is not undergoing an asylum crisis of the sort that warrants such attention and policy reform. None of the policies currently being proposed address the root causes...

With China becoming a far more effective player in the United Nations, this paper describes how China conducts itself in New York and the positions it takes on issues such as peacekeeping, Iran and North Korea. The author, Michael Fullilove lays out these approaches on what he calls a ‘stakeholder spectrum’. China is not yet...

Challenges facing the health system in Papua New Guinea result not just from low expenditure; this paper argues that performance is also constrained by its structure and by cultural factors, and recommends trialling a new approach. If expectations for improved health outcomes, heightened by the bounty of resource development, are to be achieved without substantial...

Against the background of increasingly strained relations between Turkey and the West, a new Lowy Institute Perspective examines the reasons for the recent, dramatic shifts in Turkey's foreign policy. 'Losing Turkey? Why Turkey’s Foreign Policy is Changing and What it Means for the West' by Gwenyth Todd looks at a range of factors behind these...

Emerging markets' cyclical growth prospects remain tied to developments in the rich world, but there are signs that their trend growth rates may have decoupled. Image: Trains decoupling, richardluyy / flickr