In 2017, the first Donald Trump administration revived the Quad partnership between Australia, India, Japan and the United States after years of inactivity. Now, as the second Trump administration begins to take shape, the Quad continues to enjoy bipartisan support in all four countries and it seems the grouping is here to stay.

The partnership has become a key pillar of diplomatic architecture in our region. But despite this goodwill and strong foundation, the Quad has sometimes struggled to articulate a clear mission, and its future agenda will need to deliver meaningful impact in the Indo-Pacific.

The United States Studies Centre hosted a public panel event following a day of closed-door discussions at the Quad Leadership Track-1.5 Dialogue. Panelists answered key questions facing the Quad on topics such as critical technology, climate and the energy transition, and maritime security, and discussed the future of the Quad partnership itself as a new US presidential administration prepares to take office.

The event featured leading experts on the Quad, including USSC CEO Dr Michael Green, USSC Non-Resident Senior Fellow Dr Lavina Lee, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Nonresident Scholar, South Asia Program Darshana Baruah and Aoyama-Gakuin University Lecturer Dr Takuya Matsuda in conversation with Matthew Knott, Foreign Affairs and National Security Correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age discussing the Quad's challenges, possible solutions, opportunities for collaboration and the Quad's future agenda.

The Indian Ocean Region brims with economic promise, yet it faces growing challenges — from inadequate infrastructure to fierce geoeconomic competition. As China deepens its presence through the Belt and Road Initiative, Australia and India are poised to offer a resilient and strategic alternative.

This event featured inaugural Maitri Fellow Riya Sinha in conversation with USSC Economic Security Director Hayley Channer, discussing opportunities for India and Australia to collaborate on Indian Ocean port linkages, supply chains and sustainable development.

They discussed practical ways to create a competitive edge that not only advances each country’s interests but also benefits the broader regional landscape.

Riya Sinha's Maitri Fellowship is generously supported by the Centre for Australia-India Relations (CAIR).

On 19 and 20 June 2024, the United States Studies Centre hosted a major international conference in Sydney spotlighting the search for “economic security in a turbulent world”. Over a day and a half, the conference brought together leading policymakers, business executives and independent experts from around the world to discuss arguably the defining economic policy debate of our age – how to reconcile security and prosperity in an era of strategic competition and economic interdependence.

Session 6 was delivered in four parts:

• A keynote address by The Honourable Mathias Cormann, Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (by video-link);
• An address on "A view from East Asia" by Professor Myung-hee Yoo, Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of International Studies, Seoul National University and former Minister for Trade, Republic of Korea;
• A panel discussion moderated by Dr John Kunkel, Senior Economics Adviser at the United States Studies Centre. with expert comments from George Mina, Deputy Secretary, Trade and Investment Group, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Alan Beattie, Senior Trade Writer, Financial Times; and Professor Myung-hee Yoo, Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of International Studies, Seoul National University and former Minister for Trade, Republic of Korea; and
• An address on "Europe’s economic security strategy: A view from Brussels" by Denis Redonnet, Deputy Director-General and Chief Trade Enforcement Officer, Directorate-General for Trade, European Commission (by video link).

As a refugee from South Vietnam when he was four years old Professor Viet Thanh Nguyen’s work explores the convergence between politics and literature. The Sympathizer, his thriller about a communist double-agent won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2016. The United States Studies Centre was honoured to have Professor Nguyen deliver the first-ever American Cultures Lecture. The lecture by Aerol Arnold Chair of English at the University of Southern California Professor Viet Thanh Nguyen was followed by a conversation moderated by USSC Associate Professor of Politics and American Studies Brendon O'Connor. Viet Thanh Nguyen is a University Professor, Aerol Arnold Chair of English, and Professor of English, American Studies and Ethnicity, and Comparative Literature at the University of Southern California. He is the author of Race and Resistance: Literature and Politics in Asian America (Oxford University Press, 2002) and the New York bestseller and Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Sympathizer (Grove Atlantic, 2016). His latest book is The Committed, the sequel to The Sympathizer, published by Grove Press in March 2021.

As it celebrates its 70th anniversary, the Australia-US alliance continues to evolve in response to a changing regional context in the Indo-Pacific. How do Australia’s neighbours in Southeast Asia understand the purpose of the alliance in 2021? Is the alliance seen as limiting Australia’s autonomy, or enhancing its influence? Is the alliance seen as distracting Australia from engaging its neighbours, or as contributing to regional security? This event explored how various trends, including the emergence of a more regionally assertive China and the development of networked security arrangements, have affected regional perceptions of ANZUS and its role in Australian foreign policy. Hosted by Susannah Patton, Research Fellow in the United States Studies Centre's Foreign Policy and Defence Program, this webinar featured perspectives from three leading Southeast Asian foreign and defence policy experts: Sarah Teo, Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Regional Security Architecture Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore; Evan A. Laksmana, Wang Gungwu Visiting Fellow at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore; and Shahriman Lockman, Director in the Chief Executive's Office of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies in Malaysia.

2020 will be remembered as one of the most tumultuous years in American history. COVID-19 tested every country, every government and every political leader in the world. But with the pandemic arriving as Donald Trump launched his campaign for re-election, the world watched aghast as the United States lost more than 500,000 of its citizens to COVID. From hydroxychloroquine and bleach, to making hostility to masks and social distancing emblems of partisanship, Trump’s last year as president was marked by incompetence, tragedy and ultimately, a violent test of American democratic institutions and social cohesion. How did the government of the world’s most powerful nation get so much so wrong? Who were the voices around Trump during this momentous year? And where to from here, not just for the United States, but for close allies such as Australia? To discuss these issues, the USSC hosted a webinar discussion with The Washington Post's Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, authors of the new book and New York Times #1 best seller I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year, in conversation with United States Studies Centre CEO Professor Simon Jackman and Non-Resident Senior Fellow Bruce Wolpe.

The United States Studies Centre and Perth USAsia Centre host a monthly web series reviewing the latest in US politics and policy and what this means for Australia. This month our guest was Ambassador Jane Hardy, who has joined the United States Studies Centre as a Visiting Senior Fellow from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She most recently served as Consul-General in Honolulu from 2018 to 2021 during which time she led Australia’s engagement with US Indo-Pacific Command. Ambassador Hardy joined hosts United States Studies Centre Director of Foreign Policy and Defence Ashley Townshend and Perth USAsia Centre CEO Professor Gordon Flake for a discussion on the Biden administration's Indo-Pacific strategy.

The United States Studies Centre and Perth USAsia Centre host a monthly web series reviewing the latest in US politics and policy and what this means for Australia. This month hosts Simon Jackman and Gordon Flake were joined by guests Dr Victoria A. Farrar-Myers, a dedicated civic leader, an award-winning educator and a distinguished scholar; and Professor Valerie Hudson, the George H.W. Bush Chair in the Department of International Affairs at The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, where she directs the Program on Women, Peace, and Security. She will join hosts Simon Jackman and Gordon Flake to discuss the latest in US politics and policy.

Cybersecurity, defence innovation and climate change in the military are all on the agenda for NATO’s Brussels Summit on 14 June. But with NATO placing unprecedented attention on the Indo-Pacific, what are the summit’s implications for Australia? What will NATO's defence innovations mean for the Indo-Pacific? How can Australia work with NATO to strengthen cyber defences? USSC hosted a webinar event with NATO’s Director for Security Policy and Partnerships Directorate, Political Affairs and Security Policy Division James Mackey in discussion with USSC Lecturer and NATO Defense College Partners Across the Globe Fellow Dr Gorana Grgic. Jointly presented by the United States Studies Centre (USSC) and NATO Public Diplomacy Division; this event was part of a series of talks with USSC and NATO experts in which they explore the challenges ahead of NATO and Australia and propose areas where furthering and deepening cooperation can offer solutions.

No campaign promise, rumour mill or day one executive order is as revelatory of a US president’s strategic intentions than the men and women they trust to guide them. A president’s Cabinet and key policy advisors have the extraordinary power of controlling the day-to-day decisions of the federal government. In essence, ‘personnel is policy’ and, as such, the key players of the Biden administration say a lot about the next four years of American politics. How does Antony Blinken’s upbringing by refugees inform the Biden administration Middle East policy? Why is John Kerry seemingly the only household name of the president’s many advisors? Which names does Australia need to know? At this webinar, United States Studies Centre Non-Resident Senior Fellow Bruce Wolpe and Research Associate Victoria Cooper — author of Key players in the Biden administration — discussed these questions and more with host and USSC Senior Research Fellow Jared Mondschein.

In the midst of the biggest pandemic in a century, Sky News Host Annelise Nielsen headed to the epicentre – the United States. Bringing a cameraman she ventured into the heart of the 2020 election to talk directly to citizens to understand the people behind the political polarisation. Why were Americans so much more divided over mask mandates than Australians? How many people truly believe the 2020 election was stolen? What has changed since President Biden took office?

This month’s US Politics and Policy Web Series featured Annelise Nielsen, the first dedicated Washington Correspondent for Sky News Australia, in conversation with United States Studies Centre CEO Professor Simon Jackman and Perth USAsia Centre CEO Professor Gordon Flake.

Annelise Nielsen

In 2020, Washington DC-based political reporter Annelise Nielsen was announced as Sky News Australia’s first Washington Correspondent. She is currently on the ground in the US reporting live for Sky News Australia. Previously, Annelise was Sky News Australia’s Canberra based political reporter and co-anchor of AM Agenda with Tom Connell.

A journalist with a wide range of experience covering stories across Australia, Asia, the US and the Middle East, she holds a bachelor’s degree in law and experience working in a professional services firm. Her work as a journalist is often driven and informed by a strong interest in justice, the Australian legal system and politics. Annelise is also the author of Money Spinners which explores the Banking Royal Commission and the financial services sector in Australia.

Geoeconomic threats to American primacy are prompting the Biden administration to explicitly connect domestic recovery to external strength, with reviews of supply chains and strategic, government-led investments to secure US technological supremacy. Given increasing threats to the rules-based order, it is imperative that Australia and the US work together to reinforce a secure Indo-Pacific economy. How can Australia work together with the Biden administration to manage geoeconomics, contestation and coercion in the Indo-Pacific region? To discuss these issues, the USSC hosted a webinar discussion with Perth USAsia Centre Research Director Dr Jeffrey Wilson, Senior Policy Fellow Hayley Channer and United States Studies Centre Non-Resident Senior Fellow Dr John Lee in conversation with Perth USAsia Centre CEO Professor Gordon Flake.

The United States Studies Centre and Perth USAsia Centre host a monthly web series reviewing the latest in US politics and policy and what this means for Australia. This month hosts Simon Jackman and Gordon Flake were joined by Elise Hu, the host of TED Talks Daily, a correspondent for VICE News Tonight and a host-at large at NPR, where she spent nearly a decade as a reporter. She has reported stories from more than a dozen countries as an international correspondent, and opened NPR’s first-ever Seoul bureau, in 2015. She is based in Los Angeles.

On 19 and 20 June 2024, the United States Studies Centre hosted a major international conference in Sydney spotlighting the search for “economic security in a turbulent world”. Over a day and a half, the conference brought together leading policymakers, business executives and independent experts from around the world to discuss arguably the defining economic policy debate of our age – how to reconcile security and prosperity in an era of strategic competition and economic interdependence.

Session 5 featured a keynote address from Tadashi Maeda, Chairman of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, followed by a discussion between Tadashi Maeda and Dr Michael Green, Chief Executive Officer of the United States Studies Centre.

President Biden’s recent Leaders Summit on Climate returned the United States to the centre of global climate change action. On the road to the Glasgow climate conference later this year, the United States is ramping up its efforts urging world leaders to adopt more ambitious emissions reductions targets. With Australia’s climate policies labelled “insufficient” by a Biden administration official, how will the US government’s ambitions on climate change impact the future of the US-Australian relationship? How do attitudes towards climate change policy differ between Americans and Australians? What do differing positions on climate action mean for other areas of the US-Australian relationship? What quick wins can the United States and Australia achieve on climate change? The United States Studies Centre hosted a conversation featuring University of Queensland Chair in Sustainable Energy Futures and Director at Andrew N. Liveris Academy for Innovation and Leadership Professor Peta Ashworth, POLITICO Global Translations Editor Ryan Heath and USSC CEO Professor Simon Jackman in which they discussed the implications for Australia under the pressure of an ever-climate conscientious United States, and the global climate challenges ahead of us.

NATO and Australia relations date back over a decade with Australia being one of the most important contributors to NATO’s missions and operations. Today, NATO and Australia face a new set of global security challenges — from systemic competition, authoritarian powers and non-state actors — that challenge the rules-based order. These occur through cyber threats and the malicious use of new technologies, as well as, other asymmetric threats. The NATO2030 initiative, led by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, envisages a more global approach of NATO to world security. Under this new vision, Australia and other Asia-Pacific partners work with NATO to expand shared security interests beyond the Atlantic. The United States Studies Centre and the NATO Public Diplomacy Division present joint NATO Expert Talks. This series of talks with USSC and NATO experts will explore the challenges ahead of NATO and Australia and propose areas where furthering and deepening cooperation can offer solutions. One of the identified solutions in fighting disinformation has been to build societal resilience. How have NATO and its member states fared so far and what is NATO’s strategy in fighting disinformation? How has Australia performed on this front? What can NATO and Australia learn from each other? This first panel discussion brought together NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy Ambassador Baiba Braže and USSC Non-Resident Fellow Dr Jennifer Hunt to explore how disinformation and propaganda, pursued by state and non-state actors, aims to erode the trust and credibility of democratic institutions and systems. The discussion was moderated by USSC Lecturer and NATO Defense College Partners Across the Globe Fellow Dr Gorana Grgic.

As Washington Bureau Chief for the ABC, Zoe Daniel had a front-row seat to the ascension and decline of Donald Trump. Seeing how he masterfully harnessed fear and anger, coupled with a reality-TV honed entertainment instinct, she bore witness to the dawn of a new era in US politics. With a new steady, staid and significantly unassuming presidential administration, who is the anomaly – Trump or Biden? What happens to Trump followers when he’s not in the White House? How does this change perceptions of US power and influence? To discuss these issues, USSC hosted a webinar featuring Zoe Daniel, co-author of the new book Greetings from Trumpland in conversation with Jim Middleton, former foreign correspondent and ABC political editor. Zoe Daniel was the ABC’s US bureau chief in Washington from December 2015 until December 2019. She is the co-author of Greetings from Trumpland: How an unprecedented presidency changed everything. She was the ABC's South East Asia correspondent from 2009 to 2013 and Africa correspondent from 2005 until 2007. Zoe co-hosted the international news program The World on News 24 and Australia Plus. Jim Middleton has a career spanning 50 years as a political reporter. From 1980-86 he was the ABC's North America correspondent and from 1988-2007 he was the ABC's Chief Political Correspondent and later Political Editor in Canberra reporting six federal elections. From 2008-2014 he was Chief Anchor for the Australia Network.

It is now well accepted in Canberra and Washington that the Australia-US alliance needs to be operationalised in new ways to meet Indo-Pacific strategic challenges. Against a backdrop of intensifying Chinese assertiveness and the United States’ declining capacity to uphold a favourable balance of power by itself, our shared interests in deterrence and defence require greater coordination, alignment and collective action. This cooperation must also be carefully dovetailed with regional needs and security preferences to ensure a broadly collective approach to strengthening stability, sovereignty and resilience across the Indo-Pacific. How should Australia work with the Biden administration to transform the alliance for collective deterrence and defence? Is there a shared understanding between Canberra, Washington and other regional capitals over the ends, ways and means of Indo-Pacific strategy? What does bolstering resilience look like in the maritime domain where China’s grey zone activities are steadily expanding? How can Canberra and Washington make faster progress towards the kind of defence industrial base cooperation that is needed to empower the alliance for future strategic challenges? To discuss these issues, the United States Studies Centre hosted a webinar discussion with United States Studies Centre Director of Foreign Policy and Defence Ashley Townshend, Research Fellow Brendan Thomas-Noone and Australian Strategic Policy Institute Senior Analyst Dr Huong Le Thu in conversation with United States Studies Centre Director of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Mari Koeck.

The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney and the Perth USAsia Centre at The University of Western Australia hosted a conference for the launch of their joint publication, “State of the United States: An evolving alliance agenda”. The conference closed with a session featuring The Honourable Arthur Sinodinos AO, Australia’s Ambassador to the US (joining via Zoom from the United States) in conversation with Professor Simon Jackman, CEO of the United States Studies Centre and Professor Gordon Flake, CEO of the Perth USAsia Centre.

The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney and the Perth USAsia Centre at The University of Western Australia hosted a conference for the launch of their joint publication, “State of the United States: An evolving alliance agenda”. The topic for session three of the conference was "Transforming the alliance for collective defence challenges." Speakers included Greg Moriarty, Secretary of the Department of Defence, Michael Goldman, Charge d’Affaires of the US Embassy Canberra, Dr Huong Le Thu, Senior Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and Ashley Townshend, Director of Foreign Policy and Defence at the United States Studies Centre. The session was moderated by Brendan Thomas-Noone, Foreign Policy and Defence Program Research Fellow at the United States Studies Centre.

The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney and the Perth USAsia Centre at The University of Western Australia hosted a conference for the launch of their joint publication, “State of the United States: An evolving alliance agenda”. The topic for session two of the conference was "Managing geoeconomics, contestation and coercion". Speakers included James Carouso, Managing Director of BowerGroupAsia (joining via Zoom from Singapore), Katherine Mansted, Senior Adviser Public Policy at the National Security College, Dr Jeff Wilson, Research Director at the Perth USAsia Centre and Hayley Channer, Senior Policy Fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre. The session was moderated by Professor Gordon Flake, CEO of the Perth USAsia Centre.

The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney and the Perth USAsia Centre at The University of Western Australia hosted a conference for the launch of their joint publication, “State of the United States: An evolving alliance agenda”. The topic for session one of the conference was "The Australia-United States bilateral economic relationship in a global context." Speakers included Jonathan Coppel, Commissioner of the Productivity Commission and Dr Brett Williams, Principal of Williams Trade Law and was moderated by Dr Stephen Kirchner, Trade & Investment Program Director at the United States Studies Centre.

The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney and the Perth USAsia Centre at The University of Western Australia hosted a conference for the launch of their joint publication, “State of the United States: An evolving alliance agenda”. The opening session of the conference featured Ambassador Atul Keshap, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (joining via Zoom from the United States) in conversation with Professor Simon Jackman, CEO of the United States Studies Centre and Professor Gordon Flake, CEO of the Perth USAsia Centre.

Almost as soon as he entered office, President Trump brought to a boil the long-simmering rivalry between the United States and China. By the time the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in Wuhan, Trump’s love-hate relationship with Xi had sparked a trade war, while China’s aggression — including foreign-influence operations, human rights abuses, and digital authoritarianism — had pushed the world to the brink of a new Cold War. In his just-released book, Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi, and the Battle for the 21st Century, The Washington Post award-winning columnist, Josh Rogin details the behind-the-scenes story of the Trump administration’s confrontation with Beijing. The USSC hosted a discussion on this timely work as well as the broader issues in the US-China relationship with Josh Rogin in conversation with Non-Resident Senior Fellows Dr Charles Edel and Dr John Lee.

On 19 and 20 June 2024, the United States Studies Centre hosted a major international conference in Sydney spotlighting the search for “economic security in a turbulent world”. Over a day and a half, the conference brought together leading policymakers, business executives and independent experts from around the world to discuss arguably the defining economic policy debate of our age – how to reconcile security and prosperity in an era of strategic competition and economic interdependence.

Session 4 was moderated by The Honourable Arthur Sinodinos AO, Partner at The Asia Group and former Australian Ambassador to the United States, and featured panellists Ziad Haider, Global Director of Geopolitical Risk, McKinsey & Company; Dr Sally Auld, Chief Investment Officer, JBWere; and Neville Power, Chairman of Future Battery Minerals, Deputy Chairman of Strike Energy and former Chair of the Australian Government’s National COVID-19 Coordination Commission.

The United States Studies Centre and Perth USAsia Centre host a monthly web series reviewing the latest in US politics and policy and what this means for Australia. With the transition of power behind, a new administration and Congress ahead, there was much to discuss and interpret. This month hosts Simon Jackman and Gordon Flake were joined by guest Zoe Daniel, former ABC Washington Bureau Chief and co-author of the recently released book Greetings from Trumpland: How an unprecedented presidency changed everything.

The Biden administration is seeking approval of its first major piece of legislation, the second impeachment trial for Donald Trump has begun, and battles within the Democratic and Republican parties are being fought for all to see. Will the Biden administration successfully pass a US$1.9 trillion stimulus package? Will the Republican Party ever veer away from Donald Trump? What are the prospects for bipartisanship? The United States Studies Centre hosted a webinar featuring Mia Love, USSC Non-Resident Senior Fellow and former member of Congress, in conversation with Bruce Wolpe, USSC Non-Resident Senior Fellow and former Democratic staffer on Capitol Hill.

The United States Studies Centre and Perth USAsia Centre host a monthly web series reviewing the latest in US politics and policy and what this means for Australia. The first edition of 2021 was on Friday 5 February. With the transition of power behind, a new administration and Congress ahead, there was much for CEO of the United States Studies Centre Simon Jackman and CEO of the Perth USAsia Centre Gordon Flake to discuss and interpret.

President-elect Biden has made clear that his administration will be different than any before. He has also pledged his team will reflect the diversity of America and he is seeking known collaborators, rather than "a team of rivals" that President Obama famously referenced with his first Cabinet. Yet President-Elect Biden was elected by an exceedingly divided and polarised country and he will need to reconcile a number of factions, even within his own party. Will Biden’s Cabinet reflect his campaign promises? What does the proposed Biden Cabinet mean for Australia and its national priorities? What is the best approach for Australia to engage with new leadership in Washington? To discuss these issues, USSC hosted a webinar event featuring USSC experts Dr Gorana Grgic, Dr Jennifer Hunt, Professor Simon Jackman and Bruce Wolpe.

The United States is in the grips of a singular moment in history. An emboldened community of conspiracy theorists is spreading rampant disinformation about the presidential election and the efficacy and intention of COVID-19 vaccines. Record numbers of Americans are testing positive for the virus and President Trump, who downplayed its threat, is taking credit for the arrival of vaccines while disputing President-elect Biden’s win. The spread of online conspiracy theories has already had tangible impacts. After vicious anti-5G conspiracy theories, the rollout of 5G towers in the United Kingdom was interrupted by dozens of fire bombings and attacks. How can the United States and Australia traverse this clash of online disinformation and conspiracy theories with the real-world rollout of a vaccine program and a presidential transition? How has this landscape enabled hostile actors to influence US politics, and what are the implications for Australia and the world? The United States Studies Centre hosted a discussion on these issues and more with the award-winning investigative journalist for NBC News Brandy Zadrozny and USSC Non-resident Fellow and Lecturer at the National Security College at ANU, Dr Jennifer Hunt in conversation with USSC Research Associate Elliott Brennan.

The Perth USAsia Centre and United States Studies Centre host a monthly web series in which our CEOs review the latest in US politics with a focus on the US elections and US-Indo-Pacific relations. USSC CEO Simon Jackman and Perth USAC CEO Gordon Flake shared their insights on the top stories in US politics from an Australian perspective.

In a year when so much has changed, it is important to step back and search for silver linings. This is the spirit of the American Thanksgiving tradition, and it is with this noble practice in mind that the United States Studies Centre would like to invite you to a gathering of friends for a Thanksgiving webinar featuring US Ambassador to Australia Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr. and Australian Ambassador to the United States Arthur Sinodinos in conversation with USSC CEO Professor Simon Jackman. What aspects of the US-Australia relationship can we appreciate more as a result of the trials of 2020? How have the dynamics changed? What should we focus on as we head into 2021?

It has become conventional wisdom in Washington that despite entrenched political polarisation, a tougher stance on China is bipartisan. But with only two months until the Biden administration begins, will this be proven correct? How will the Biden administration's approach to China and the Indo-Pacific be different from the Trump administration's? What issues with China will the Biden administration prioritise? To discuss these issues, the USSC hosted a webinar event with Axios China Reporter, Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian in conversation with USSC Senior Non-Resident Fellow and former Senior Advisor to the Australian Foreign Minister, Dr John Lee. Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian covers Beijing's influence and intentions and writes the weekly Axios China newsletter. Based in Washington, DC, she was also the lead writer of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists report known as the "China Cables", which detailed classified Chinese government documents revealing the inner workings of China’s detention camps in Xinjiang. Bethany was previously a national security reporter for The Daily Beast and an editor and reporter for Foreign Policy magazine. She was an Arthur F. Burns Fellow in Berlin and was previously a Jefferson Fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. She previously spent four years in China. Allen-Ebrahimian holds an MA in East Asian studies from Yale University, as well as a graduate certificate from the Johns Hopkins-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies. Dr John Lee is an Adjunct Professor and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the United States Studies Centre. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington DC. From 2016-2018, he was senior adviser to the Australian Foreign Minister, the lead ministerial adviser for the 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper, and her principal adviser on Indo-Pacific strategic affairs in the lead-up to the reinstitution of the Quad in 2017.

To carry out China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China promises to spend more than US$1 trillion on new ports, railways, fibre-optic cables, power plants, and other connections across more than one hundred and thirty countries. The United States has cautioned that the BRI, President Xi Jinping’s flagship foreign-policy effort, amounts to “debt trap diplomacy”, “white elephants”, and an unprecedented expansion of Chinese military power. Yet some have said the United States and allies have failed to provide a sufficient “alternative” to BRI. How should the United States and allies like Australia respond? The conventional wisdom is that a more skeptical view of China is bipartisan in the United States but would a Biden administration’s response to BRI be substantively different from the Trump administration’s? USSC hosted a discussion of the United States, Australia and China’s Belt and Road Initiative with Jonathan E. Hillman, author of the recently published The Emperor’s New Road: China and the Project of the Century (Yale University Press, 2020), in a conversation with the Australian Financial Review’s Lisa Murray. Jonathan E. Hillman is a senior fellow with the CSIS Economics Program and director of the Reconnecting Asia Project, one of the most extensive open-source databases tracking China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Hillman has testified before Congress, briefed government officials and Fortune 500 executives, and written on economics, national security, and foreign policy issues for the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and other outlets. Prior to joining CSIS, Hillman served as a policy adviser at the Office of the US Trade Representative, where he contributed to the 2015 US National Security Strategy and the President’s Trade Agenda and directed the research and writing process for essays, speeches, and other materials explaining US trade and investment policy. He has also worked as a researcher at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, the Council on Foreign Relations, and in Kyrgyzstan as a Fulbright scholar. Lisa Murray is the editor of the Perspective and Review sections for the Australian Financial Review. She was previously based in Shanghai for six years as the AFR’s China correspondent writing about trade, politics and the economy.

he Perth USAsia Centre and United States Studies Centre host a monthly web series in which our CEOs review the latest in US politics with a focus on the US election and US-Indo-Pacific relations. This month's distinguished guests Jeff Bleich, former US Ambassador to Australia and Chelsey Martin, former Australian Consul-General in Los Angeles discussed the US election results with USSC CEO Simon Jackman and Perth USAC CEO Gordon Flake.

On 19 and 20 June 2024, the United States Studies Centre hosted a major international conference in Sydney spotlighting the search for “economic security in a turbulent world”. Over a day and a half, the conference brought together leading policymakers, business executives and independent experts from around the world to discuss arguably the defining economic policy debate of our age – how to reconcile security and prosperity in an era of strategic competition and economic interdependence.

A keynote address was provided by Dr Steven Kennedy PSM, Secretary to the Australian Treasury.

Every US general election carries implications for Australia. But as they say: this time, it’s different. To most casual observers, the trajectories of the United States under a second Trump administration or a Biden administration seem quite different, as do the implications for Australia. But what is really at stake for Australia? What policy arenas — or elements of politics, the economy, or culture and society of the United States — are likely to be impacted by either election outcome? Among these points of change or continuity, which are of relevance to Australians and Australia’s national interests? How might Australia best respond? To discuss these issues, the USSC hosted a webinar event to launch the United States Studies Centre’s seminal report for the 2020 presidential election: Red Book/Blue Book: An Australian guide to the next US administration. This event featured Centre experts Ashley Townshend, Director of Foreign Policy and Defence; Dr Stephen Kirchner, Director of Trade and Investment; Dr Charles Edel, Senior Fellow; and Dr Gorana Grgic, Lecturer in US Politics and Foreign Policy in a conversation with CEO Professor Simon Jackman.

No US president has been more media focused than President Trump. And likewise, no US president has consistently dominated global news cycles like President Trump. While most Australians watch the US presidential election from afar, intrepid Aussie journalists have spent the year in the epicentre of American political drama: Washington. How does the 2020 election compare to others? How do the candidates campaign and how do you cover them during a pandemic? What aspects of campaign journalism have changed forever? To discuss these issues, the USSC hosted a webinar event with three Australian correspondents in Washington: Cameron Stewart of The Australian, Jacob Greber of The Australian Financial Review, and Matthew Knott of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in a conversation with former ABC Washington Bureau Chief, Zoe Daniel. Cameron Stewart is an Associate Editor and Washington Correspondent for The Australian. This is his eighth US presidential election since he started with the paper and he is working in Washington DC during this pandemic. His investigative reporting covers foreign affairs, defence and national security and he also writes features for the Weekend Australian Magazine and is a regular contributor for Sky News. Jacob Greber is The Australian Financial Review's United States correspondent, based in the paper's Washington bureau, where he's been since mid-2018. He was previously the AFR's economics correspondent in Canberra (2012-2018) and has worked as a journalist for more than 24 years in Australia, Europe and the US, including stints at Bloomberg News and News Ltd. Matthew Knott is North America correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. He moved to the US in 2017 to study political journalism at Columbia University in New York. He has travelled to 19 states across America, including recent trips to the battleground states. He has also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. The former federal political reporter was previously based in Parliament House, Canberra. While there he won the Wallace Brown Award for best young reporter in the press gallery. Zoe Daniel was the ABC’s US bureau chief in Washington from December 2015 until December 2019. She was the ABC's South East Asia correspondent from 2009 - 2013 and Africa correspondent from 2005 until 2007. Zoe co-hosted the international news program The World on News 24 and Australia Plus. Zoe is the author of Storyteller, which provides a personal insight into her life as a foreign correspondent, as well as juggling a family.

With the US election less than three weeks away, a lot of commentaries are focused on the “horse race”: who is ahead, who is behind? But regardless of the outcome in November, will Americans unite behind the next administration? What will be the policy priorities of either a Biden administration or a Trump administration’s second term? Will there be room for foreign policy and an Indo-Pacific strategy as America grapples with the health and economic costs of the COVID-19 pandemic? Australia has managed its US relationship exceedingly well under President Trump but what risks and opportunities lie ahead for Australia and its national interests under either election outcome? The United States Studies Centre hosted a conversation between President Trump's former Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and former Australian Ambassador to the United States The Hon Joe Hockey.

With just weeks until the US 2020 presidential election, we examine what is at stake for Australia in either election outcome. Australia's national interests will be impacted very differently under a second Trump term than a Biden administration. What points of continuity and change are we likely to see under either scenario? Aside from the foreign policy implications of the US election results, how else does US politics and policy impact Australian politics, society and culture? Why are so many non-Americans — Australians prominent among them — so enthralled with US politics in general, but this election in particular? To discuss these issues, the USSC hosted a webinar event featuring Foreign Editor at The Australian, Greg Sheridan, United States Studies Centre (USSC) CEO Professor Simon Jackman in conversation with former ABC Washington Bureau Chief Zoe Daniel.

America’s strategic position in the Indo-Pacific is under unprecedented strain. Facing an increasingly strong and assertive China and the erosion of its own military-technological edge, the United States can no longer be sure of its ability to maintain deterrence and unilaterally uphold a regional balance of power. Whoever wins the US presidential election will have to address this reality in the context of growing geopolitical and economic disruption wrought by COVID-19. This will require hard choices about the overall size and structure of the US military, its global operations and force posture, the nature of its engagement with allies and partners, and the way it should counter Chinese grey zone coercion and strengthen deterrence. How might a Biden administration address these challenges? Where will US defence priorities and trade-offs evolve? And what could this mean for the US-Australia alliance and America’s other allies and partners in the region? The USSC hosted a webinar featuring Michèle Flournoy, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of WestExec Advisors, former Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), and former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (February 2009 to February 2012) in the Obama Administration, who shared her views on these important issues. The webinar was moderated by Ashley Townshend, Director of Foreign Policy and Defence at the United States Studies Centre. Michèle Flournoy is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of WestExec Advisors, and former Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), where she currently serves on the board. Michèle served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from February 2009 to February 2012. She was the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense in the formulation of national security and defence policy, oversight of military plans and operations, and in National Security Council deliberations. She led the development of the Department of Defense’s 2012 Strategic Guidance and represented the Department in dozens of foreign engagements, in the media and before Congress. Prior to confirmation, Michèle co-led President Obama’s transition team at the Defense Department.

The 2020 campaign continues to break norms and defy expectations. With the bickering and banter from the first debate still resounding, how will Vice President Pence and Senator Harris handle their encounter? Will policy and ideology feature more prominently in the Vice-Presidential debate? Will this presumably less personal, more substantive debate yield insights about the likely policy priorities of either a second Trump administration or a Biden administration? And if so, what are the implications for Australia? To discuss these issues, USSC hosted a webinar event with USSC Lecturer in US Politics and Foreign Policy Gorana Grgic, Non-Resident Fellow Jennifer Hunt, and Non-Resident Fellow Kim Hoggard in conversation with Associate Professor in American Politics Brendon O’Connor.

The US-China nuclear relationship is growing increasingly complex. In recent years, Beijing has continued to modernise and diversify its nuclear arsenal and Washington has made changes to its nuclear policy that could reinforce these trends. While there is still the relatively low risk of the use of nuclear weapons during a conflict between the two, that risk is rising as political tensions increase. Australia’s interests would be best served by an allied military strategy for balancing China that emphasises conventional capabilities, rather than relying on US nuclear weapons to deter the unlikely prospect of a first-use nuclear attack by China. To discuss these issues, the USSC hosted an event to launch Managing US-China nuclear risks: A guide for Australia, featuring its author, Fiona Cunningham, United States Studies Centre Non-Resident Fellow and Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University; Euan Graham, Shangri-La Dialogue Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, David Santoro, Vice President and Director for Nuclear Policy Programs at Pacific Forum and Brendan Thomas-Noone, Research Fellow in the Foreign Policy and Defence Program at United States Studies Centre.

The Perth USAsia Centre and United States Studies Centre host a monthly web series in which our CEOs review the latest in US politics with a focus on the upcoming US election and US-Indo-Pacific relations. This month's guests were Jeff Flake, a Republican who represented Arizona in the US Senate from 2013 to 2019, and Dr Gorana Grgic, Lecturer in US Politics and Foreign Policy at the United States Studies Centre. Flake and Grgic joined USSC CEO Simon Jackman and Perth USAC CEO Gordon Flake for their insights on the top stories in US politics.

The Indo-Pacific has rapidly emerged as the world’s most strategically consequential region in the Asian century. But the regional order is straining under China’s assertive use of coercive statecraft and doubts about the United States’ capacity and willingness to uphold a favourable balance of power. These dynamics are deeply troubling for Australia’s strategic outlook and for the security and prosperity of US allies and partners across the region. A stable and rules-based regional order is, however, still achievable. As Abraham Denmark argues in his new book U.S. Strategy in the Asian Century: Empowering Allies and Partners, America’s Indo-Pacific alliances and partnerships can – if properly harnessed and supported – enable Washington to underwrite long-term stability in the region and successfully navigate the challenges of intensifying strategic competition. To discuss these issues, the USSC hosted the Australian launch of U.S. Strategy in the Asian Century featuring its author Abraham Denmark, Director of the Asia Program and Senior Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia; Ambassador Jane Hardy, Australian Consul-General in Honolulu; and Ashley Townshend, Director of Foreign Policy and Defence at the United States Studies Centre. Abraham M. Denmark is Director of the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and a Senior Fellow at the Center’s Kissinger Institute on China and the United States. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Denmark previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia, and has held positions at the national Bureau of Asian Research, the Center for a New American Security, in the US Intelligence community. Ambassador Jane M. Hardy is the Consul-General of the Australian Consulate-General Honolulu, having previously served as the Assistant Secretary, Arms control and Counter-Proliferation Branch in the International Security Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Canberra. Prior to this role, Ambassador Hardy served as Australia's Ambassador to Spain, Andorra and Equatorial Guinea.

Charlie Cook is one of the most authoritative analysts of US elections - an exceptionally trusted and respected voice on the American electorate for nearly four decades. Charlie discussed his overview of the race for the White House and where it stands today - trends, key states and voter demographics, and strengths and weaknesses of President Trump and Vice President Biden - and also the state of play for the Senate and overall House races. What is the state of the race to the White House? Who is winning the battle for Congress? What can Australia expect to see on 3 November? To discuss these issues, USSC hosted a webinar event featuring Editor and Publisher of The Cook Political Report, Charlie Cook in conversation with United States Studies Centre (USSC) Non-Resident Senior Fellow Bruce Wolpe and USSC CEO Professor Simon Jackman.

On 19 and 20 June 2024, the United States Studies Centre hosted a major international conference in Sydney spotlighting the search for “economic security in a turbulent world”. Over a day and a half, the conference brought together leading policymakers, business executives and independent experts from around the world to discuss arguably the defining economic policy debate of our age – how to reconcile security and prosperity in an era of strategic competition and economic interdependence.

Session 3 featured a keynote address by Dr Elizabeth Economy, Hargrove Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University. A panel discussion followed, moderated by Dr John Kunkel, Senior Economics Adviser at the United States Studies Centre, and featuring experts Richard McGregor, Senior Fellow for East Asia, Lowy Institute and Dr Elizabeth Economy, Hargrove Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University.

Ensuring that elections are free and fair is far from a settled matter in the United States, with courts frequently asked to settle disputes about virtually every element of election administration. In 2020, President Trump and his supporters contend that vote by mail is rife with fraud (in an election cycle where COVID will help drive demand for mail balloting to record levels) and that an election loss would constitute evidence of a rigged election. The vacancy following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg further heightens the tension around the role of the court in the election. Trump’s opponents are casting the election and access to the polls as a struggle for voting rights and democracy itself. Interest groups allied with both sides of politics are launching or preparing for post-election litigation in multiple jurisdictions. What issues are being litigated, by whom, and where? How are these legal challenges being funded? What constitutional and legal arguments are being deployed? What likely role for the US Supreme Court, and what might be the likely outcome? And for the eventual winner, will their victory and governing authority be accepted as legitimate by the American people and the world? To discuss these issues, USSC hosted a webinar event featuring Ruth Greenwood, Co-Director of the Voting Rights and Redistricting Program at the Campaign Legal Center in conversation with United States Studies Centre CEO Professor Simon Jackman.

BBC New York Correspondent Nick Bryant has studied US elections for decades and saw the election of President Trump in 2016 as inevitable, rather than a fluke. Growing executive overreach, shifting economic and cultural power, and ubiquitous distrust of media and government paved the way for a disruptor with promises of “greatness.” As a Brit in the United States, his observations translate the American experience through a lens Australian’s can understand. Who are the power-brokers and pawns in the 2020 election? Will Americans double down or divert away from MAGA? Is the history of President Trump’s rise also a history of America’s fall? To discuss these issues, the USSC hosted a webinar event featuring Nick Bryant, author of When America Stopped Being Great: A history of the present, in conversation with United States Studies Centre CEO Professor Simon Jackman.

In 2016, then-candidate Donald Trump made immigration a key campaign platform, warning of Mexican “rapists” and criminals coming to the United States. He pledged that a wall on the US-Mexico border would be erected and Mexico would pay for it. Four years later, the US and Mexican presidents have publicly praised each other while a naturalisation ceremony of immigrants to the United States was featured at the Republican National Convention. What has changed in US-Mexico relations? What has the populist left-wing president of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, done that differs from his more conventional predecessor? Would Mexico support expanding elements of the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement to already existing trade agreements with nations like Australia? In this event, New York Times foreign correspondent Mexico Natalie Kitroeff spoke about these issues with Dr Gorana Grgic, a jointly appointed Lecturer at the Department of Government and International Relations and the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.