Asia Rising

State intervention in natural resource management is often inflexible, but projects in the Kangra District of India have found better success by involving the local communities.

Dr Harry Fischer (Associate Lecturer in the Department of Social Inquiry at La Trobe University and a New Generation Network Fellow at the Australian India Institute) speaks about natural resource management in Himachal Pradesh, particularly the water canal 'kuhl' system.

Thailand has reached a period of political change. The recent death of the long-serving monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and the crowning of his son Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn have rocked a country still seeing fallout of a 2014 military coup.

Dr Greg Raymond (Research Fellow at the Strategic & Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University) talks to Matt Smith about the way forward for Thailand.

China is home to 1.5 billion people, many of them living in industrialised cities, and with that comes a heavy burden of medical problems.

Martin Taylor (Team Leader, Health Systems and Health Security, World Health Organization, Beijing) discusses the good and the bad in China's health.

The study of Australia is well-established in China, and the active engagement across universities helps build cultural, social and economic understanding between the two countries.

Professor David Walker (Chair of Australian Studies at Deakin University) talks to Matt Smith about Chinese understanding of Australia, and the healthy network of Australian studies.

Donald Trump will be the next President of the United States. While America, the world, and the Donald comes to terms with this unexpected result, the question is inevitably asked… what happens next?

Professor Nick Bisley (Executive Director, La Trobe Asia) and Dr Kumuda Simpson (International Relations, La Trobe University) speak to Matt Smith about the international reaction to a Trump presidency.

Media in Australia and much of the western world are facing pressing times with shrinking revenue and a changing landscape, but how much of these trends coming across in the Chinese press?

Lisa Murray (China Correspondent, Australian Financial Review) talks to Matt Smith about the media landscape in China and her experiences as a foreign correspondent.

The 2016 United States election is almost upon us, and much of the rhetoric has focused on countries in Asia. Hilary Clinton has made references to 'standing up to bullies', with Donald Trump going several steps further in his comments about China.

Professor Nick Bisley (Executive Director, La Trobe Asia) speaks to Matt Smith about what Clinton or Trump could mean in Asia, and how regional security and economic stability hangs in the balance.

China and Australia have a long relationship anchored by strong trade bonds, yet this relationship isn’t without tension. The two countries often find themselves on different sides of the table when it comes to broader bilateral ties, and issues such as disagreements over foreign investment and the position and interests of allied countries threaten to prevent any meaningful co-operation or interaction.

Professor Hou Minyue (Deputy Director, of the Australian Studies Centre, at East China Normal University in Shanghai) speaks to Matt Smith about the Australia-China relationship.

The cow is a sacred animal in India with nearly 80% of its Hindu population abstaining from eating beef and worshiping the animal for its production of milk. Surprisingly enough, the country has become the world's largest exporter of beef products, exporting more than 2 million tonnes a year and consuming just as much.

Why is India selling the sacred cow? Dr Yamini Narayanan (DECRA Senior Fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation at Deakin University) talks to Matt Smith about this clash of ideals which have become a topic of controversy, corruption and murder in India.

It’s been more than two years since Joko Widodo was elected Indonesian President. While his election occurred on a wave of high hopes and high expectations, little was known at the time about how the new President would approach Indonesia’s international affairs.

Dr Evi Fitriani (Head of the International Relations Department at Universitas Indonesia)talks to Dr Rebecca Strating (Politics and Philosophy, La Trobe University) about Indonesia’s approach to foreign policy under the Widoko administration.