Between the Lines

Modern slavery has worsened with the economic fallout of COVID. As the supply chain falters during the global lockdown, sacked workers have become even more vulnerable to exploitation. Also, is the US guilty of breaking the rules that they themselves, recommended?

Trump's response to COVID and the farcical presidential debate cause yet more concern for the US election.

If America no longer stands as a global inspiration, where does that leave us? Also, China has been hailed as the world’s great hope for slashing carbon emissions.

But if Beijing needs fossil fuels to grow the economy and reduce poverty, is the praise premature?

As the Liberal Government prepares for the federal budget, is it going through an ideological revolution? For several decades, conservatives have supported smaller government and fiscal prudence but the coronavirus has meant that Scott Morrison has broken with tradition. Also, how does the world ensure that Xi Jinping’s China lives in a rules-based liberal international order?

Is Donald Trump a better bet for Asia than Joe Biden? While the region’s political elites are far more worried about China than climate change, Trump is more focused on containing China than decarbonising the global economy. Also, why does the West want to isolate Russia, when it has only had negative results in the past?

Australia’s economy is recovering more strongly from COVID than other comparable countries. Why? Thank China. And can Donald Trump once again defy the odds and win re-election? Yes he can, if it becomes a choice race and not a referendum on his personality.

Is the Department of Home Affairs too big? Peter Edwards and Jacinta Carroll on the legacy of the Hope Royal Commissions into intelligence which recommended a clear separation between intelligence collection and policy making.

Also: China's Good War. Oxford university historian Rana Mitter on how the new Chinese nationalism is being shaped by a re-interpretation of China's role in World War Two.

Shinzo Abe resignation

Shinzo Abe is Japan’s most successful post-war political leader. This week he resigned for health reasons. So what is his legacy for Japan and the wider region?

 Plus, Putin’s People: how the KGB took back Russia and then took on the West.

Journalist Catherine Belton explains how tensions in Belarus and the poisoning of anticorruption campaigner Alexei Navalny fit into Russa’s post-Communist power politics.

What do the neighbours think?

South-east Asia is increasingly anxious about the rise of China. But what does the region think about an erratic and uncertain America?

Also:  To start a war

Robert Draper with the most comprehensive account of the Bush administration’s decision to invade Iraq.

Joshua Landis: The French mandate and Lebanese history

Lebanon’s was once a model for the Middle East. Today, it looks more like Syria or Iraq. Why? And should the French be held accountable?

Also; Japan’s POWs: systematic mistreatment?

During World War Two more Australians died in Japanese prisoner of war camps than were killed in combat. Conventional wisdom says they were systematically mistreated.

Sarah Kovner argues that the story is more complex than that.

Also; Vale Brent Scowcroft: US foreign policy veteran

Two-time US national security adviser Brent Scowcroft was an architect of the Gulf War, and a leading opponent of the Iraq war. He died recently aged 95.

Joe Biden picks Kamala Harris for Vice President

If Joe Biden wins the US election he will be the oldest person ever to make it to the White House. His age at swearing in would be 78 – older than Ronald Reagan was when he left office.

Not surprisingly, Biden has said he wanted a running mate who is capable of taking over the job at a moment’s notice.

This week, he announced Kamala Harris as his running mate, making her the first black woman on a major-party ticket.

Does she have what it takes to lead the United States? 

Also; Do we need to revive manufacturing in Australia?  

Over the last forty years, heavy industry has been allowed to almost disappear in Australia.

But the COVID crisis has exposed our supply chains to unexpected pressure.

Should manufacturing play a larger role in the post-COVID economy