Podcast
Views from Down Underer
Hosted by Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs · EN
Analysis, news commentary, and opinions on the international relations of the Indo-Pacific and beyond as seen from the region by people from the region. An initiative of the Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs (www.indopac.nz) in Christchurch, New Zealand, the podcast is hosted by Professor Alex Tan of the University of Canterbury (Christchurch, New Zealand) with panelists Associate Professor Nick Khoo of the University of Otago (Dunedin, New Zealand), Dr Orson Tan and Katie Mills of the Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs.
15episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Ep. 89: NZ-India FTA, Japan's LDP wins, AI and jobs
Feb 1701:06:55Tap to summarizeWill the NZ-India FTA see the light of day? PM Takaichi leads Japan's LDP to a big electoral victory. Singapore's Deputy PM raised concern about AI and its impact on jobs and the future economy.
Transcribe →Ep. 88: Canadian PM Carney's 2026 World Economic Forum speech
Jan 2401:07:17Tap to summarizeCanadian PM Mark Carney delivered a hard hitting speech declaring the 'rules-based international order' as ruptured and calling for middle powers of the world to unite. While many observers and non-western states have known (and complained) for a long time, this the first time that a Western leader finally yelled out: "The emperor has no clothes."
Transcribe →Ep.87: Thailand and Cambodia border conflict (again), Thai calls for new general election
Dec 1800:54:41Tap to summarizeThai-Cambodia border conflict flares again months after a peace accord signed in the presence of US President Trump. In the midst of this conflict, Thai PM dissolves parliament and calls for new general election.
Transcribe →Ep. 86: China-Japan spat, NZ MPs sent warning letter by PRC envoy, MAGA's MTG resigning from US Congress
Nov 2301:01:06Tap to summarizeTensions brewing between China and Japan due to PRC's response to Japanese PM's comments about 'survival-threatening situation' pertaining to conflict in the Taiwan Strait. What's happening here? Over-reaction? Playing to domestic constituencies? Nationalism at play? Chinese envoy to NZ wrote a warning letter to NZ MPs that attended Taiwan's national day reception in Wellington. Wolf-warrior at play again? Principal-agent issues? Misunderstanding of how Westminster system works? Fallout of the US government shutdown and Epstein files is the resignation announcement of big MAGA supporter Marjorie Taylor-Greene.
Transcribe →Episode 9: New Economic Security State or New Great Power Protectionism
Oct 30, 2023Tap to summarizeIn the October 19th issue of Foreign Affairs, an essay about the so-called New Economic Security State explains how the Biden Administration and its national security chief conceptualizes the relationship between market, economy, and national security. This 'new' thinking is supposed to recalibrate the excesses of globalization and faith on the market but then avoid the Cold War hard core emphasis on security over economics. Is this 'new' thinking really new or is it a re-hash of ideas brought up in the late 1980s when the US was concerned about Japan's and Germany's economic strength? Is security simply an alibi for great power protectionism? Can the US shed its own DNA to implement a whole economy industrial policy?
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