This week in Australian foreign affairs: Payne in Southeast Asia, Australian Embassy to open in Bern, Professor Hilary Charlesworth elected to the ICJ, and more.

Indonesian Papua has seen increasing levels of violence. The Indonesian government is pursuing a soft power response with mixed success.

Millions of words have been spoken at and about the Glasgow Summit – the challenge is sorting the weeds from the chaff. Much of the discussion centered around numbers.

After the arrival of the Taliban, and the associated negative women’s sporting messaging that took place, Cricket Australia took a strong stand. However, the International Cricket Council has adopted a wait-and-see approach.

Japan’s economic security strategy is in the making, given the high politics of technology and its influence on geopolitics and national security. This is augmented by the current US-China strategic competition.

For months, Australia was lauded as a success story in curbing COVID-19. Now Australia must focus on removing the negativity clouding its international image.

Diplomatic practice is central in laying the groundwork for cooperation among state and non-state actors within an interest in cyberspace. However, diplomatic approaches towards cyberspace are fraught with complicated challenges.

In 2014, Kenya started to construct a new railway to connect the Mombasa Port with the interior and on to landlocked Uganda and Rwanda. Today, Kenya is paying through the teeth for the infrastructure project it once promoted as a “game changer.”

In light of the recent AUKUS pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, Professor John Blaxland explores the unreconciled dialectic in Australian consciousness between geography, history, and a lingering fear of entrapment.

In this episode, Allan and Darren discuss the role of honesty and integrity in international diplomacy.