Intern Presentations, Wednesday May 27th

We live in confusing and uncertain times. Some of the issues that trouble us are old ones like global security and the crisis in refugee flows, and some have surprised us, like the emerging scepticism about multilateral institutions. All of these great issues in contemporary international relations – security, refugees, multilateralism – were touched on in the presentations at our Intern’s Night. Zoe Hawkins explained how, in a world increasingly reliant on networks and communication, developments in drone technology make states more vulnerable. But she also suggested ways of mitigating these risks. Novan Sachrudi reminded us that, despite the recently concluded framework agreement, serious disagreement between Iran and the P5+1 (US, UK, France, Russia, China, Germany) still threatens the talks aimed at curbing Iran’s access to nuclear weapons. Edward Durie brought the issue of security closer to home by describing President Jokowi’s plans (The Global Maritime Axis or Poros Maritim Dunia) to make Indonesia a great naval power. But he also noted that the plan will not be easy to implement. Sinead Mulders-Jones argued that, such is the nature of today’s refugee crisis, the definition of refugee status needs to cover not just those fleeing persecution, but as well, those escaping environmental and economic catastrophe. Freya Zemek described how domestic considerations as well as geopolitical differences among the national participants threaten the negotiation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). She also examined the likely impact of the TPP on Australia’s regional relations.

Zoe, Novan, Freya, Ed, Sinead and front row Ed Morris and Bob Howard

Our Interns deserve our warm congratulations for their presentations. They were well articulated, interesting and topical, and reflected intelligent and industrious research. I’m hopeful that the presenters found the experience useful. I know the audience enjoyed the event immensely.

 

Report by Robert Howard