Ben Bland, The Lowy Institute

Ben Bland

The Lowy Institute

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Recent:
  • Unknown
Past:
  • The Lowy Institute

Past articles by Ben:

From Brentford to the world: The Interpreter’s 2021 favourites

Watching his hometown team take on the English Premier League after a seven-decade hiatus was worth the wait. → Read More

ASEAN muddles through on Myanmar

An interesting regional precedent is set by the decision to stop the junta leader attending upcoming summit meetings. → Read More

Building stronger Australia-Indonesia ties

The latest Lowy Poll shows the gaps in public understanding that bedevils the goal of closer bilateral relations. → Read More

Indonesia raises ASEAN’s bar on Myanmar

President Joko Widodo had nothing to gain domestically in calling a special summit. But in not failing, he succeeded. → Read More

Jokowi’s contradictions and the struggle to remake Indonesia

Originally published in The Jakarta Post. → Read More

In the defining year of his presidency, Joko Widodo faces an incredibly difficult challenge

Originally published in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. → Read More

Indonesia's Jokowi turns politics into a family business

One-time furniture maker who fought his way to the top was meant to be different. Originally published in Nikkei Asia. → Read More

The limits of Zoom diplomacy in Asia

A whirlwind of online diplomatic speed-dating doesn’t allow the impromptu conversations where real business is done. → Read More

Indonesia: Still caught between trade and protectionism

There is little evidence Jokowi sees trade deals as a way to drive liberalising domestic economic reforms at home. → Read More

Hong Kong's new 'Basic Law' is that whatever China says, goes

Judges alone cannot protect territory from Beijing's heavy-handed interventions. Originally published in Nikkei Asian Review. → Read More

New crackdown will deepen dividing lines in Hong Kong

Both the Chinese Communist Party and the Hong Kong democracy movement are settling in for a long and painful struggle. → Read More

COVIDcast Episode 6: Geopolitics and the pandemic

The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region, and the world. → Read More

COVIDcast Episode 4: Crisis looms in Southeast Asia

The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region, and the world. → Read More

Indonesia: Covid-19 crisis reveals cracks in Jokowi’s ad hoc politics

The world’s fourth most-populous country has a long way to go to get a grip on this challenge, its president especially. → Read More

Jokowi’s Canberra trip: A step ahead on a long road

The Indonesian president’s visit demonstrated the two countries’ progress together, as well as gaps that remain. → Read More

In conversation: Malaysia’s Foreign Minister on great power rivalry

From the South China Sea to the Rohingya crisis, Saifuddin Abdullah speaks to Lowy’s Ben Bland on Asia’s big challenges. → Read More

Australia-Indonesia ties: escaping the beefs about boats or Bali

Don't jinx it, but a few promising signs suggest bilateral ties could be entering a new period of relative stability. → Read More

Hong Kong climbdown eases external pressures on China

Beijing is fighting many fires at once, so taking the heat out of Hong Kong will suit Xi Jinping. → Read More

Indonesia: don’t over-react to Jakarta violence

The taint of riots shouldn’t undermine what was a free, fair and peaceful election. → Read More

Politics in Indonesia: Resilient elections, defective democracy

The pressures on Indonesian democracy are not likely to abate under a second-term Jokowi or a Prabowo presidency → Read More