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Views from Down Underer

Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs

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

news news commentary

All Episodes

58:16

Episode 52: Elon Musk on UK politics, Trudeau...

Views from Down Underer ·

2025/01/08

Elon Musk is on the news about supporting the UK Reform Party and him dabbling into UK politics. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau calling it quits. Lastly, news about China paying off Houthis for safe passage in the Red Sea.

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56:07

Episode 51: Democratic Ceilings: Why democracies can...

Views from Down Underer ·

2024/12/29

Studies about democracies in the last eight years or so have focused on democratic recession or backsliding. Yet, there are democracies that do not regress but instead stagnate. We discuss an academic article that suggest that some democracies hit their ceilings and do not progress further because of the legacy of nationalist polarization that persist.Reference: Aram Hur and Andrew Yeo. 2024. Democratic Ceilings: The Long Shadow of Nationalist Polarization in East Asia. Comparative Political

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57:18

Notes from our Taiwan study tour

Views from Down Underer ·

2024/12/01

This episode is a chat from what we have learned in our study tour of Taiwan.

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56:53

US elections 2024: crystal ball-gazing on foreign policy

Views from Down Underer ·

2024/11/17

We chat about the plausible foreign policy implications of the results of the 2024 US elections.

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01:05:26

Japan PM Kishida steps down, Thailand has new PM,...

Views from Down Underer ·

2024/09/06

Japan PM Kishida steps down and opens up new leadership contest within the LDP. Is it 'plus ca change' in the case of Japanese politics? Clan politics seem to be the name of the game in two Southeast Asian countries -- Thailand and Indonesia. Thailand's new PM is the formerly exiled Thaksin Shinawatra's daughter and the Shinawatra family seem to be on the mend with other significant actors in Thailand. Indonesia's outgoing president Jokowi was supposed to be the outsider but now seems to be

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58:46

Hullaballoo of the upcoming US elections:...

Views from Down Underer ·

2024/08/25

The US election in November is creating lots of anxieties globally. Despite the excitement with the Kamala Harris candidacy, questions remain about what is likely to happen the day after the first Tuesday of November. What does a Harris presidency mean Asia-Pacific? What does a second Trump administration mean for international relations of Asia-Pacific?

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01:12:46

Joe Biden out and Kamala Harris in, Bangladesh riots,...

Views from Down Underer ·

2024/07/29

US President Joe Biden has dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and VP Kamala Harris is in the race. Is this the shot in the arm that the Democrats are looking for? Will the Democrats be able to retain the White House? Deadly riots in Bangladesh due to student protests on job quotas. Is there more to these riots that what meets the eye? Japan reported a 15th year of population decline. What are the implications of continued shrinking population? NZ PM Luxon has been on the job less than

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01:16:15

Fallout of the Biden/Trump debate, Russia-North Korea...

Views from Down Underer ·

2024/07/01

We discuss the fallout of the Biden/Trump debate for our region, is Plan B now Plan A? Putin and Kim Jong-Un signed a mutual defense pact, what are the implications for regional security? ISEAS study that re-analysed the Southeast Asian survey and inferred that China's power is recognised but feared meanwhile NYT article suggests that US is a more humble superpower in China's neighbourhood of the Asia-Pacific.

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01:26:47

NZ's "independent" foreign policy? Modi's Taiwan...

Views from Down Underer ·

2024/06/16

What is independent about NZ's independent foreign policy? Is it myth or reality? Is it tautological? Does using the term prevent true discussion of NZ's foreign policy direction? Modi's response to a congratulatory message from Taiwan's president drew the expected protest from the PRC. Are there meanings behind these overtures? Saudi and US are ending a 50-year long agreement to price Saudi oil in US dollars and Saudi's commitment to use its oil revenues to purchase US Treasury bonds. This news

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01:17:10

Shangri-La dialogue wrap up, India's surprise...

Views from Down Underer ·

2024/06/10

This episode begins with our impressions of the just concluded Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore. India's election results are in and Modi's party requires the support of other parties to form a majority. What are the implications of this surprising election outcome? North Korea has been flying trash balloons across their southern border and now a response from the South Koreans.

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01:22:59

Divine Modi? Dangerous rhetoric in Indian election,...

Views from Down Underer ·

2024/06/02

India's election is seeing dangerous rhetoric of anti-Muslim and heightened Hindu nationalism as well as the spectacular claims of Modi speaking to God. In a speech at the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, has Philippine president Bongbong Marcos inadvertently drew a red line in the Philippine-China skirmishes in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea)? Did it just raise the temperature in these skirmishes? Ex-US president Trump is now a convicted felon being found guilty of all 34 counts

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01:10:02

Economic limits to US exceptionalism, undermining...

Views from Down Underer ·

2024/05/27

Excellent essay on the macroeconomic limits of US exceptionalism and what it means for the increasingly protectionist global trading regime and the resurgence of mercantilism. Is the US undermining the rules based order that it was a chief architect and proponent of in the post-WW2 period? A rain-drenched UK PM Rishi Sunak announced an earlier than expected general election date in the courtyard of 10 Downing Street. Is this an omen for a Conservative washout in the July general election?

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01:10:59

UK to out-cooperate in foreign affairs, Putin-Xi...

Views from Down Underer ·

2024/05/19

Lord Cameron calls UK to out-cooperate, out-compete, and out-innovate in foreign affairs. What does it mean in action? Xi rolls out the red carpet for Putin. Is this still a partnership of equals? India has been accused by Australia for operating a spy network. India acting like a great power? A small town mayor in the Philippines is suspected of being a Chinese spy...but that is not all...the story gets stranger.

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01:05:41

Misunderstanding Asian states and Democracy,...

Views from Down Underer ·

2024/05/06

A May 2, 2024 article published in Foreign Affairs examines the problem of misunderstanding of the Asian states and how they position themselves in the context of great power competition. This fundamental misread of the Asian states is showing in the 'one size fits all' foreign policies of major powers towards Asia...particularly Southeast Asia. In an April 2024 publication of the prestigious academic journal - Democratization - the Varieties of Democracy team shares an excellent presentation of

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59:25

Double-standard in foreign policy? Most revolutionary...

Views from Down Underer ·

2024/04/29

Norway's deputy foreign minister rebuts accusations about double-standard in foreign policy of Western countries and argues that at least in the case of Norway they have tried to be consistent in their foreign policy. Is it easier for smaller states to be consistent? Is it more difficult for major powers engaging in multiple issue dimensions to be consistent so that they appear double-standard? Do values trump interest? Or should interest dominate all international political actions? In a recent

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44:03

AUS-NZ Ministerial meetings, Indonesian election...

Views from Down Underer ·

2024/02/11

ANZMIN 2+2 is the first ministerial level consultations between NZ and Australian foreign affairs and defense ministers. The joint statement of the ANZMIN released by the NZ government marks a clear shift in NZ's explicit posturing regards to AUKUS, QUAD, and Indo-Pacific issues. Indonesia's presidential election will be held on 14 February, the use of cartoon as a campaign tool seem to be creating a positive and softer image of the leading presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto. India detained

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55:14

Taiwan's 2024 elections: democracy has won, the...

Views from Down Underer ·

2024/01/21

Taiwan's presidential and legislative elections was successfully held on 13 January 2024. With the world's attention focus on this election, the election returned a third presidential term for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) but it failed to retain its legislative majority. Taiwan will have a divided government for the next four years. What are the implications to geopolitics, cross-Straits relations, and domestic politics?

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57:49

Attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and what to watch...

Views from Down Underer ·

2024/01/06

Attacks on shipping in the Red Sea by the Houthis threaten to add more stress to the vulnerable global supply chains and unravel the anti-inflationary economic policies of countries around the world. A joint statement released by the White House and signed by many leading nations including New Zealand condemn the attacks on Red Sea shipping. These attacks are mired in the bigger geopolitical events in the the Mideast and the complexities international politics. Panelists suggest what issues they

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45:07

Biden-Xi face to face meeting ahead of APEC Summit in...

Views from Down Underer ·

2023/11/20

US President Biden and Chinese President Xi had a first ever in person meeting in three years of Biden's administration. Sino-US relations have deteriorated since 2017 with Trump's America First and MAGA foreign policies and Biden administration has doubled down on what the Trump administration's China policy. With the weak economic performance of the Chinese economy of late and the many problems that Biden faces at home putting his re-election chances for a second term at risk, this meeting holds

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01:00:26

Jokowi’s legacy, Indonesia’s regional leadership...

Views from Down Underer ·

2023/11/12

The Economist published two articles that caught our attention one titled "What will Indonesia look like after Jokowi leaves?" and a second one titled "Narendra Modi has shifted India from the Palestinians to Israel." These two countries have great potential to take up more leadership position in the Indo-Pacific but something seems to be holding them back. What role does domestic politics play in the two countries international positioning? What are the stimulus and constraints that explain why

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