Professor Rory Medcalf, Head of the National Security College at the Australian National University.

Moderated by Hon Paul Lucas, President, AIIA Queensland

What we call different parts of the world - Asia, Europe, the Middle East - seems innocuous. But the name of a region is totemic: a mental map that guides the decisions of leaders and the story of international order, war and peace. The Indo-Pacific is both a place and an idea. It is the region central to global prosperity and security. It is also a metaphor for collective action. If diplomacy fails, it will be the theatre of the first general war since 1945. But if its future can be secured, the Indo-Pacific will flourish as a shared space, the centre of gravity in a connected world. Launched in March 2020, jointly by Australia's Foreign Minister and Shadow Foreign Minister, Contest for the Indo-Pacific is the definitive guide to tensions in the region. It weaves history, geopolitics, cartography, military strategy, economics, games and propaganda to address a vital question: how can China's dominance be prevented without war?
In this event, the book's author will assess some of its key themes in light of the emerging impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the strategic environment, focusing on the challenges ahead for Australian policy.

Professor Rory Medcalf is Head of the National Security College at the Australian National University. He has three decades of experience across diplomacy, intelligence analysis, think tanks, academia and journalism, including as founding Director of the International Security Program at the Lowy Institute. In government, Professor Medcalf worked as a senior strategic analyst with the then Office of National Assessments, Canberra’s peak intelligence analysis agency. He was also an Australian diplomat, with experience in India, Japan and Papua New Guinea and continues to lead informal strategic dialogues with India and several other Indo-Pacific powers. He has contributed to three landmark reports on nuclear arms control and was on the expert panel for the Australian Government’s 2016 Defence White Paper. He has been recognised as a thought leader internationally for his work on the Indo-Pacific strategic concept, as articulated in his acclaimed 2020 book Contest for the Indo-Pacific. He is a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum Register of Experts and Eminent Persons and the Board of the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations.

For a link to Professor Medcalf's book, click here

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