
Show Notes
Asia’s modern resurgence has transformed the global economy, lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty through globalization, supply chains and market integration. Yet this success has also generated new geopolitical rivalries and nationalist tensions, placing the region at a critical crossroads between continued prosperity and growing risk.
What powered Asia’s economic transformation — and are globalization and supply chains now becoming sources of vulnerability rather than strength? How are intensifying geopolitics and nationalism reshaping the region’s future? And what leadership and policy choices will determine whether Asia’s next chapter is defined by cooperation or conflict?
The launch of Asian Crucible: Globalization, Geopolitics and the Contest for the Future by Nick Bisley.
Speakers:
Professor Nick Bisley (Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research), La Trobe University)
Dan Flitton (Managing Editor, Lowy Interpreter)
The Hon. John Brumby AO (Chancellor, La Trobe University)
Dr Ruth Gamble (Director, La Trobe Asia)
Recorded 5th March, 2026.
More from Asia Rising
China’s new Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress is presented by Beijing as a policy of development and equality. For Tibetans, it represents something very different.
The waters of the South China Sea - including areas the Philippines refers to as the West Philippine Sea - are at the centre of some of the Indo-Pacific’s most important maritime disputes. These waters bring together competing territorial and maritime claims, strategic interests, and the rights and interests of coastal states. They are also vital to fishing communities and populations whose livelihoods and security depend on access to the sea.
Few diplomatic careers span Moscow during the invasion of Ukraine, the remote islands of the Pacific, and Canberra. Germany's Ambassador to Australia, Beate Grzeski, has lived all three - and the thread connecting them says something about how the world is changing.
Few events in recent history have generated as much confusion, controversy, and misinformation as the COVID-19 pandemic. Five years on, the origins of COVID remain contested, and the lessons of how that debate played out carry hard implications for global health security for years to come.
The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is fast becoming one of the world's most contested global commons. Home to critical sea lanes, energy and trade corridors, and a growing contest for influence among major and middle powers, traditional security challenges are growing and competing.