Shaking the Global Order S2, Ep 3: Interview with Nick Bisley on the Changing Order in Asia

I invited Nick Bisley into the virtual studio to explore the changing dynamics of the global order in Asia. We have seen the conclusion recently of the RCEP, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership that includes 15 countries including China. In addition, in March we saw the first meeting of leaders of the Quad. The Quadrilateral Initiative made up of the United States, Japan, India and Australia was formed in 2007 but this was the first leaders meeting, though virtually. It was one of the first multilateral gatherings that included President Biden. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan noted that each of the four leaders present had described the meeting as “historic.” This podcast was an opportunity then to talk with Nick about the significance of this meeting, the rising Australia-China tensions and the consequences for the region of the rising US-China tensions. Nick Bisley is the Dean and Head of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor of International Relations at La Trobe University in Melbourne. His research and teaching expertise is in Asia's international relations, great power politics and Australian foreign and defence policy. Nick is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of International served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Australian Journal of International Affairs between 2013 and 2018, the country's oldest scholarly journal in the field of International Relations. Nick is the author of many works on international relations.