AUGUST 2020

Three months to election day; AUSMIN 2020

It is the home stretch of the US presidential election and August kicks off the largest events prior to the election – the Republican and Democratic national conventions. While the conventions will be unlike any other in history, they will nonetheless still send strong messages for how the political parties see themselves and where they see their parties in the future. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has also said he will be announcing his vice-presidential running mate this month. Non-resident Senior Fellow Bruce Wolpe makes the case for Kamala Harris, but regardless the candidate there will be challenges for them to overcome as Research Associate Elliott Brennan outlines  in his recent comments for ABC. Non-resident Senior Fellow Stephen Loosley's piece in The Australian and Non-resident Fellow Kim Hoggard's piece in today's Canberra Times also offer their latest analysis on the topic. The one thing all panellists agreed on in the recent USSC Vice-Presidential Sweepstakes webinar: the top factor will be presidential readiness.

Across the Centre, our research and analysis focuses on two questions: What is the trajectory of American politics, power and prestige, and what are the implications for Australia? The November elections loom large in that frame and this month the Centre will produce its first major take on the election, looking at what either a Biden administration or second Trump term would mean for Australia. This will be your handy guide to major policy comparisons for the two candidates and implications for Australia, and the first of numerous future election-related publications. To get your 2020 election fix, make sure to follow upcoming USSC Convention Commentary and Election Watch events.

Last week, senior Australian officials flew to Washington DC to hold the most significant annual discussions and negotiations between the United States and Australia – the Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN). Key recommendations from the Centre's Bolstering Resilience report have been topics of conversation. Analysis from United States Studies Centre (USSC) experts has been featured  in the Wall Street Journal, The Australian and on ABC News. This comes right after the Centre's flagship event on 24 July with The Hon John Howard, The Hon Arthur Sinodinos, Robert Zoellick, Wendy Cutler, Michael Thawley, Stephen Conroy and new USSC Distinguished Ambassadorial Fellow The Hon Joe Hockey.

EVENTS

Will Democrats take the Senate and the White House?

CENTRE NEWS

Former ambassador The Hon Joe Hockey joins USSC

Former Australian Ambassador to the United States The Hon Joe Hockey has joined the USSC as a Distinguished Ambassadorial Fellow. During his appointment from 2016 to 2020, Ambassador Hockey oversaw the transition from the Obama to Trump administrations, deftly advancing Australia’s interests in the United States during one of the more tumultuous periods in recent American history, building close relationships across Washington and the United States more broadly. READ THE MEDIA RELEASE

Farewell Matilda Steward

Matilda Steward joined the Foreign Policy and Defence Program as a researcher in 2017. She is leaving the USSC to further her studies at the London School of Economics as a Joan Rydon Scholar. Her policy brief, with Dougal Robinson, on Congress after the midterms was recognised as specifically valuable by Australian parliamentary offices; and her detailed contributions to the report Averting Crisis were a major component of its depth and international success. The Centre wishes her all the best with her future endeavours.

Now hiring

Following Matilda's departure, the USSC is looking for a new Research Associate to contribute to the work of the Foreign Policy and Defence Program. The Research Associate will assist the Program Director with all aspects of the program, providing research, policy outreach and administrative support. This role is a full-time, fixed-term position until June 2022. If you or someone you know may be interested, please check out the job listing. Applications close Sunday, 16 August 2020. READ MORE HERE

Enduring partners: The US-Australia investment relationship

More than one out of every four dollars invested in Australia from overseas comes from the United States, 12 times higher than the investment from China, according to new research from the USSC. Yet despite this, polling data found that 71 per cent of Australians incorrectly believe China is the top investor into the country.

This latest research builds on the ground-breaking analysis of the 2017 report Indispensable Economic Partners. Authored by USSC Non-Resident Fellow David Uren and featuring analysis by Trade and Investment Program Director Dr Stephen Kirchner, Enduring Partners: The US-Australia investment relationship examines the stunning growth of US and Australian two-way investment at a time when foreign investment in developed countries has dropped by 50 per cent.

The Guardian, The Daily Mail and 7 News reported on its findings. Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed the importance of the two-way trade and investment relationship in his video address to the Enduring economic partners event. This was covered in The Australian, The Age, and MSN Australia. Watch the full event and exclusive videos from Prime Minister Scott Morrison and US Ambassador to Australia AB Culvahouse Jr here.

2020 student writing competition

The USSC is calling for University of Sydney student analysis and creative commentary that explores Australian and US-led responses to COVID-19. This theme can be expressed in a number of mediums ranging from non-fiction (e.g. opinion, analysis, essay) to fiction and other creative mediums (e.g. poetry, a short story, a play). The competition is open to all University of Sydney students and the deadline is 11:50pm AEST 2 October 2020. Winners will receive a $100 gift voucher to Westfield and their work will be published on the USSC website. READ MORE HERE

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Webinar replay

June and July have been action-packed with the Centre's busiest webinar schedule yet. If you missed an important event, check out the webinar replays through the USSC Live podcast and on YouTube. Here are some of the greatest hits from recent webinars:

• Enduring economic partners - PART 1 and PART 2 ft Scott Morrison, John Howard, AB Culvahouse, Arthur Sinodinos, Joe Hockey, Robert Zoellick, Wendy Cutler, Michael Thawley and Stephen Conroy
• AUSMIN 2020 | Bolstering resilience in the Indo-Pacific ft Ashley Townshend, Brendan Thomas-Noone, Matilda Steward, Jeffrey Wilson and Gordon Flake
• The Quad: Will it ever work? ft HR McMaster, John Lee, Lavina Lee and Charles Edel
• Election Watch | The vice-presidential sweepstakes ft Jennifer Lawless, Kim Hoggard, Simon Jackman and Zoe Daniels
• A conversation with The Washington Post White House Bureau Chief Philip Rucker ft Phil Rucker and Simon Jackman
• A new Cold War? China, America and the geopolitics of COVID-19 ft Richard Maude, Ashley Townshend, Lynn Kuok and Lavina Lee
• The Trump campaign playbook with Axios national political reporter Jonathan Swan ft Jonathan Swan, Bruce Wolpe and Simon Jackman

Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to the USSC YouTube channel to get notifications as soon as new videos are uploaded.

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University of Sydney NSW 2006

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