Australian Institute of International Affairs NSW

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Australian Institute of International Affairs NSW

The Australian Institute of International Affairs is a non-profit organisation, committed to informed discussion among the public on international issues.

We hold debates and discussions with influential decision makers and opinion formers at our base at Sydney's historic Glover Cottages. Members have advantages, but visitors are aways welcome. Our international affairs portal is at http://glovercottages.wordpress.com/

13/06/2026

On 10 June 2026, the AIIA NSW hosted its first-ever trivia night!

It was a pleasure to see the Institute's premises full of young, passionate individuals engaging with questions spanning geography, history, international politics, and world leaders. More than 40 students and young professionals took part in the event.

Congratulations to team "Thucydides" for taking home the win, and thank you to all participants for making this inaugural event such a success! 🏆

04/06/2026

🌏 Join the AIIA NSW for TRIVIA NIGHT!

Whether you are a seasoned follower of international affairs or simply enjoy a good trivia challenge, this event is an opportunity to put your knowledge to the test with other students and young professionals interested in world affairs.

🚨 Prizes will be awarded to the winning team!

Attendance is free, however registration is required. Light refreshments will be provided.

📅 Wednesday, 10 June 2026
🕙 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
📍 Glover Cottages, Millers Point, Sydney (NO PARKING)

🖇️Register here: https://aiiansw.glueup.com/event/young-professionals-international-affairs-trivia-night-183738/

29/05/2026

On 26 May, the Australian Institute of International Affairs NSW had the privilege of being hosted by the Chinese Consulate in Sydney for a roundtable discussion titled "China in Dialogue, World in View".

Over the course of the afternoon, the Institute and the Chinese Consulate engaged in important discussions on China's role in today's world order. Topics such as artifical intelligence, external relations and cultural diplomacy emerged centre stage as our representatives deepened their understanding of Chinese domestic and foreign policy.

Many thanks to Consul General Wang Yu, Deputy Consul General Yu Jie, and members of the Chinese Consulate in Sydney for generously hosting the Institute.

22/05/2026

📣 An Evening with the Interns

Join us next Tuesday, May 26, to hear what the next generation has to say.

AIIA NSW's intern cohort takes the stage to present on global issues that matter right now. Our six interns will each deliver a presentation spanning a diverse range of topics: from radical hope in an age of conflict and Nicaragua's quiet defiance, to a fracturing UN, Europe's federal future, China's energy pivot, and Australia's place in an increasingly contested region.

📅 Tuesday, 26 May 2026
🕙 Refreshments from 6:00 PM; Event starts 6:30 PM (AEST)
📍 Glover Cottages, Millers Point, Sydney

🖇️Registration closes 4:00 PM AEST on 26 May – limited spots, pre-paid tickets only. Secure yours: https://aiiansw.glueup.com/event/an-evening-with-the-interns-182134/

21/05/2026

💡Reframing the war on Lebanon: Hezbollah, Palestine and Israel

Join us on 2 June for a thought-provoking address by Bakar Mohamad on Lebanon's position amidst the ongoing genocide in Gaza and its implications on the nation's domestic and international policy.

Starting with the 1943 National Pact and examining Lebanon's sectarian and demographic composition, this discussion explores whether the Lebanese state project itself remains viable. As calls for federalism and even partition increasingly resurface, the current Hezbollah-Israel war is examined not as an isolated crisis, but as a symptom of deeper structural tensions within Lebanon itself.

Bakar Mohamad is an Australian-Lebanese political communications specialist and a former AIIA NSW intern. In 2024, he moved to Beirut to pursue a career in Lebanese politics. He has been the head of communications at the Lebanese National Bloc, a cross-sectarian Lebanese political party based in Beirut.

📅 Tuesday, 2 June 2026
🕙 Refreshments from 6:00 PM; Event starts 6:30 PM (AEST)
📍 Glover Cottages, Millers Point, Sydney

🖇️Registration closes 4:00 PM AEST on 2 June – limited spots, pre-paid tickets only. Secure yours: https://aiiansw.glueup.com/event/reframing-the-war-on-lebanon-hezbollah-palestine-and-israel-182135/

17/05/2026

⚖️The future of international law in light of recent US foreign policy

Join us next Tuesday, May 19, for an insightful address by Professor Shirley Scott FAIIA on the consequences of the second Trump presidency on the international legal order.

Scott, Professor of International Law and International Relations at UNSW Canberra, will analyse the effects of the American/Israeli war against Iran on US leadership of the international legal order and the dilemma faced by its close allies, including Australia. As international law appears in a daunting decline, China and the Global South seem to resist its abandonment. In a moment where international cooperation is more needed than ever, Professor Scott will help us understand what has characterised the US era in international law and to explore what might lie ahead.

📅 Tuesday, 19 May 2026
🕙 Refreshments from 6:00 PM; Event starts 6:30 PM (AEST)
📍 Glover Cottages, Millers Point, Sydney

🖇️Registration closes 4:00 PM AEST on 19 May – limited spots, pre-paid tickets only. Secure yours: https://aiiansw.glueup.com/event/the-future-of-international-law-in-light-of-recent-us-foreign-policy-180959/

08/05/2026

🌏The Once and Future World: why civilisation will survive the decline of the West

Join us on Wednesday evening, May 13, for an address by Professor Amitav Acharya on his recent book, The Once and Future World Order: Why Global Civilization Will Survive the Decline of the West, which offers a 5,000-year history of world ordering, encompassing Asia, Africa, the Islamic world, the Mediterranean, the Americas, Europe, "the West," and more.

Acharya, Distinguished Professor of International Relations at American University, Washington, D.C., sees the contemporary world order as a shared creation whose elements have emerged from multiple locations around the world. He asks what the shape of the next order might be, given that the dominant position of the West is now under challenge. He will also reflect on the impact of recent developments, including the new Trump presidency and the future of multilateralism, as well as the implications for middle powers like Australia and the Indo-Pacific countries.

📅 Wednesday, 13 May 2026
🕙 Refreshments from 6:00 PM; Event starts 6:30 PM (AEST)
📍 Glover Cottages, Millers Point, Sydney

🖇️Registration closes 4:00 PM AEST on 13 May – limited spots, pre-paid tickets only. Secure yours: https://aiiansw.glueup.com/event/the-once-and-future-world-why-civilisation-will-survive-the-decline-of-the-west-179575/

18/04/2026

🇰🇵 International Human Rights - the Korean experience

Join us on Tuesday, April 21 for an address by the Honourable Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG, former Justice of the High Court of Australia and Chair of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The Commission’s landmark 2014 report documented systematic, widespread, and grave violations by what it termed a “totalitarian state,” including atrocities in political prison camps. Justice Kirby’s address offers a timely chance to reflect on whether meaningful follow-up to these findings is possible more than a decade later, and to explore the broader implications for international human rights accountability.

📅 Tuesday, 21 April 2026
🕙 Refreshments from 6:00 PM; Event starts 6:30 PM (AEST)
📍 Glover Cottages, Millers Point, Sydney

🖇️Registration closes 4:00 PM AEST on 21 April – limited spots, pre-paid tickets only. Secure yours: https://aiiansw.glueup.com/event/international-human-rights-the-korean-experience-178690/

31/03/2026

🌍 Is the Western Balkans Europe's next great power battleground?

Join us Tuesday 31 March as Dr Nina Markovic Khaze examines how countries like Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, and Albania are navigating the competing pulls of Brussels, Beijing and Moscow all while chasing EU membership.

From China's infrastructure push and the Belgrade-Budapest Railway to the ripple effects of the war in Ukraine, the Balkans are quietly becoming one of Europe's most consequential geopolitical pivot points. Don't miss this timely discussion.

📅 Tuesday, 31 March 2026
🕖 Refreshments from 6:00PM | Event starts 6:30PM (AEST)
📍 Glover Cottages, Millers Point, Sydney
🖇️ Registration closes 4:00PM AEST today.
🎟️limited spots, pre-paid tickets only!

👉 Register here: https://aiiansw.glueup.com/event/europe-s-unfinished-frontier-the-western-balkans-between-brussels-beijing-and-moscow-175065/

14/03/2026

🌏 What is Australia’s plan — during Trump, and after?

Join us Tuesday 17 March as Professor James Curran from the University of Sydney unpacks Australia’s foreign policy in the Trump era.

Is Canberra doing the hard thinking needed to navigate not just the rest of this presidential term, but what comes next? Come along and find out.

📅 Tuesday, 17 March 2026
🕙 Refreshments from 6:00PM | Event starts 6:30PM (AEST)
📍Glover Cottages, Millers Point, Sydney
🖇️ Registration closes 4:00PM AEST on 17 March — limited spots, pre-paid tickets only!

👉 Register here: https://aiiansw.glueup.com/event/australian-foreign-policy-problems-and-perspectives-in-the-age-of-trump-and-after-trump-174238/

Address

124 Kent Street
Sydney, NSW
2000

Website

https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/new-south-wales/

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