Writer
Melissa Conley Tyler
Melissa Conley Tyler is Research Fellow in the Asia Institute of The University of Melbourne, transferring from her role as Director of Diplomacy at Asialink. She came to the University after serving as National Executive Director of the Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) for 13 years. She is a regular commentator on Australian international relations. In 2017, she co-authored Think Tank Diplomacy, the first-ever book length discussion of the role of think tanks in modern diplomacy. In 2019 Melissa was honoured as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs in recognition of her distinguished contribution to international affairs.
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Australia-China relations: a downward spiral that can be reversed
Is the current state of Australia-China relations inevitable? Understanding why there’s been a rapid deterioration over the last five years offers ideas for how tensions could be managed more effectively. Continue reading »
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When all you have is a defence hammer, what about some quality diplomacy?
‘When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail’ comes to mind upon the release of Australia’s 2020 Defence Strategic Update, continuing the tendency to view international issues mainly through a security lens. Continue reading »
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MELISSA CONLEY TYLER & PRAVIN SILVA: Building Asia-Australia Engagement through the New Colombo Plan
The New Colombo Plan has celebrated its first five years funding Australian students to study and work in the Indo-Pacific. As a high-profile Australian Government program, what has it achieved? And what do we know about its wider impact? Continue reading »
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MELISSA CONLEY TYLER and MITCHELL VANDEWERDT-HOLMAN. Diplomacy Needed to Stop Australia’s Declining Power
We spend our days looking at short-term economic indicators, such as the Reserve Bank’s decision on the cash rate or whether Australia has entered a recession. This means we don’t pay enough attention to the longer-term trend: that Australia’s economy is inevitably in relative decline compared to its Asian neighbours. To maintain its influence, Australia Continue reading »
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MELISSA CONLEY TYLER. Will Hugh White Change How We Defend Australia?
Australia’s options for defending itself are in the news with the release of Hugh White’s How to Defend Australia. Will it shake up thinking? Or is it too hard to change the way we do Australia’s defence because there is no appetite for change? Continue reading »
