Bob Bowker
Bob Bowker retired from DFAT in 2008 after a 37 year career with DFAT and the UN largely focused on Middle East issues. From 2008-19 he was Adjunct Professor and later Honorary Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the ANU.
Bob's recent articles
10 February 2025
Enchained to a world departed? Australian policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The two-state solution is no longer viable, and Australia must rethink its approach to Israel-Palestine in line with its evolving values and demographics. Instead of privileging one ethno-religious group, Australia should advocate for a single democratic framework ensuring equality and shared sovereignty for both Israelis and Palestinians.
11 April 2024
Staring into a void — of neither two states nor one
I support recognition of a Palestinian state, in the UN context, as an affirmation that our values apply in our approach to dealings between states as well as within states.
10 January 2024
No peace to keep: Israel, the ICJ and implications for Australian policy
For the foreseeable future Israel will not commit itself to allowing Palestinian statehood. It will remain in occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. And so long as the occupation continues, there will be no peace to keep.
11 December 2023
No peace to keep: outsiders cannot drive an end to the occupation
Some years ago I reached the conclusion, reluctantly, that there was no longer a realistic prospect of achieving a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
9 December 2021
After Trump debacle, it's time for US to review Iran strategy
The Middle East is changing, and it would be the region's advantage if the US and key Arab players brokered a mature relationship with Iran.
15 May 2021
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
As an Adjunct Professor, sometimes released and eventually retired from diplomacy, I would pose to my students two questions. With Israelis and Palestinians seeking the realization of their conflicting versions of their respective national rights, where does justice lie?
14 May 2020
BOB BOWKER: The Piano Stool: Israel-Palestine and the Arc of History
As an Adjunct Professor, sometimes released and later retired from diplomacy, I would pose to my students two questions.
4 January 2020
BOB BOWKER.-Iran and the United States: Where to from here?
The assassination, at President Trumps instruction, of the emblematic Iranian military leader Qassem Sulaimani has almost certainly moved the Iran-US contest into a new phase.