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.
Melissa's recent articles
29 December 2024
Why do Southeast Asian countries want to join BRICS?
In October 2024, four key Southeast Asian countries became partners of BRICS, making the organisation much closer to home for Australians. So why have Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam put themselves on a path to membership?
5 November 2020
Australia-China relations: a downward spiral that can be reversed
Is the current state of Australia-China relations inevitable? Understanding why theres been a rapid deterioration over the last five years offers ideas for how tensions could be managed more effectively.
19 July 2020
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 Australias 2020 Defence Strategic Update, continuing the tendency to view international issues mainly through a security lens.
10 March 2020
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?
16 October 2019
MELISSA CONLEY TYLER and MITCHELL VANDEWERDT-HOLMAN. Diplomacy Needed to Stop Australias Declining Power
We spend our days looking at short-term economic indicators, such as the Reserve Banks decision on the cash rate or whether Australia has entered a recession. This means we dont pay enough attention to the longer-term trend: that Australias economy is inevitably in relative decline compared to its Asian neighbours. To maintain its influence, Australia will have to invest in other elements of national power, most obviously in its under-resourced diplomatic capacity.
14 July 2019
MELISSA CONLEY TYLER. Will Hugh White Change How We Defend Australia?
Australias options for defending itself are in the news with the release of Hugh Whites How to Defend Australia. Will it shake up thinking? Or is it too hard to change the way we do Australias defence because there is no appetite for change?