Sally Warhaft, Bob Carr and Dennis Altman

The 2018 midterm elections in the United States will be held on Tuesday 6 November. In the heated, highly partisan atmosphere in Washington – and indeed across the whole of the United States – the stakes feel higher than ever. Two years into Donald Trump’s presidency, the midterms are a test of his often controversial administration.

In the lead-up to the big day, Sally Warhaft dissects the polls, candidates and analysis with former Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr and La Trobe University academic Dennis Altman.

Carr is a former New South Wales Premier, and is currently a professor of international relations at the University of Technology Sydney, researching foreign policy, economics, international relations, national defence and security and Chinese politics. Altman is a leading writer and academic whose work focuses on sexuality, HIV/AIDS, Australian politics and US politics – in domestic and international contexts.

The House and Senate are both ruled by the Republicans, but this could all change after the midterms, with all 435 seats in the House of Representatives in contention and a third of the Senate up for grabs. A Democratic swing could even spark an impeachment motion. In conversation with Sally Warhaft, Carr and Altman discuss the possible outcomes and their consequences for the Australia and the region.

Sally Warhaft and Stephen Smith — Photo: Scott Limbrick

As we hurtle towards the end of 2018, it’s clear we’ve entered a period of increased volatility and uncertainty in global relations. The world's two major powers are locked in a trade war, the European Union is looking decidedly shaky and much of the Middle East is still mired in conflict, partly due to the interventions of powers outside the region. How can Australia negotiate this shifting and unpredictable landscape? And what's our place in it?

In this Fifth Estate conversation, Sally Warhaft discusses these questions with former Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith. During his political career, Smith has held a range of other portfolios that make him uniquely placed to comment on Australia’s strategic priorities and predicaments, including stints as Minister for Trade and Shadow Minister for Immigration. Today, he’s a professor of international law at University of Western Australia.

Together, they explore Australia’s place in a changing region and a changing world. What are the new security challenges? And how can we nurture friendships within the region, while staying on good terms with our increasingly erratic old allies?