Richard Cooke
Richard Cooke

Richard Cooke is The Monthly’s US correspondent and contributing editor. His work appears in The New York Times, The Best of Longform, Best Australian Essays, The Saturday Paper, The Guardian and Australian Foreign Affairs. He is the current Mumbrella Publish Columnist of the Year, and was a finalist in the 2018 Walkley–Pascall Prize for Arts Criticism.   


As a contributor

AFA13 cover image
Asia's Huge Question

Could India, an emerging giant and growing geopolitical player, change the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific?

Cover of AFA9 SPY VS SPY
The New Age of Espionage

The ninth issue of Australian Foreign Affairs explores the threat facing Australia as changes in technology enable malign actors to target individuals, officials, businesses and infrastructure – challenges that have only sharpened due to COVID-19.

Australian Foreign Affairs 8: Can We Trust America?
A Superpower in Transition

The eighth issue of Australian Foreign Affairs examines the changing status of the United States as its dominance in the Asia-Pacific faces challenge from China and its “America First” foreign policy marks a shift away from global engagement.        

Can We Trust America? looks at the uncertainties for Australia as questions arise about the commitment of its closest ally.            

Yellow journal cover of AFA7 CHINA DEPENDENCE with dark purple writing and red shipping containers
Australia’s new vulnerability

The seventh issue of Australian Foreign Affairs explores Australia’s status as the most China-dependent country in the developed world, and the potential risks this poses to its future prosperity and security.

Yellow cover of AFA6 with blue writing and a picture of a plane flying over the sea
Rivalry in the Pacific

The latest issue of Australian Foreign Affairs examines Australia’s struggle to retain influence among its Pacific island neighbours as foreign powers play a greater role and as small nations brace for the impacts of climate change. 

“Whether we like it or not, the challenge of defending Australia will become much harder in the twenty-first century. We are no longer a strategic backwater.” MICHAEL WESLEY

The fourth issue of Australian Foreign Affairs examines the challenge of defending Australia at a time of regional uncertainty and fast-changing military technology. 

Cover image of AFA3
Can We Be Friends?

Australian Foreign Affairs is published three times a year and seeks to explore – and encourage – debate on Australia’s place in the world and global outlook.

AFA2 Trump in Asia
The New World Disorder

Trump in Asia is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the issues facing Canberra as Australia’s closest ally recasts its alliances.

AFA1 The Big Picture
Towards an Independent Foreign Policy

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Articles by Richard Cooke

Foreign Policy Concepts and Jargon, Explained
Foreign policy concepts and jargon, explained
The Back Page, Diplomatic Flu
Foreign policy concepts and jargon, explained