Jane Hardy

We'll examine what this charged week of diplomacy reveals about the rapidly changing balance of global power.

Also ahead, from North Korea to the Indo-Pacific, from Washington to ASEAN, Jane Hardy spent decades working on some of Australia's most important strategic relationships.

In The Diplomats, she shares the insights, judgements and lessons that only come from a career on the front lines of foreign policy.

And it was supposed to disappear without a trace.

Whether it's the Pacific Islands Forum or the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the forces shaping the international order aren't always the ones dominating the headlines.

My guest today has spent much of her career looking at exactly those kinds of questions.

Jane Hardy is a former Australian diplomat whose postings took her from Korea and Southeast Asia to Washington, Hawaii, Europe and Africa.

While in Canberra, she worked on arms control, intelligence liaison, nuclear policy and Australia's alliance relationships.