Hervé Lemahieu

Director of Research
Areas of expertise

Strategy and geopolitics; global governance; Australian foreign policy; Southeast Asia; Data analysis

Hervé Lemahieu
Biography
Publications
News and media

As Director of Research, Hervé Lemahieu manages the Lowy Institute’s research team. The Institute’s research is globally recognised for its analysis on China, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands region, as well as its thematic expertise in economic, security and development issues. Hervé also has carriage of the Institute’s editorial, digital and design functions.

His research interests include strategy and geopolitics, global governance, Australian foreign policy, Southeast Asia and data analysis.

In 2018, Hervé developed the Asia Power Index, which is an annual data-driven assessment that maps the changing distribution of power in the region. He oversees other innovative multi-year research projects including the Global Diplomacy Index, the Southeast Asia and Pacific Aid Maps, and the Lowy Institute Poll.

Hervé provides regular commentary in Australian and international media, has given evidence in front of congressional and parliamentary committees, and presented his research at the World Economic Forum. He is a Consulting Senior Fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore where he advises on the Anatomy of Choice Project: Southeast Asia between the Superpowers.

He has also convened a number of bilateral and trilateral strategic dialogues between Australia and ASEAN, China, the European Union, France and the United States.

Before joining the Lowy Institute in 2016, Hervé was Research Associate for Political Economy and Security at the London-based think tank IISS. He started his career at Oxford Analytica informing government and business policy on geopolitical risk in Asia.

Hervé holds an MSc in Global Governance and Diplomacy from the University of Oxford, and an MA in International Relations and Modern History from the University of St Andrews. A dual citizen of Australia and Belgium, he grew up in Myanmar among other countries.

Lowy Institute Conversations: Crisis in Ukraine and Russia's long game
Podcasts
Lowy Institute Conversations: Crisis in Ukraine and Russia's long game
In this special edition of Lowy Institute Conversations, Research Director Hervé Lemahieu speaks to Nonresident Fellow Bobo Lo about Russia's tactics and ambitions in Ukraine, and…
America Is Up—and China Is Down—in Asia
Commentary
America Is Up—and China Is Down—in Asia
But U.S. Power Faces Threats at Home. Originally published in Foreign Affairs. 
Managing Asia’s bipolar disorder
Commentary
Managing Asia’s bipolar disorder
US standing is up, China has been dragged down and middle nations have seen a steady decline in their influence, according to the latest Lowy Institute Asia Power Index…
Asia Power Index 2021
Interactives
Asia Power Index 2021
The annual Asia Power Index measures resources and influence to assess the relative power of states in Asia. It is an analytical tool that ranks 26 countries and territories in…
Digital Conference: The Indo-Pacific Operating System
Speeches
Digital Conference: The Indo-Pacific Operating System
The digital conference The Indo-Pacific Operating System: Power, Order and Rules for the 21st Century was hosted by the Lowy Institute on 1-2 December 2021.
Beyond Fortress Australia
Interactives
Beyond Fortress Australia
The reality of living in a pandemic has dawned on Australia. Covid cases at the time of writing are high and still climbing. The virus is here to stay. Equally clear is that ring…
Submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Australia’s Response to the Coup in Myanmar
Reports
Submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Australia’s Response to the Coup in Myanmar
The following Joint Submission to the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia was made by the Lowy Institute’s Ben Bland and Hervé Lemahieu on Australia’s response to the coup…
Lowy Institute Conversations: Lord Adair Turner on climate change diplomacy
Podcasts
Lowy Institute Conversations: Lord Adair Turner on climate change diplomacy
In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, director of the Lowy Institute's Power and Diplomacy Program Hervé Lemahieu talks with Lord Adair Turner, chair of the Energy…
Australians have never been so fearful and insular
Commentary
Australians have never been so fearful and insular
How Australia has dealt with COVID-19 and the rift with China underscores changes in the national psyche. Originally published in The Australian Financial Review.
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