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 and oversees its research agenda and output.

His research interests include Australian foreign policy in Asia and the Pacific, global governance, security and political economy, and Southeast Asia. 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.

In 2018, Hervé developed the Lowy Institute’s Asia Power Index, which is an annual data-driven assessment that maps the changing distribution of power in the region. He has worked on other methodologies to improve technical understanding of key issues, including the Global Diplomacy Index and the COVID Performance Index.

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

Before joining Lowy, Hervé was Research Associate for Political Economy and Security at the London-based think tank IISS. He started his career consulting on early warning and geopolitical risk for governments and international organisations.

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.

Indonesia is key to Australia’s regional vision
Commentary
Indonesia is key to Australia’s regional vision
Indonesia will never join Australia in trying to balance China. But we cannot succeed without paying heed to the broader strategic value of our huge northern neighbour. Originally…
Chinese-Australian shouldn’t be limited to tick-box of citizenship
Commentary
Chinese-Australian shouldn’t be limited to tick-box of citizenship
A commentary first published in the The Australian on 9 May 2023.
Why Australia needs to own its strategic power
Commentary
Why Australia needs to own its strategic power
Australia will need to shape a region likely to be made up of a messy patchwork of coalitions, rather than a grand concert of powers. First published in the Australian…
The big picture: five lessons for five years of the Asia Power Index
The big picture: five lessons for five years of the Asia Power Index
Superpower rivalry matters – but don’t be blinded to the role of smaller players in a region of many contests.
2023 Asia Power Index - Key Findings Report
Analyses
2023 Asia Power Index - Key Findings Report
In-depth analysis and insight into the changing power distribution in Asia and its geopolitical consequences.
2023 Asia Power Index
Interactives
2023 Asia Power Index
A comprehensive assessment of the changing distribution of power in Asia, ranking 26 countries and territories through 133 indicators.
Conversations: Nuclear threats, non-proliferation and Australia
Podcasts
Conversations: Nuclear threats, non-proliferation and Australia
Hervé Lemahieu discusses the continuing threat of nuclear weapons, global efforts at arms control and Australia's interactions with the global non-proliferation regime around its…
Asean is less dysfunctional on geopolitics than it seems
Commentary
Asean is less dysfunctional on geopolitics than it seems
Originally published in The Straits Times.
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