Natasha Kassam

Director, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program
Areas of expertise

China’s domestic politics; public opinion polling; human rights; Australian foreign policy; Taiwan; Indo-Pacific strategy

Natasha Kassam
Biography
Publications
News and media

Natasha Kassam was Director of the Lowy Institute's Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program from 2019 to 2022, directing the annual Lowy Institute Poll and researching China’s politics, Taiwan, and Australia-China relations.

She was a Fellow of the ANU National Security College’s Futures Council for 2020-21 and a member of the Advisory Board for the University of Melbourne’s Asian Law Centre. Natasha is a regular contributor to Australian and international media outlets including CNN, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC and The New York Times.

Prior to joining the Lowy Institute, Natasha was an Australian diplomat in China and Solomon Islands. She was a part of the drafting team for the Australian government’s 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons I) and a Bachelor of International Studies from the University of Sydney and speaks Mandarin.

Lowy Institute Poll 2022
Interactives
Lowy Institute Poll 2022
In this its eighteenth year, the Lowy Institute Poll continues to chart how Australians feel about the world and its challenges, including Russia, China and climate change.
Conversations: The future of Taiwan-Australia relations
Podcasts
Conversations: The future of Taiwan-Australia relations
Natasha Kassam, Director of Public Opinion and Foreign Policy, discusses Taiwan-Australia relations with Dr Chen Jie, Dr Sophie McIntyre and Dr Roger Huang. 
Conversations: Australian Attitudes To The World
Podcasts
Conversations: Australian Attitudes To The World
Lowy Institute Director of Research Hervé Lemahieu talks to the Institute’s head of polling, Natasha Kassam, about the 2022 Lowy Institute Poll and what Australians think about…
Lowy Poll: China’s still a worry, but Russia more so
Commentary
Lowy Poll: China’s still a worry, but Russia more so
Originally published in The Australian.
Australians worry about China and muscle-flexing over Taiwan
Australians worry about China and muscle-flexing over Taiwan
New polling shows Beijing and its intentions have overtaken climate, Covid and cyberattacks as major concerns.
Lowy Institute Poll 2022
Polling
Lowy Institute Poll 2022
In this its eighteenth year, the Lowy Institute Poll continues to chart how Australians feel about the world and its challenges, including Russia, China and climate change.
West must be calibrated in responding to China’s escalation on Taiwan
Commentary
West must be calibrated in responding to China’s escalation on Taiwan
The US and its allies have a tricky diplomatic job of deterring a determined China without raising the temperature even higher. Originally published in the Australian Financial…
Conversations: Being Chinese in Australia - Public Opinion of Chinese Communities
Podcasts
Conversations: Being Chinese in Australia - Public Opinion of Chinese Communities
In this episode of Conversations, Jennifer Hsu talks with Natasha Kassam and Richard McGregor about the results of the second Lowy Institute’s Being Chinese in Australia survey…
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