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.

Five key findings from the Being Chinese in Australia survey
Five key findings from the Being Chinese in Australia survey
The latest Lowy survey of Chinese-Australians captures views on belonging, trust, strategic competition, Covid and more.
Being Chinese in Australia Poll
Interactives
Being Chinese in Australia Poll
The release of the second annual Being Chinese in Australia: Public Opinion in Chinese Communities survey is one of the largest studies of attitudes among Chinese-Australians ever…
Being Chinese in Australia Poll
Polling
Being Chinese in Australia Poll
The release of the second annual Being Chinese in Australia: Public Opinion in Chinese Communities survey is one of the largest studies of attitudes among Chinese-Australians ever…
Indonesia Poll 2021 - Charting their own course
Polling
Indonesia Poll 2021 - Charting their own course
The Indonesia Poll 2021 — Charting their own course, conducted a decade after the Lowy Institute’s last poll in the country, is based on fieldwork carried out in December…
Indonesia Poll 2021 - Charting their own course
Interactives
Indonesia Poll 2021 - Charting their own course
The Indonesia Poll 2021 — Charting their own course, conducted a decade after the Lowy Institute’s last poll in the country, is based on fieldwork carried out in December…
The war in Ukraine
Commentary
The war in Ukraine
The Lowy Institute hosted a special panel on International Women's Day to discuss the unfolding war in Ukraine.
Winter Games harden China’s global freeze
Commentary
Winter Games harden China’s global freeze
The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games were China’s coming out party as a global power. The 2022 Games tell a very different story. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review.
What Taiwan really wants
Commentary
What Taiwan really wants
Originally published in The New York Times.
Lines blurred: Chinese community organisations in Australia
Analyses
Lines blurred: Chinese community organisations in Australia
Examining the impact of Australia’s foreign interference debate and Beijing’s reach in Chinese-Australian community organisations.
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