Hervé Lemahieu

Director of Research
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.

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.
Navigating a Three-Pronged Crisis
Speeches
Navigating a Three-Pronged Crisis
This is an edited version of the speech delivered by Hervé Lemahieu to The Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies on 22 December 2020.
Looking for the keys to Covid “success”
Looking for the keys to Covid “success”
With more than 2 million deaths globally, it’s clear that most nations have outdone each other only in underperforming.
The Case for Australia to Step Up in Southeast Asia
Reports
The Case for Australia to Step Up in Southeast Asia
A policy brief by Hervé Lemahieu, Director of the Power and Diplomacy Program at the Lowy Institute, published by The Brookings Institution.
2020 Asia Power Index Key Findings Report
Analyses
2020 Asia Power Index Key Findings Report
The annual Asia Power Index — launched by the Lowy Institute in 2018 — measures resources and influence to rank the relative power of states in Asia. The project maps out the…
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