Riley Duke

Research Fellow, Pacific Aid Map
Areas of expertise

Pacific Islands aid and development; development finance; sovereign debt; China’s foreign assistance and overseas lending

Riley Duke
Biography
Publications
News and media

Riley Duke is a Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute and lead author of the Institute's Pacific Aid Map. His research areas include aid and development policy in the Pacific, development finance, sovereign debt, China’s foreign aid, and Chinese state-backed lending. His commentary and research have featured in Australian and international news outlets, including The Economist, The New York Times, Reuters, The Guardian, Australian Financial Review, Al Jazeera, and Nikkei. Riley also holds a Special Advisory position with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.

Prior to joining the Institute in 2022, Riley worked as an intern at the Institute for Economics and Peace. He holds a Master of International Relations from the University of Sydney.

Australia doubles down on Pacific infrastructure
Australia doubles down on Pacific infrastructure
Shifting more funds to infrastructure makes sense but implementation is the real test.
Pacific Aid Map 2025 - Key Findings Report
Report
Pacific Aid Map 2025 - Key Findings Report
The annual Pacific Aid Map — launched by the Lowy Institute in 2018 — is a comprehensive database tracking official development finance (ODF) flows in the Pacific Islands region…
Pacific Aid Map 2025
Interactive
Pacific Aid Map 2025
A comprehensive database tracking official development finance (ODF) flows in the Pacific Islands region, the eighth edition of the Pacific Aid Map encompasses the period from…
How to scale up Australia’s investment in Pacific climate adaptation
Policy Brief
How to scale up Australia’s investment in Pacific climate adaptation
Australia could significantly increase its climate adaptation investment in the Pacific by shifting funding away from technical advisers and towards infrastructure.
Peak repayment: China’s global lending
Data Snapshot
Peak repayment: China’s global lending
Soaring debt repayments and a sharp reduction in lending have transformed China’s role in developing country finances from capital provider to debt collector. 
US aid cuts are a soft power surrender to China
US aid cuts are a soft power surrender to China
Even a static China will see its influence fill the vacuum left by US withdrawal.
UK aid cut: Implications for an increasingly lonely Australia
UK aid cut: Implications for an increasingly lonely Australia
Starmer’s announcement is another demonstration of a narrowing perception of global security.
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