Sam Roggeveen

Director, International Security Program
Areas of expertise

Australian foreign and defence policy, China’s military forces, US defence and foreign policy, drones and other military technology. Also, trends in global democracy.

Sam Roggeveen
Biography
Publications

Sam Roggeveen is Director of the Lowy Institute’s International Security Program. He is the author of The Echidna Strategy: Australia's Search for Power and Peace, published by La Trobe University Press in 2023.

Before joining the Lowy Institute, Sam was a senior strategic analyst in Australia’s peak intelligence agency, the Office of National Assessments, where his work dealt mainly with North Asian strategic affairs, including nuclear strategy and Asian military forces. Sam also worked on arms control policy in Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs, and as an analyst in the Defence Intelligence Organisation.

Sam has a long-standing interest in politics and political philosophy, and in 2019 he wrote Our Very Own Brexit: Australia's Hollow Politics and Where it Could Lead Us, about the hollowing out of Western democracy and its implications for Australia. 

Sam writes for newspapers and magazines in Australia and around the world, and is a regular commentator on the Lowy Institute’s digital magazine, The Interpreter, of which he was the founding editor from 2007 to 2014.

Sam also serves as lead editor at the Lowy Institute, and editor of the Lowy Institute Papers.

Canberra conversations, with Mike Pezzullo
Canberra conversations, with Mike Pezzullo
Canberra Conversations is a new podcast interview series with some of the big names from the foreign-policy and national-security world in Australia's capital.
China, America and the Thucydides Trap: An interview with Graham Allison
China, America and the Thucydides Trap: An interview with Graham Allison
Harvard University scholar Graham Allison talks about his new book on US-China relations.
North Korea has goals other than nukes
North Korea has goals other than nukes
If you're frustrated that this dispute seems stuck with no way out, here are two things worth thinking about.
North Korea’s ICBM weakens Washington’s hand in Asia
North Korea’s ICBM weakens Washington’s hand in Asia
A world in which Japan and South Korea have less trust in America's ability and willingness to defend them against North Korea is one that works to China's advantage.
Lowy poll: Are we losing faith in democracy?
Lowy poll: Are we losing faith in democracy?
A drop in support for democracy, particularly among the young, may reflect rising expectations of what a democracy should be able to do.
This weekend on The Interpreter
This weekend on The Interpreter
Look out for the Weekend Catch-up, and for analysis of the shock British election result.
Four Corners investigation puts spotlight on party decline
Four Corners investigation puts spotlight on party decline
The travails of our major parties are directly impacting our foreign policy. The parties are desperate for funds, which makes them vulnerable to entreaties from wealthy foreign…
Weekend catch-up: China's ambitions, an incident in Myanmar, violence in PNG and more
Weekend catch-up: China's ambitions, an incident in Myanmar, violence in PNG and more
It was a week dominated by debates about China's rise, violence in the Philippines, and a wonderful anecdote about an Australian general and a narrowly avoided diplomatic incident…
Fear of abandonment: A dialogue on Australian foreign policy, past and future
Fear of abandonment: A dialogue on Australian foreign policy, past and future
The overall story of Australian foreign policy is pretty positive. But there's no doubt we dragged our feet at various stages.
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