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
News and media

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.

Ear worms for The Interpreter’s 2021 favourites
Ear worms for The Interpreter’s 2021 favourites
Podcasts-a-plenty for the end of year break, a new beat for world politics.
Changing my mind about AUKUS
Changing my mind about AUKUS
What I said then, and what I think now, about the nuclear-powered subs announcement that caught everyone by surprise.
Australia is Making a Risky Bet on the U.S.
Commentary
Australia is Making a Risky Bet on the U.S.
Australia has thrust itself into a central role in America’s rivalry with China. Originally published in The New York Times.
How nuclear subs could transform Australia, its alliance and Asia
How nuclear subs could transform Australia, its alliance and Asia
First thoughts on the consequences of a truly momentous decision.
Beyond Fortress Australia
Interactives
Beyond Fortress Australia
The reality of living in a pandemic has dawned on Australia. Covid cases at the time of writing are high and still climbing. The virus is here to stay. Equally clear is that ring…
Will ANZUS make it to 80?
Will ANZUS make it to 80?
A war in Asia would be a true test of the “unbreakable” bonds said to define the US-Australia relationship.
Afghanistan holds lessons for American power in Asia
Afghanistan holds lessons for American power in Asia
The US will one day ask the same question about its presence in Asia that it did of Afghanistan: is it still worth it?
China debate not just a matter of hawks and doves
China debate not just a matter of hawks and doves
Two new volumes explore Australia’s economic, cultural and security relationship with the emerging superpower.
Australia and migration: Will the Covid pause become a full stop?
Australia and migration: Will the Covid pause become a full stop?
A bipartisan consensus about high immigration remains. But so does arrogance about Australia’s place in the region.
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