Hervé Lemahieu

Hervé Lemahieu was a senior researcher at the Lowy Institute and served as Director of Research from 2021 to 2025. In that role, he led the Institute’s multidisciplinary research team as well as its editorial and digital functions, driving the expansion of the Institute’s globally recognised data-led projects and analyses on China, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.

His work focused on the global balance of power, Indo-Pacific strategy, integrated statecraft, Southeast Asia engagement and Australia–Pacific integration. He wrote for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Straits Times, Nikkei Asia, Australian Foreign Affairs and the Australian Financial Review, among other publications.

He joined the Lowy Institute in 2016 to establish the Asia Power Index, the most comprehensive quantitative assessment of the distribution of power undertaken in any region of the world. From 2021 to 2025, he was also affiliated with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, advising on the “Anatomy of Choice” project on Southeast Asia’s strategic choices between the superpowers.

Prior to the Lowy Institute, Hervé was Research Associate for Political Economy and Security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. He began his career at Oxford Analytica, advising governments and corporates on geopolitical risk. He holds degrees from the University of Oxford and the University of St Andrews. A dual citizen of Australia and Belgium, he grew up in Myanmar.