Full Name
Dr. Lavina Lee
Position
Director, Foreign Policy and Defence Program
Organisation
United States Studies Centre
Speaker Bio
Associate Professor Lavina Lee is Director of the Foreign Policy and Defence Program at the United States Studies Centre where she leads research on the Australia-US alliance, geo-strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific, and opportunities for foreign and defence cooperation among US allies and partners. Prior to this, she was Chair of the Discipline of Security Studies at Macquarie University, Sydney having joined Macquarie as an academic in 2007. She has held board positions, including as a member of the Council of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (2020-2023) and as a Director of the Institute for Regional Security. Prior to joining Macquarie University, she was a political risk consultant with Control Risks Group.
Dr Lee is the author of the book US Hegemony and International Legitimacy: Norms Power and Followership in the Wars on Iraq (Routledge, 2010), and has published numerous articles, book chapters, research reports and commentary on maritime security and strategy in the Indo-Pacific, Indian foreign and security policy, nuclear proliferation and deterrence, and the US-Australia alliance. She also periodically publishes opinion pieces in The Australian, The Australian Financial Review, The Hindustan Times, and the New Straits Times, as well as with specialist policy outlets such as the Lowy Interpreter and ASPI Strategist.
She has led projects for the Australian government and think tanks on opportunities and weaknesses of the ‘Quad’, Chinese influence in South-East Asia, the role of democracy promotion in the Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy, deterrence in the grey-zone and the implications of Chinese nuclear modernisation on US extended deterrence. Her work integrates academic and policy approaches, and she speaks widely to expert and lay audiences on international and security issues.
Dr Lee has commerce and law degrees from the University of NSW, an MA in International Peace and Security from King’s College, the University of London (with distinction), and a PhD in International Relations from Sydney University.
Dr Lee is the author of the book US Hegemony and International Legitimacy: Norms Power and Followership in the Wars on Iraq (Routledge, 2010), and has published numerous articles, book chapters, research reports and commentary on maritime security and strategy in the Indo-Pacific, Indian foreign and security policy, nuclear proliferation and deterrence, and the US-Australia alliance. She also periodically publishes opinion pieces in The Australian, The Australian Financial Review, The Hindustan Times, and the New Straits Times, as well as with specialist policy outlets such as the Lowy Interpreter and ASPI Strategist.
She has led projects for the Australian government and think tanks on opportunities and weaknesses of the ‘Quad’, Chinese influence in South-East Asia, the role of democracy promotion in the Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy, deterrence in the grey-zone and the implications of Chinese nuclear modernisation on US extended deterrence. Her work integrates academic and policy approaches, and she speaks widely to expert and lay audiences on international and security issues.
Dr Lee has commerce and law degrees from the University of NSW, an MA in International Peace and Security from King’s College, the University of London (with distinction), and a PhD in International Relations from Sydney University.
Speaking At
