Mihai Sora

Director, Pacific Islands Program
Areas of expertise

Australian foreign policy, geopolitics in the Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, conflict analysis and fragile states.

Mihai Sora
Biography
Publications
News and media

Mihai Sora is Director of the Pacific Islands Program at the Lowy Institute. The Program has a policy research focus on contemporary challenges facing the Pacific Islands region, including geostrategic competition, sustainable economic development, governance, and leadership. The Program comprises four major projects: the Pacific Research Program, the Geopolitics in the Pacific Project, the Australia-PNG Network Project, and the FDC Pacific Fellow Endowment.

Mihai’s research focus is on regional dynamics and the role of the United States, China, and Australia in the Pacific. His analysis has appeared in the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, The Guardian, and The Interpreter. Mihai’s commentary has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Financial Times, Bloomberg, and other major international outlets.

Before joining the Lowy Institute, Mihai was an Australian diplomat, with postings to Solomon Islands and Indonesia, and short-term deployments throughout the Pacific. Mihai was a Pacific Analyst at the Office of National Assessments.

Can Solomon Islands’ new prime minister really be friends to all?
Can Solomon Islands’ new prime minister really be friends to all?
The success of the PM’s premiership will depend on his approach to pressing domestic problems as much as issues of national sovereignty.
The Translator: “Friends to all”
Commentary
The Translator: “Friends to all”
Re-published in the Samoa Observer
The Translator: "Friends to all"
The Translator: "Friends to all"
A new series in which experts explain the sometimes baffling jargon of international affairs.
Nauru’s diplomatic switch to China – the rising stakes in Pacific geopolitics
Nauru’s diplomatic switch to China – the rising stakes in Pacific geopolitics
Australia is a player at the table but Pacific nations themselves hold the most important cards.
Digital dominoes: Australia’s strategic play in the Pacific
Digital dominoes: Australia’s strategic play in the Pacific
Enhancing the region’s digital connectivity goes beyond influence. It’s about sharing prosperity and security, too.
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