Programs & Projects

The Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program

The Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program

To inform the public debate on Australia’s foreign policy, the Lowy Institute has sought the views of the Australian public on foreign policy since 2005. The Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program also conducts polls in important neighbouring countries, and more recently, has started to survey diaspora communities in Australia.

The annual Lowy Institute Poll is one of the Lowy Institute’s flagship publications. It is the leading tracking survey on Australian foreign policy, providing a reliable vehicle for understanding Australian attitudes towards a wide range of foreign policy issues, while being independent and methodologically rigorous.

Over the course of the past decade, the Poll has uncovered significant shifts in public sentiment, including towards our most important neighbours and partners. It has tracked attitudes on important international issues ranging from climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic, to Australia’s relationships with China and the United States.

One of the best ways to explore the data from our eighteen years of polling is through our interactive site. Copies of the previous Lowy Institute polls are available here.

The Lowy Institute continues to conduct influential polls in several of our most important neighbours in the Asia-Pacific, including Indonesia (2006, 2011 and 2021), India (2013), New Zealand (2007 and 2012), China (2009) and Fiji (2011).

Through the Multiculturalism, Identity and Influence Project, the Lowy Institute has also conducted surveys of Chinese-Australian communities in 2020 and 2021. The ground-breaking Being Chinese in Australia study asks Chinese-Australians about their views on a wide range of issues — from foreign influence and relationships with China, to systems of government and pride in Australian life and culture.

The annual Lowy Institute Poll is entirely funded by the Lowy Institute to ensure its ongoing independence, and its questionnaire and results are thoroughly reviewed by independent consultants. The full dataset is available on the Lowy Institute Poll website, and datasets are also deposited with the Australian Social Science Data Archive where they are available free of charge for public scrutiny.

Experts
Latest publications
News and media
Director, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program
Lowy Institute Poll: The world according to Australians
Lowy Institute Poll: The world according to Australians
In 2024, Australians are wary towards China, and worried about the United States. They are divided on immigration, but united on the value of cultural diversity. Threat…
Lowy Institute Poll 2024
Interactives
Lowy Institute Poll 2024
20th edition of the Lowy Institute Poll - the longest-running and broadest survey of how Australians see the world.
America, take heed — China is winning the diplomacy race
Commentary
America, take heed — China is winning the diplomacy race
Originally published in the Financial Times
Global Diplomacy Index 2024 - Key Findings
Reports
Global Diplomacy Index 2024 - Key Findings
The fifth iteration of our interactive map of the world’s most significant diplomatic networks includes 66 countries or territories in Asia, the G20 and the OECD, visualising how…
2024 Global Diplomacy Index
Interactives
2024 Global Diplomacy Index
The fifth iteration of our interactive map of the world’s most significant diplomatic networks includes 66 countries or territories in Asia, the G20 and the OECD, visualising how…
Lowy Institute Poll 2023
Polling
Lowy Institute Poll 2023
In this its nineteenth year, the Lowy Institute Poll charts how Australians see the world, including relations with major powers, the threats facing the nation, and the risk of…
Indonesia Poll 2021 - Charting their own course
Polling
Indonesia Poll 2021 - Charting their own course
The Indonesia Poll 2021 — Charting their own course, conducted a decade after the Lowy Institute’s last poll in the country, is based on fieldwork carried out in December…
The Jakarta Post
25 March 2024
The New Zealand Herald
5 February 2024
CNBC Squawk Box
3 November 2023
Australian Financial Review
11 October 2023