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
Australians shifting on climate change
A month ago my colleague John Connor wrote an op-ed for the Sydney Morning Herald welcoming the fact that for the first time in years, climate change was a major story coming out…
Young Australians talk about the value of democracy
[vimeo:85892717] Since Fergus Hanson first polled Australians on the value of democracy in the 2012 Lowy Institute Poll, our findings about how Australians, particularly young…
Can women lead? Australians think so
Comments by Hillary Clinton and Julia Gillard this week have invigorated the debate on women and leadership. Clinton's recently released book Hard Choices made news in Australia…
Why Australians are cool with spying
Commentary
Why Australians are cool with spying
Why Australians are cool with spying Michael Fullilove ForeignPolicy.com Please click here for full online text.Michael Fullilove
The people have spoken: Japan and China share title of our best friend in Asia
Commentary
The people have spoken: Japan and China share title of our best friend in Asia
The people have spoken: Japan and China share title of our best friend in AsiaMichael Fullilove and Alex OliverThe AustralianPlease click here for full online text. Michael…
How the Lowy Institute Poll works
In conjunction with the release of the 2014 Lowy Institute Poll, Lowy Institute Poll Director Alex Oliver has recorded a podcast which explains the methodology used in the survey…
Foreign-investment anxiety revealed in Lowy Poll
I've just written on the widespread antipathy in Indonesia to foreign investment, and how it is colouring the presidential election campaign. I attributed this hostility to the…
Lowy Institute Poll 2014
Polling
Lowy Institute Poll 2014
2014 marks the tenth year of Lowy Institute polling on Australia and the world. The 2014 Lowy Institute Poll includes a mix of fascinating new questions on issues such as who…
First look at the Budget: DFAT, aid and defence
So here I am at the budget lockup, deep in the bowels of Treasury, with the idea of getting a much-anticipated preview of the Foreign Affairs and Trade budget for this, the…
Senate Occasional Lecture: 'Are Australians disenchanted with democracy?' by Alex Oliver
Speeches
Senate Occasional Lecture: 'Are Australians disenchanted with democracy?' by Alex Oliver
On 7 March 2014 at Parliament House in Canberra, Alex Oliver gave a Senate Occasional Lecture on Australian attitudes to democracy. A series of Lowy Institute Polls…
Radio Taiwan International
24 October 2022
The Australian Financial Review
15 October 2022
Göteborgs-Posten
7 February 2022
The Australian Financial Review
15 September 2022