The Lowy Institute: an Anglo-American foreign influence conduit

In a three-part series by Melissa Harrison, published August-September 2022, the Australian Alert Service exposes how the Lowy Institute, Australia’s influential foreign policy think tank, furthers Anglo-American geopolitical agendas. People worried about foreign influence over Australian policies should take a hard look at this organisation.

The Lowy Institute claims to be independent, but its board is dominated by a secretive group of international advisors from the US and UK establishment, alongside associates of founder Frank Lowy, the Westfield shopping magnate. The board sets the institute’s “strategic direction” and “research priorities”. The Institute belongs to the “Council of Councils”, set up by the New York Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) for—in its words—“consensus-building among influential opinion leaders” and, ultimately, “injecting” its conclusions into high-level foreign policy circles in members’ countries.

The think tank works with US policymakers like the “Asia Pivot” architect, former Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, who promote military interventionism in the Asia-Pacific, aimed at confronting China. In 2017 the Lowy Institute acted in lockstep with the “China threat” propaganda campaign, conducted by government intelligence staffers, other think tanks (theAAS has written extensively on the role of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, ASPI), and the mainstream media. Lowy’s funding sources include two Australian intelligence agencies, while several staff members formerly worked for the Office of National Intelligence, the top Australian government intelligence agency—a typical “revolving door” relationship between this establishment think tank and the Anglo-American-guided intelligence community.

Download the series here, for a detailed look into this powerful, unelected organisation.