Evan A. Laksmana, Ph.D.

senior strategic POlicy researcher

evan A. Laksmana


Dr Evan A. Laksmana is currently Senior Fellow for Southeast Asia Military Modernisation at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and Editor of the Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment, an annual strategic dossier published by the Institute. He also contributes to and works with the Institute’s Indo-Pacific Defence and Strategy, Defence and Military Analysis and Southeast Asian Politics and Foreign Policy research programmes.

Prior to joining the IISS, Evan held senior research positions at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of the National University of Singapore and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Jakarta, Indonesia. He has also held non-resident and visiting research positions with Carnegie China, Schmidt Futures International Strategy Forum, the Lowy Institute for International Policy, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, the National Bureau of Asian Research, Sydney University, German Marshall Fund of the United States, and the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

His research has appeared in leading peer-reviewed journals and he has written for various regional and global media outlets. He has also co-written and co-edited books and special issue journals on Indonesian military policies and Southeast Asian security affairs. He has also contributed to the work of global policy research institutions and consulted for various international organisations and government agencies. He taught international security and foreign policy and gave lectures to universities and professional military education institutions in Indonesia, Singapore and Australia. He earned his PhD in political science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University as a Fulbright Presidential Scholar. He also holds a MS in strategic studies from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.