Expertise
Southeast Asia, Chinese foreign policy, and international security in the Indo-Pacific
Full Biography
Lucas Myers is the Senior Associate for Southeast Asia at the Wilson Center’s Indo-Pacific Program, where he administers the Wilson China Fellowship. Professionally proficient in Mandarin Chinese, his research interests include Southeast Asia, Chinese foreign policy, and Indo-Pacific security. He focuses on the ongoing conflict in Myanmar and the changing balance of power spurred by the rise of China. In 2023, Myers was selected as an Emerging Quad Think Tank Leader, an initiative of the U.S. State Department’s Leaders Lead on Demand program.
Before joining the Asia Program team, Mr. Myers implemented civil society projects in Southeast and East Asia and as a researcher of terrorism and violent extremism. Mr. Myers' writing and commentary have appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, NPR, Reuters, South China Morning Post, Voice of America, The Wall Street Journal, and other outlets. He received his MA from Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program and his BA in Political Science and Chinese Language & Culture from Macalester College.
Major Publications
Ye Myo Hein and Lucas Myers, "Lofty Rhetoric, Lack of Action on Democracy in Southeast Asia," in Lonely at the Barricades: How to Strengthen the Global Defense of Democracy, December 1st, 2021.
"The 2020-21 Wilson China Fellowship: Essays on the Rise of China and Its Implications," edited by Abraham Denmark and Lucas Myers,
Selected Articles
- "Is Myanmar the Frontline of a New Cold War?" Foreign Affairs, with Ye Myo Hein
- "Indonesia Should Be at the Heart of U.S. Indo-Pacific Policy", Wilson Quarterly
- "China’s Economic Security Challenge: Difficulties Overcoming the Malacca Dilemma"
- "How the US could counter China in Myanmar," the Asia Times
- "China Is Hedging Its Bets in Myanmar," Foreign Policy
- "Myanmar Is on the Precipice of Civil War," Foreign Policy
- "The Pacific War's Lessons for the Continued Strategic Importance of Oceania," the Wilson Center
- "Eternal Victory" with Abraham Denmark, Wilson Quarterly
- "What is the Quad?" The Diplomat, with Blake Berger, Victoria Cooper, Shu Uchida, and Gaurav Saini
- "Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief: The Quad’s Path Forward in Southeast Asia", The Diplomat, with Blake Berger
- "The Myanmar Military is Facing Death by a Thousand Cuts," Lucas Myers in War on the Rocks