Dr Darren J. Lim
Areas of expertise
- International Relations 160607
- Government And Politics Of Asia And The Pacific 160606
- Defence Studies 160604
- Political Science 1606
Research interests
- Geoeconomics
- International order and global goverance
- Technology competition
- Australian foreign policy
- International political economy
- International security
- Qualitative research methods
Biography
I research and teach in the field of international relations, at the intersection of international political economy, international security and global governance. My major research interests focus on geoeconomics (including economic coercion and technology competition), grand strategy in the context of power transitions and international order, and the Indo-Pacific region.
The issue areas covered by my published research include:
- Patterns and methods of economic coercion, with case studies of both Australia and South Korea
- Sino-US technology competition, including the logic (and costs) of decoupling/derisking
- 'Illiberal hegemony', the logic of a China-led international order
- Australia's 'China debate' and conceptualising and measuring power in Australian foreign policy
- How East and South Asian states navigate relations between the US and China through hedging strategies
- China’s “institutional statecraft” and its creation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
As of July 2023, topics I’m currently working on include the geoeconomics and geopolitics of critical technology standards, Australian economic statecraft, and further work on economic coercion.
I also host a podcast called Australia in the World.
I commenced at the ANU in June 2015, having received my PhD from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Initially trained in law and economics, I previously worked as Associate to the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, a corporate lawyer, and researcher at International Crisis Group.
You can find a full list of academic publications on Google Scholar or a focused list on ORCiD.
Available student projects
I am unavailable to supervise any prospective PhD students who wish to commence in 2024.
Past student projects
State-sponsored cyber inteference in democratic elections (I. Hansen, Hons)
Price and energy security in East Asia (V. Ferguson, Hons)
Economic sanctions and Iran (R. Akmal, Hons)
Economic diplomacy and tech policy choices (A. Merrick, Hons)
Economic lawfare (V. Ferguson, PhD)
Publications
- Lim, D & Ikenberry, G 2023, 'China and the Logic of Illiberal Hegemony', Security Studies, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 1-31.
- Ferguson, V, Lim, D & Herscovitch, B 2023, 'Between market and state: the evolution of Australia's economic statecraft', The Pacific Review, vol. 36, no. 5, pp. 1148-1180.
- Waldron, S, Lim, D & Ferguson, V 2022, 'Exploring the Domestic Foundations of Chinese Economic Sanctions: The Case of Australia', China Brief, vol. 22, no. 18, pp. 6-13.
- Ferguson, V, Waldron, S & Lim, D 2022, 'Market adjustments to import sanctions: lessons from Chinese restrictions on Australian trade, 2020-21', Review of International Political Economy, vol. 30, no. 4.
- Lim, D & Attrill, N 2021, 'Australian debate of the China question: the COVID-19 case', Australian Journal of International Affairs, vol. 75, no. 4, pp. 410-431.
- Lim, D & Kassam, N 2021, 'Future Shock: How to Prepare for a China-led World', Australian Foreign Affairs, vol. 11, pp. 31-53.
- Ferguson, V & Lim, D 2021, 'Economic Power and Vulnerability in Sino-Australian Relations', in J Golley, L Jaivin & S Strange (ed.), China Story Yearbook 2020: Crisis, Australian National University Press, Canberra, pp. 258-275.
- Lim, D & Ferguson, V 2021, 'Informal economic sanctions: the political economy of Chinese coercion during the THAAD dispute', Review of International Political Economy, vol. 29, no. 6.
- Lim, D & Ferguson, V 2020, 'Conscious decoupling: The technology security dilemma', in J Golley, L Jaivin, B Hillman & S Strange (ed.), China Story Yearbook 2019: China Dreams, ANU Press, Canberra, pp. 119-131.
- Lim, D, Ferguson, V & Bishop, R 2020, 'Chinese Outbound Tourism as an Instrument of Economic Statecraft', Journal of Contemporary China, vol. 29, no. 126, pp. 916-933.
- Lim, D 2019, 'Economic statecraft and the revenge of the state', East Asia Forum Quarterly (EAFQ), vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 31-32.
- Lim, D & Ferguson, V 2019, 'Chinese Economic Coercion during the THAAD Dispute', The Asan Forum, vol. 7, no. 6, pp. online.
- Lim, D & Ferguson, V 2019, 'Power in Chinese Foreign Policy', in J Golley, L Jaivin, P J Farrelly & S Strange (ed.), China Story Yearbook 2018: Power, ANU Press, Canberra, Australia, pp. 56-60.
- Lim, D & Mukherjee, R 2019, 'Hedging in South Asia: balancing economic and security interests amid Sino-Indian competition', International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 493-522.
- Lim, D 2019, 'The US, China and 'Technology War'', Global Asia, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 8-13.
- Hansen, I & Lim, D 2019, 'Doxing democracy: influencing elections via cyber voter interference', Contemporary Politics, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 150-171.
- Kennedy, A & Lim, D 2018, 'The innovation imperative: technology and US-China rivalry in the twenty-first century', International Affairs, vol. 94, no. 3, pp. 553-572.
- Lim, D & Ferguson, V 2018, 'Power in Australian foreign policy', Australian Journal of International Affairs, vol. 72, no. 4, pp. 306-313.
- Lim, D, Moutselos, M & McKenna, M 2019, 'Puzzled out? The unsurprising outcomes of the Greek bailout negotiations', Journal of European Public Policy, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 324-343.
- Lim, D & Mukherjee, R 2017, 'What Money Can't Buy: The Security Externalities of Chinese Economic Statecraft in Post-War Sri Lanka', Asian Security, pp. 1-20.
- Ikenberry, GJ & Lim, D 2017, 'China's emerging institutional statecraft: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the prospects for counter-hegemony', Brookings Institution, Project on International Order and Strategy, April.
- Lim, D 2016, 'A View from Australia', The Asan Forum, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. Online.
- Lim, D & Cooper, Z 2015, 'Reassessing Hedging: The Logic of Alignment in East Asia', Security Studies, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 696-727.
- Bashir, O & Lim, D 2013, 'Misplaced Blame: Foreign Aid and the Consequences of UN Security Council Membership', Journal of Conflict Resolution, vol. 57, no. 3, pp. 509-523.
Projects and Grants
Grants information is drawn from ARIES. To add or update Projects or Grants information please contact your College Research Office.
- Standards-taking power in Southeast Asia (Primary Investigator)
- The geoeconomics of critical technology standards in Southeast Asia (Secondary Investigator)
- Engaging with private sector on the intersection of economics, security and technology (Secondary Investigator)
- Navigating the Emerging Geo-Economic Order: Integrating Economics, Security and Collective Defence through 2040. (Secondary Investigator)
