Sophie Lemière

Political Anthropologist, Researcher, Consultant and Social Entrepreneur.

Sophie Lemière’s research focuses mainly on Malaysia and Southeast Asia since 2006. She has also conducted extensive research in post-revolutionary Tunisia and the Caribbean region. She obtained her Master’s and PhD from Sciences-Po Paris and has received fellowships and grants from prestigious research institutions in Europe, Asia and the US. As of 2021, Sophie is permanently based in Malaysia where she has launched World Wonderers a global non-profit social enterprise for the political empowerment of minorities and SoCo a political consulting firm offering services to private and public entities. She is currently an Adjunct Fellow at the Center for Strategic Research and International Studies (CSIS-Washington DC), a Senior Fellow at The Steven J.Green School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA)-Florida International University (Miami-USA), an Associate Researcher at Collège de France, Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique (Paris-France) and at The History Workshop at the University of Witwatersrand (Johannesburg-RSA) in Washington DC.

Photo by: Alexandra Radu

Featured Works

A Tumultuous Year in Malaysian Politicking

Malaysia’s intricate political games have intensified since 2018, and the tectonic politics have shifted back and forth. The democratic transition many had hoped for with the end of 61 years of single-party rule did not materialize. The unexpected resignation of...

Forget 1MDB, could Najib Razak be Malaysia’s next prime minister?

Three years after being booted from office amid a global financial scandal, the disgraced former leader’s brand, and that of his Umno party, is resurrecting Najib’s second coming has parallels to Mahathir’s messianic return. In his case it is based on an appeal to...

Malaysia’s political pendulum has already swung back to Umno. Is Muhyiddin next?

The country has a new prime minister in Ismail Sabri, but its cabinet is mostly the same as Muhyiddin’s – signalling a return to conservative Malay politics The former premier’s position heading the National Recovery Council is another sign of his survival instinct....

Spotlight – Malaysia: October 26, 2023

The Malaysian government’s Budget 2024 was adopted this month. At a size of 393.8 billion ringgit (or approximately $83.3 billion), the budget is the largest to be tabled in the country’s history. This includes a record high RM303.8 billion for operating...

Malaysia on the Edge of Democracy: Will Anwar’s Governement Step Forward ?

In November 2022, Anwar Ibrahim, leader of the democratic movement Reformasi, finally became prime minister of Malaysia. At 75, Anwar spent 8 years of a 20-year struggle in prison for “sexual offenses”—accusations he claimed to be politically motivated. His...

Spotlight – Malaysia: August 16, 2023

Malaysia’s state elections, held in six states on August 12, followed an uneventful campaign and led to little change to the status quo. The three northern states of Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu were retained by the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition,...

Spotlight – Malaysia: July 3, 2023

With six state assemblies dissolved in advance of elections to be held within the next couple of months, the ruling and opposition coalitions are in order of battle. The Negeri Sembilan assembly was dissolved on July 1, the Kedah, Terengganu, and Penang assemblies...