Dr Nicolas Regaud joined the Institute for Strategic Research (IRSEM) in 2020 as a senior research fellow and director for international development. He works mainly on strategic issues in the Indo-Pacific and climate security.

He was previously Special Representative to the Indo-Pacific of the Director General for International Relations and Strategy of the French Ministry of Defence. Since the early 1990s, he has held various positions within the Directorate for Strategic Affairs of the ministry, including as Assistant Defence Policy Director, the Secretariat General for Defence and National Security attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Policy Planning Staff) and the University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne as a researcher.

He holds a PhD in political science from the University of Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne, and has published two books—Cambodia in turmoil: strategic analysis of the third Indochina conflict (1992) and The Indochina wars from the 10th to the 20th century (1996)—and numerous articles on defence and security in the Asia–Pacific region.