About me
I joined Murdoch University as a lecturer in Politics on 1 August 1989 prior to proceeding to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London as a Research Associate for 12 months. The IISS invited me because it was convinced that I had the ability to combine theoretical rigour with policy relevant analysis. Even now, my research focuses on the cutting edge of security and strategic analysis, incorporating the traditional, non-traditional, and critical approaches to security. I have published journal articles, book chapters and books in these areas since the early 1980s. I am also interested in International Relations theory in which I have contributed to the enrichment of the English School of IR by coining the concepts of primary and secondary institutions of international society in 2002 (see "Hedley Bull and global governance: a note on IR theory", Australian Journal of International Affairs, 56(3): 361-371). I have also promoted an eclectic approach that utilises insights from different theoretical frameworks to address global problems. In addition, I have an interest in global governance, focusing on the changing meanings and interpretations of terrorism, sovereignty, human rights, refugees, climate change, a rules-based world order, and other transformative forces, such as pandemics. My articles have appeared in such journals as International Affairs, Security Dialogue, Survival, Cooperation and Conflict, Foreign Policy, Third World Quarterly, Journal of Modern African Studies, Futures, Internationale Politik, and Contemporary Southeast Asia.
My research, teaching and public policy activities are closely aligned. For example, when I founded the Security, Terrorism and Counterterrorism Studies major in 2004, I was at that time researching the relationship between terrorism and global governance while also serving on the Australian Foreign Minister's National Consultative Committee for International Security Issues. Moreover, when former Kenyan President, Mwai Kibaki, awarded me the medal of Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear (EBS) in 2011, he commented that I had been "instrumental in developing the syllabus for the newly established Foreign Service Institute in 2007" and that for "over three decades [I] had straddled between two professions, i.e. journalism and academia". Indeed, one of my first-year units, "Perspectives on Security and Terrorism" is based on both my broad research interests and my close observation of the dilemmas that policy-makers often face. When this unit was calibrated in late 2022, the calibrator, from outside Murdoch University, commented: "The unit was very well structured in terms of the content covered and the information provided, with a good balance of theoretical frameworks". He continued: "The learning outcomes are focused on critical analysis, theoretical knowledge, and security issues confronting decision-makers". While the Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism course takes a global perspective, its focus is on Australia's engagement with Southeast Asia, stretching from the unprecedented law-enforcement cooperation with Indonesia following the 2002 Bali bombing to beyond the 2023 Australia-Vietnam arrangements on anti-terrorism financing.