John West
John West is the author of “Asian Century on a Knife-edge” and currently teaches at Tokyos Sophia University. He is also executive director of the Asian Century Institute. These positions follow major stints at the Australian Treasury, the OECD and Asian Development Bank Institute. John is an Australian national, who completed a master’s degree in economics at the University of New South Wales.
Stephen M. Walt
Stephen M. Waltis the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International relations at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University.
Philip Brenner
Philip Brenneris emeritus professor of international relations and history at American University, Washington, DC. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Johns Hopkins University and his B.A. in history from Columbia University. His most recent books are Contemporary Cuba: The Post-Castro Era (Rowman and Littlefield, 2023) and Cuba Libre: A 500-Year Quest for Independence (Rowman and Littlefield, 2018).
Ikemi Ivara
Ikemi Ivara, married and mum to 3 beautiful children, working as a Human Resource Professional within the aviation industry. Passionate about everyone being treated right no matter their situation, I have previously worked within the disability sector and am keen to find ways to stand up for people who can’t do so for themselves. When I am not working, I enjoy singing, dancing and watching soccer. Since moving to Australia, I have come to love Footy and support the Tigers. I continue to aspire to be a better version of myself, upskilling and ensuring I am contributing positively to the human race.
Xiao Qian
H.E. Ambassador Xiao Qian is the current Chinese ambassador to Australia, a post which he assumed in January 2022. Previously he served as Chinese ambassador to Indonesia (2017 - 2021), and before that, Chinese ambassador to Hungary (2012 - 2015).
Lau Siu-kai
Lau Siu-kai is a professor emeritus of sociology, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a consultant of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.
Frances Cowell
Frances is a student of geopolitics and international law following a long career in capital markets investing in Sydney and London,She attends Masters degree classes at the University of Paris 2 Sorbonne-Assas, complementing her own research with formal instruction with international law and political-science theory. She also attends lectures at the Jacques Delors Institute and the EU Institute for Security Studies, among other organisations.An occasional contributor to Pearls and Irritations, as well as to LInstitut du Pacifique and LAssociation Ralits et Relations Internationales in Paris, from 2016 to 2023 Frances served as a contributor to and director of TheEuropeanNetwork.eu.As part of her career in capital markets investing, including as Head of Investment Risk for a major British insurer and asset manager, Frances spoke at several professional investment conferences, was a regular contributor to well-known professional journals, author of two monographs published by Palgrave-MacMillan and co-author of one published by Wiley. Australian born, she lives in Paris, speaks French more-or-less fluently, basic Spanish, even more basic Italian, a haze of Indonesian and some German. She dances Argentine tango, likes all animals, especially cats, but doesnt have any of her own.
Virginia Young
Virginia Young works with scientific leaders worldwide to communicate the importance of biodiversity and ecosystem integrity for the mitigation of climate change. She is chairperson of the west Australian environment NGO Gondwanalink. She is a board member of Wilderness Australia and the US-based Partnership for Policy Integrity and a member of several climate specialist groups of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Guest author Camille Khellaf
Camille Khellaf Camille is a French journalist based in Tunisia and France. She is passionate about issues of equality, racism and sexism. She is committed to reporting on issues outside of France, her native country, with a perspective free of neo-colonial bias.
Aaron Mat
Aaron Mat is a Journalist with The Grayzone, where I host “Pushback.” Contributor to Real Clear Investigations. Temporary co-host of “Useful Idiots.” In 2019, won theIzzy Award for outstanding achievement in independent media for Russiagate coverage in The Nation.
Tim Lindsey
Tim Lindsey is Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor and Malcolm Smith Professor of Asian Law and Director of the Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society at the Melbourne Law School. He completed his PhD thesis in Indonesian studies and teaches and researches Indonesian law. His publications include Indonesia: Law and Society; Law Reform in Developing Countries; The Indonesian Constitution; Corruption in Asia; Islam, Law and the State in Southeast Asia; and Indonesian Law. He is a founding editor of The Australian Journal of Asian Law.
Eugene Puryear
Eugene Puryear is a journalist at the U.S. movement-centered Breakthrough News and a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
Vicken Babkenian
Vicken Babkenian is an independent researcher for the Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the co-author with Prof. Peter Stanley of Armenia, Australia and the Great War (NewSouth 2016)
Wei Li
Wei Li is a Lecturer in International Business at the University of Sydney’s Business School and a member of China Studies Centre. Before joining the university, Dr Li worked in corporates in the UK and China. Her current research looks at the globalisation of Chinese enterprises and Chinese economy.
Jeff Rich
Jeff Rich is a writer, historian, and former government official. He writes weekly on world affairs and history at jeffrich.substack.com
Phan Xuan Dung
Phan Xuan Dung is a PhD candidate in International Relations at the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, The Australian National University.
Guest author Michael Sfard
Michael Sfard is an Israeli human rights lawyer and the author of The Wall and the Gate: Israel, Palestine and the Legal Battle for Human Rights (Metropolitan Books). He also wrote the Yesh Din report The Israeli Occupation of the West Bank and the Crime of Apartheid
Sharon Connolly
Sharon Connolly is a writer and filmmaker. She was chief executive and managing director of Film Australia Ltd from 1997 to 2004.
Matt Fitzpatrick
Matt Fitzpatrick is an ARC Future Fellow and Matthew Flinders Professor in International History at Flinders University, Adelaide. His research is in the field of the comparative history of empires, European colonialism and German history. His most recent book is “The Kaiser and the Colonies: Monarchy in the Age of Empire.” He is currently working on the project ‘Strategic Friendship: Anglo-German Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region’.
Owen Jones
This is my independent channel, unaffiliated to any media organisation, in which I try to challenge and expose injustices, give a platform to the unheard, and offer alternatives to a broken system. Not as dry as it sounds (hopefully!)
Ramzy Baroud
Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the editor of the Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of five books including: These Chains Will Be Broken: Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons (2019), My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story (2010) and The Second Palestinian Intifada: A Chronicle of a People’s Struggle (2006). Dr. Baroud is a non-resident senior research fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), Istanbul Zaim University (IZU). His website is www.ramzybaroud.net.
Paul James
Paul James is Professor of Globalisation and Cultural Diversity at the Institute for Culture and Society at Western Sydney University and Research Director of Global Reconciliation.
Craig Nielsen
I am a 61 year old maths and Physics teacher at Aberfoyle Park High School in Adelaide, south Australia. I have previously written, “Israel-Palestine:A christian Response to the conflict”.
Guest author Wei Yu
Wei Yu works at CODEPINK as the China Is Not Our Enemy campaign coordinator. She was born in Tianjin, China and has lived in the US since her high school years. Prior to joining CODEPINK, Wei was a student researcher on neocolonialism and has worked with several nonprofit organisations serving women, racial minorities, and other progressive causes.
Jane Timbrell
Jane Timbrell is a retired trade union official, she is the Deputy Convenor and Campaign Manager of the Vintage Reds of the Canberra Region (an organisation of retired progressive trade unionists). In 2023, Jane was appointed to the ACT Government’s Retirement Villages Working Group and in 2024 she was reappointed to the ACT Ministerial Advisory Council on Ageing.
Judy Attwood
Judy Attwood is a retired Secondary School Science Head of Department and curriculum writer with a long standing passion for Social Justice.
Peter O'Keeffe
Peter OKeeffe is a lawyer who has practiced as a barrister and as a solicitor, and who was a legal and procedural advisor to politicians and committees in the Parliament during the Hawke, Keating and Howard era.
Geroge Yeo
George Yeo Yong-Boon, a distinguished former Foreign Minister of Singapore, offers a compelling narrative on the resilience and enduring legacy of Chinese civilisation. His reflections span China’s adept handling of the COVID-19 pandemic to its ancient water management systems, revealing a civilisation rooted in wisdom and adaptability.
Sally Gardner
Sally Gardner is an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Communication and Creative Arts at Deakin University
Sadaf Shabbir
Sadaf Shabbir (she/her) is a researcher and an academic writer. She holds a Master’s degree in International Relations with distinction from University of Karachi, Pakistan. Sadaf has been affiliated with the Youth Center for Research (YCR) since 2021, in the capacity of a Young Researcher, and later in 2022 as the Resident Research Fellow. Sadaf has worked as one of the top 500 United People Global Sustainability Leaders, designing an inclusive education project for climate-vulnerable areas, reducing gender violence. Sadaf, through her research, navigates the intersection of Gender and International Relations, with a particular focus on Public Policy, Human Rights and International Law. Sadaf aims to gender sensitise public policy by advancing gender analysis in global affairs. Sadaf is from Pakistan.
Guest athor Marcy Winograd
Marcy Winogradis a blogger, activist, and public school teacher in Los Angeles.
Lynda-June Coe
Lynda-June Coe PhD Candidate,Macquarie University
Wiradjuri and Badu Island Woman, HDR student and Indigenous Rights Activist.
Samantha Hepburn
Samantha Hepburn teaches in mining and energy law, environmental law, natural resources law, water law, native title and land law. Her research interests include: climate governance, energy transitions, and natural resource jurisprudence.
Nuri Kino
Nuri Kino is an independent investigative multi-award-winning reporter and minority rights expert.
Samir Bhattacharya
Samir Bhattacharya is Associate Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, India.
Ben Norton
Ben Nortonis an investigative journalist and analyst. He is the founder and editor of Geopolitical Economy Report, and is based in Latin America.(Publicacionesen espaol aqu.)
Virginia Wills
Virginia Wills was a Labor candidate for the City of Melbourne council election in 2024. With a background in workplace relations, safety and employment rights, more recently, she has worked as an academic helping the next generation of law and business students at RMIT.