I am a Senior Lecturer in the Department of International Relations at the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, the Australian National University. My research explores the role of leaders in foreign policy decision making, especially how they effect foreign policy change. I am the co-author, with Valerie M. Hudson, of Foreign Policy Analysis: Classic and Contemporary Theory (3rd edition, Rowman & Littlefield, 2019, 4th edition forthcoming), a leading textbook in the subfield of Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) and have published articles in International Studies Quarterly, Australian Journal of International Affairs, and Asia Policy.

In 2025, I am the Partners around the Globe Fellow at the NATO Defence College, Rome. I was a visiting fellow at the University of Edinburgh in late 2023 and the Australian National Fellow at King’s College London in late 2019. Since 2016, I have been a centre associate at the ANU’s Development Policy Centre.

Building on my pre-academic career in the international development sector, I prioritise ‘bridging the gap’ between the academy and policymakers. My research draws heavily on insights obtained through elite interviews with politicians, political advisers and policymakers. I contribute regularly to platforms such as The Strategist, Devpolicy Blog, The Conversation, Australian Outlook, New Mandala, and East Asia Forum, as well as to print and online newspapers. I regularly design, facilitates and deliver courses for senior diplomats, defence personnel, and public servants, through my involvement with the ANU Diplomacy Forum. Prior to academia, I worked in the international development sector for a decade as an aid worker, an independent consultant, and a program manager, including three years working on health sector reform adviser in Papua New Guinea.

Political Decision Making and Foreign Aid

Much of my academic work has sought to understand and describe the decision making dynamics that prevail in the domain of foreign aid and the implications this has for aid policy. I am also interested in the future of development in the context of the changing global order.  I have interviewed over 100 political elites, including more than 50 politicians to inform this work. Recent open access publications from this project are available here and here.  

Leaders and World Order

More recently, I have commenced a project examining how leaders develop their views on world order and how these views matter for shaping the emerging order. My focus is on understanding the ‘thinking practices’ of leaders: when, where, how (and if!) they get time to think about these ‘big picture’ concepts. As well as seeking to generate practical insights to help leaders and institutions ‘think’ more effectively about the future, this research seeks to build a theoretical understanding of the microfoundations of international order building. My fellowship with the NATO Defence College advances this project by considering how thinking about the future operates within NATO. An early open access output from this project is available here.

BA (UQ), BEcon (UQ), MIS (UQ), PhD (ANU, 2018)