Paths to primacy: How rising powers win regional domination
Dr Phillips is an Associate Professor of International Relations and Strategy in the School of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland. His research focuses on war, strategy and international order, with a particular focus on Great Power rivalry and asymmetric violence as drivers of transformative change in world politics. His works include From Hollywood to Bollywood? Recasting Australia’s Indo/Pacific Strategic Geography (Australian Strategic Policy Institute, 2016) and How the East Was Won: Barbarian Conquerors, Universal Conquest and the Making of Modern Asia (Cambridge University Press, 2021). From 2024-2028, he will be an Australia Research Council Future Fellow, investigating how, when and why rising powers have won regional domination in Asia from 1500CE-present.
Image credit: rangizzz via Adobe Stock (2023)
About School Research Seminar Series
POLSIS Research Seminar Series
Semester 2 2026
All sessions are held in-person, Friday 1 — 2:30pm, Room 537, Building 39A (unless stated)
Date | Event | Name | Title |
31 July | Seminar | Page Wilson, Iceland | 'Greenland, Trump and Musk: the Lesser Known Story' |
14 August | ECR Roundtable | Anne Nyaard Jedzini Sara Meija Munoz Xuwan Ouyang | 'Deliberative power-sharing in Australian Local Governance’ ‘Entangled normativities: energy of life and energy transition in Colombia’ ‘Multinational Companies and Atrocity Prevention’ |
21 August | Seminar | Shahar Hameiri, UQ | ‘Limits on US Efforts to Compete with China on Infrastructure and Critical Minerals: Lobito Corridor’ |
28 August | Seminar | Kelly Fielding, UQ | ‘Can unconventional climate advocates increase support for climate action in Australia?’ |
4 September | Seminar | Ferran Martinez i Coma, Griffith | ‘Do Australian Election Management Bodies Learn?’ |
11 September | Roundtable Event | Adrian Cherney Kiriloi Ingram Matt McDonald Andrew Phillips | ‘9/11: 25 Years On’ 12-2pm Viewpoint Room, Lunch Included 12-12.45pm, Registration required. |
18 September | Seminar | Morgan Rees, QUT | ‘The Paranoid Style in Australian Foreign Policy’ |
25 September | Seminar | Karen Crawley and Samid Suliman, Griffith | ‘Democracy, the Arts and the Politics of Social Cohesion’ |
16 October | Seminar | Madeleine Pugin, Griffith | ‘UNDRIP and Urban Aboriginal Cultural Recognition in South East Queensland’ |
23 October | Seminar | Heloise Weber, UQ | ‘Colonial Architecture and Capitalist Transformation’ |
For further information contact Professor Matt McDonald, Director of Research: matt.mcdonald@uq.edu.au.