Muhammad Ammar Hidayahtulloh
Ammar’s research interests broadly fall under the field of gender and politics, covering topics such as women’s political activism and democracy, electoral gender quotas, and gender policy change. His PhD project investigates Islamist opposition to gender equitable reform in the post-democratic transition period in Indonesia. By building on feminist institutionalism, he aims to develop a more nuanced account of opposition to gender equality than the dominant narrative of gender backlash.
Vimbai Mutero
Vimbai is researching gender and culture in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on power, identity, and decolonial feminist thought. Based in Larrakia Country (Darwin), she lectures in enabling education at Charles Darwin University, where she teaches and coordinates in the humanities. Her academic work is grounded in intersectional feminist scholarship and aims to explore how culture, narrative, and systems shape lived experience. With a background in academic governance and curriculum design, Vimbai is committed to advancing socially engaged, critically informed research that bridges theory and practice.
Aaron Magunna
Aaron’s PhD examines how India and Japan have responded to China-US competition in the context of semiconductor-related industrial policy and international development financing. His research has been published in journals such as Third World Quarterly and the Australian Journal of International Affairs as well as outlets like The Interpreter, East Asia Forum, and Australian Outlook. Aaron has held fellowship positions at the University of Tokyo and the Perth USAsia Centre, where he remains an Honorary Fellow. He is also a Research Associate at the Second Cold War Observatory.
Adarsh Badri
Adarsh’s doctoral research examines the role emotions play in the formation of postcolonial nation-states. Earlier, Adarsh was a Research Scholar at the Centre for International Politics, Organisation and Disarmament (CIPOD), Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, and has completed a Master’s in Political Science at the University of Delhi. He has published in International Affairs, New Media & Society, Australian Journal of International Affairs, Strategic Analysis, Lowy Institute, and Economic & Political Weekly, among others.
John Fowler
John comes from an education background, with over 13 years experience as an English, Physical Education and Humanities teacher. Under the academic supervision of Matt McDonald and Sarah Percy, he is currently in his final year of his doctorate. His thesis is exploring the role of culture in Australia's use of the military for disaster relief operations.
Elisabeth Haugland Austrheim
Elisabeth’s doctoral thesis (‘The Drivers of Protracted Armed Conflicts’) aims to understand whether there is anything distinctive about long-lasting armed conflicts other than their duration and, through that, if some drivers of conflict are more prone to cause protraction than others. She is supervised by Professor Alex Bellamy and Associate Professors Sarah Percy and Suzanna Fay. Elisabeth has previously completed a dual master’s degree in International Relations/Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Queensland and a bachelor’s degree in Comparative Politics from the University of Bergen.
Josie Hornung
Josie is supervised by Chris Reus-Smit and Alex Bellamy, funded by the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities. Her project, ‘Tragic Moral Choice in Crisis: Decision-Making and Atrocity Prevention’, examines decision-making processes that have led to action or inaction during mass atrocities. She completed a DPhil fellowship at the University of Oxford and interned at the Australian Civil-Military Centre. Recognised as one of the 'Young Women to Watch in International Affairs' by the Australian Institute of International Affairs, she also received the AEUIFAI Postgraduate Research Fellowship to study at the European University Institute in Florence. Josie holds a BA and a Master of International Relations (Advanced) from the Australian National University. She has contributed to media such as The Australian and El Tiempo and provided policy analysis for the Australian government and ASPI.
Ahmad Alfajri
Ahmad is a lecturer in International Relations at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta, Indonesia. He earned his MA in International Relations from the Australian National University and a BA in Political Science (Islamic Political Thought) from UIN Jakarta. Currently pursuing a PhD, his research focuses on Islam and international relations, with specific attention to the relationship between the umma and international order. He has published in peer-reviewed journals and international conference proceedings and has received scholarships from LPDP and Australian Development Scholarship. He is also actively engaged in academic discourse and contributes to scholarly communities in the field of international relations.
Emilie Hung-Ling He
Emilie is researching the political economy of commercial health insurance in China. Her thesis examines how state actors promote market-based health financing and how this intersects with broader questions of governance, social policy, and political legitimacy. Her research draws on political economy, policy analysis, and critical approaches to health systems. Born and raised in Taiwan, Emilie has lived, studied, and worked in Shanghai, Singapore, Adelaide, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong before relocating to Brisbane. Beyond academia, she enjoys badminton, music, and the simple satisfaction of crafting, cooking, and baking.
Dishani Senaratne
Dishani’s research focuses on the nexus between the formation of the post-colonial state and the rise of Sinhala Buddhist nationalism during the 1950s that continue to pose barriers for achieving meaningful reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Previously, she taught English at the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. Dishani is also the Founder and Project Director of Writing Doves, a non-profit initiative that employs a literature-based approach to enhance intercultural understanding of young learners in Sri Lanka. She's also a published poet, short story writer and children's author.
Van Quan Nguyen
Van Quan is a HDR student in International Relations. His research centers on China Studies and Foreign Policy Analysis, with a particular focus on the implications of China’s rise for the existing international system. He is especially interested in how China, as an emerging power, influences international norms, regional dynamics, and strategic decision-making. Quan’s academic work seeks to advance a deeper understanding of global power shifts and the complexities of contemporary international politics.
Nengzheng Shi – Graduated
Nengzheng is a recent PhD graduate at POLSIS, where he also completed the Master of Peace and Conflict Studies in 2020. His PhD thesis puts together the fields of dialogue and nonviolent resistance to investigate whether dialogue influenced the development and maintenance of nonviolent discipline in the 2019 Hong Kong protest movement. Besides his role as a researcher, Nengzheng is also a passionate tutor at POLSIS who has taught at least seven different courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels since 2021. He's also an active Buddhist member of Soka Gakkai International in Australia and hugely passionate about soccer.
Eleanor Merton
Eleanor R. K. Merton is a PhD candidate from Aotearoa New Zealand. Her PhD project looks at institutional amnesia among state and non-state actors in New Zealand’s climate change policy network. Her previous work includes a Cambridge Element on collaboration and joined up government, a Public Management Review article on goal commitment in interagency collaboration, and an article for the International Review of Administrative Sciences on public service reform paradigms. Her older work appears in poetry journals.
Elenne Ford
With a long-standing background in law and mediation, Elenne brings a commitment to transforming conflict into a pathway for connection and growth. Her professional journey spans decades as a barrister and mediator, complemented by ongoing study in counselling and peacemaking. She is currently undertaking a PhD on Intractable Conflict and Self-Sacrifice in Interpersonal Mediation, exploring how relational repair may be enabled through voluntary acts of redemptive self-giving. Grounded in a belief that relationships are central to human wellbeing, her research and practice focus on fostering constructive, relationally-aware responses to conflict.
Subodha Pathiranage Dona
Subodha works on the politics of visualising humanitarian crises in Sri Lanka, focusing on alternative visual representations and humanitarian policy implications. Subodha holds a Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation from the University of Sydney. She has an extensive background as a development practitioner in Sri Lanka, the Maldives and other parts of Asia. She also has a visiting affiliation with the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka.
John Beckinsale
John’s thesis critically examines the emerging climate resilience agenda in the context of Oceania. He seeks to interrogate the political effects of climate resilience projects. More broadly, he investigates to what extent the climate resilience agenda represents a shift in the aims and conduct of development. By drawing upon a relational theoretical frame, he will examine the experiences and practices of the recipients of climate resilience projects, how they engage with and contest the agenda, and pursue acts of environmental politics and climate adaptation outside its bounds. A combination of fieldwork and content analysis of policy documentation comprise his methodology.
Haneol Mun
Haneol’s doctoral work focuses on the relationship between authoritarian violence, memory, and aesthetics. He is particularly interested in investigating the role cinema can play in engaging with the traumatic memories of dictatorial violence borne out of the Cold War across East and Southeast Asia’s free world authoritarian societies. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of New South Wales (BA) and Master’s degree from the Australian National University (International Relations) before arriving at the University of Queensland. His Master’s thesis examined the gendered historical trajectories of colonialism, militarism, and the Cold War, and their contemporary manifestations in South Korea.
Se Youn Park – Graduated
Se Youn recently completed her PhD in International Relations at the School of Political Science and International Studies, where she examined how legislation, narratives, and institutional practices interplay to shape the regulation of ISIS women returnees in the UK and Australia. Her work focuses on the gendered dimensions of security governance, with a secondary research agenda in South Korean gender politics and feminist backlash. Se Youn currently serves as Director of Research at Women in International Security (WIIS) Australia, where she oversees the internship programme and leads research development initiatives.
Anais Hull
Anais’s research focuses on the ethics of irregular warfare with a specific emphasis on civilian agency. Her PhD thesis aims to move beyond the just war tradition’s current understanding of civilians as a homogenous group of passive bystanders. Instead, it seeks to understand civilians as individual, complex agents living within a series of socially constructed hierarchies that both limit and permit certain potentialities.
Qiuyu Gu
Qiuyu’s esearch focuses on the structure of polycentric world orders and the mechanisms that underline their emergence and enlargement. His core case studies consist of historical world orders in different parts of Asia between 220 and 1605 CE and he is keen to explore the potential of interdisciplinary research. Qiuyu’s dissertation incorporates theoretical and methodological insights presented by macro-history, intellectual history, aesthetic theory and religion study.
Qiuyu previously studied at the Australian National University for the Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics, Master of Political Science and Master of International Relations.
Agus Riyanto Kurniawan
Agus is a senior policy planner at Indonesia’s Ministry of National Development Planning (BAPPENAS) and a full-time PhD candidate at the School of Political Science and International Studies, University of Queensland. His research explores the political economy of transport infrastructure project planning and budgeting in Indonesia. Holding a master’s degree in development economics from UQ, Agus has over 15 years of experience at BAPPENAS, with expertise in national planning, budget allocation and national funding policy, public financing modalities, and the governance of foreign loans and grants projects.
Katrina Elliot Myerson
Katrina is a lawyer and international humanitarian protection specialist with approximately 10 years of experience in conflict and emergency settings. Katrina holds post-graduate qualifications in law and international relations. After time in legal and academic sectors, Katrina worked overseas with NGOs, UN agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross. She has been based in countries such as Haiti, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Afghanistan, and Myanmar. Katrina has also worked with the Australian Red Cross, including positions in international humanitarian law, immigration detention, and national-level policy. Additionally, Katrina has held the role of Honorary Adjunct Assistant Professor at Bond University prior to joining POLSIS at UQ.
Indah (Ica) Gitaningrum
Ica holds a Bachelor Degree in International Relations from the Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta and a Master Degree in Religious Studies at Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies Universitas Gadjah Mada.
Ica’s study investigates the phenomena of child association with terrorism and violent extremism organisations (TVEOs) in Indonesia and explores the nature of this phenomenon. Through this child-centred approach, she aims to understand the aftermath of individuals becoming terrorists in Indonesia and how they have been regulated or dealt with afterwards.
Guidora Julianta Kopong
Guidora holds a Bachelor Degree in English Letters at Sanata Dharma University-Yogyakarta-Indonesi and a Master Degree in Women's Studies at Flinders University, Adelaide-Australia. Guidora’s thesis study investigates how matrilineal and patrilineal societies govern gender relations and its implications for gender justice in Timor Leste and West-Timor, Indonesia. She examines redistribution, recognition, and representation as core elements of gender justice to answer her research puzzle of whether the legacy of matriliny promotes better outcomes for women. The research will examine several issues, including the distribution of land and other materials, division of labour, brideprice, violence against women, access to education and science, control of one sexuality, and women’s participation in public spaces.
Viet Dung (Juki) Trinh
Juki’s research interests focus on IR theories, security studies, IR in the Asia-Pacific, foreign policy analysis, and Vietnamese politics. His PhD thesis aims to unpack divergence within convergence between Australia and Vietnam in their securitization processes towards Sino-centric security challenges related to maritime security, cybersecurity and Chinese economic coercion. The thesis contributes to understanding regional countries’ policy responses to a rising China and providing a new approach to the application of securitization theory in a non-Western state like Vietnam.
Muhammad Irfan Ardhani
Muhammad is a PhD student at the School of Political Science and International Studies, the University of Queensland, Australia. He holds a Master of International Relations from the same institution and a Bachelor's degree from Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. His research, titled "Navigating Hierarchies: Indonesia's Status-Seeking Behaviour in International Society" explores Indonesia’s foreign policy and its pursuit of status in global politics. His academic interests focus on the foreign policy strategies of Indonesia and other middle powers, with a particular emphasis on international hierarchy, diplomacy, and status dynamics in international society.
Ms. Francisca Ampomah-Løkeland
Francisca is a PhD Candidate from Bergen, Norway. Her research focuses on armed conflict, peace-building, secession, self-determination, state formation, Sovereignty, Uti-possidetis juris, UN. The research investigates how the intrinsic contradiction and tension between the UN Charter on sovereignty and self—determination have interacted to shape practices of armed conflicts and state formation since decolonization. Prior to her PhD, Francisca worked as a Scientific Assistant to the Head of Institute, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. Other areas she has worked on include Green innovation, Corporate Social Responsibility, Norwegian Oil Fund, translation of articles and journals from Norwegian to English and vice-versa.