Independent Research Program (2020-Present)
My independent research program lies at the nexus of strategic studies, terrorism/extremist studies, ideology, and political economy. I also draw on an earlier career background as a journalist and former site editor/writer of the Disinformation website. I communicate this via an Academia.edu public profile and a Substack research newsletter.
My post PhD program focuses on two research problems that emerged from my PhD case study on Japan’s new religious movement Aum Shinrikyo. I am developing new analytical/conceptual frameworks to better understand terrorist organisations and extremist ideologies, and to develop new applications to counter nuclear blackmail, information operations, disinformation, & financial crimes.
PhD Dissertation: The Development of Strategic Culture in Terrorist Organisations (2011-2020)
My PhD dissertation at Australia’s Monash University (conferred on 29th April 2020) developed a new midrange, analytical theory of strategic subcultures. I sought to understand why certain terrorist organisations can persist, survive, and develop a counter-elite. My case study was Japan’s new religious movement Aum Shinrikyo. I used process tracing and new tests to examine three posited causal mechanisms: cultural transmission, social learning, and folklore. I have published original articles from this research in Contemporary Security Policy and M/C Journal. I have presented at the International Studies Association’s annual convention in Toronto (2014), and to the Australian International Political Economy Network’s 11th (2020), 12th (2022), & 13th (2023) Workshops.
Earlier Publications (1994-2015)
Prior to completing my PhD in 2020, I have published on a range of other subjects: the 2000 dotcom crash; the 2000 and 2004 United States presidential elections; the 11th September 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States; interviews with United States design, media, and subculture figures; contemporary political and social issues in the United States and Australia; and strategies for grant applications and research program development.
Citations
I have a h-index of 10 and 585 citations to-date (Google Scholar, 1/06/23).
Policy Expertise
I have policy expertise in counterterrorism, foreign policy, and internet regulation. I have tutored undergraduate units on Australian foreign policy, Australian politics, and critical perspectives on terrorism studies. I have also written on Australian media; and defence and national security policy; Asia-Pacific security; United States-Australian discourses on the Global War on Terror as grand strategy; and contributed as a civilian researcher to United States debates on strategy formulation for psychological operations. I have country expertise about Australia, Japan, Singapore, and the United States of America.