Read more about our Contributors

Stephen, Hiu-fung, Kei is a Hong Kong-born researcher and communications practitioner based in Sydney, with academic backgrounds in international relations and Asia-Pacific affairs from The University of Queensland and National Sun Yat-sen University. His research focuses on Pacific diplomacy, decolonisation, identity politics, and Taiwan–Pacific relations. He currently works in governance research and has written on Pacific naming politics, climate diplomacy, and regional sovereignty.

Dr John Harrison is an Associate Professor at Rabdan Academy, UAE. He is an internationally recognised expert on terrorism, aviation security, and political violence.

Dr Amit Kumar is an incoming Visiting Research Fellow at the University of South Wales, Cardiff, UK. He is also a Research Fellow at Rabdan Academy, UAE, and serves as a Security Expert at the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies, New Delhi, India.

Daniel Madden is a Canberra-based teacher, researcher and independent policy advocate. He is a University of New England Arts graduate, with majors in politics and international relations, and has a Master of Education from the University of Canberra. His current work focuses on public administration, consular accountability and Australia–Japan legacy parent-child separation cases.

Dr Ali Saghafi holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering and specialises in machine learning and analytical modelling. His work focuses on applying quantitative frameworks to complex decision-making problems.

Dr Hamed Zakikhani is an agronomist and researcher based in Queensland. He holds a PhD in Agronomy and has published widely on agriculture, food security, and strategy. His current focus is on the intersection of policy, international relations, and Australia’s role as a middle power in the Indo-Pacific.

Muhammad Irfan Ph.D., PMP, is a researcher and educator with interests in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and emerging digital technologies. He completed his Master’s degree in Information Technology from Swinburne University of Technology in 2016 and recently earned his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Electrical Engineering from The City College of New York in 2026. His recent work focuses on deepfake forensics. He writes about how technical design choices shape public trust in digital information, with opinion pieces published in Tech Policy Press, AI Policy Bulletin, and Policy Options. He is currently a Lecturer at Wentworth Institute of Technology—USA, and can be reached via LinkedIn.

Jing Ge is an instructor at Florida International University. She also works as a research assistant at the Jack D Gordon Institute to provide policy analysis. Her research interests include foreign policy, Asia-Pacific regional security studies, great power competition, and global governance. She has written for several publications, including The National Interest, The Diplomat, The Interpreter, and American Purpose. Her academic work has been published in many international peer-reviewed journals.

Dr Gerald Mako is a Research Affiliate of the Cambridge Central Asia Forum at Cambridge University. His research focuses on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and great power competition in Asia.

Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat is a co-author, serves as Director of the China-Indonesia Desk at CELIOS, and is also affiliated with positions at the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore, the London School of Economics’ IDEAS, and Busan University of Foreign Studies