Read more about our Contributors

Azira Ahimsa is the 2025 Rising Expert on Technology at Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP). She holds an MSc in Defence, Development and Diplomacy from Durham University (2016), is ASEAN Co-Chair of the US ASEAN Young Professionals Association, and has served in digital trade roles at the Australian Trade and Investment Commission and the UK Department for Business and Trade in Jakarta.

Febby R. Widjayanto is a faculty member and assistant professor at the Department of Politics, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Airlangga University in Indonesia. Her areas of research interest include political economy, development studies, and the politics of science and technology.

Alexandra Desailly is an Australian Outlook Intern at the Australian Institute of International Affairs National Office. She is one of thirty selected for the Young Australians in International Affairs (YAIA) Emerging Leaders Dialogues and the winner of the YAIA Policy Pitch Competition. She holds a Bachelor of International Studies with Distinction from UNSW;  her work focuses on European current affairs, national security, and diplomacy.

Olga Makin holds an LLB (Hons) from the University of Technology Sydney and is currently completing an LLM (Hons) at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. She is passionate about feminist theory in Conflict and Security law.

Professor Niusha Shafiabady is Head of Discipline for IT and the Director of Women in AI for Social Good lab at ACU at Australian Catholic University.  She is an internationally recognised expert in computational intelligence, artificial intelligence, and optimisation, with more than two decades of experience bridging academia and industry. Niusha is the inventor of a patented optimisation algorithm and director of the Women in AI for Social Good Lab, where she leads research on machine learning, data analytics, and ethical AI applications. She has also created two AI tools: Ai‑Labz ,a predictive analytics safe tool, and a secure Q&A tool designed to support safe engagement with AI systems. Her work focuses on aligning technological innovation with social empowerment, knowledge sovereignty, and sustainable futures, and applying AI for social good. She is also a trusted commentator on AI governance, youth safety, and digital policy. She invites research applications focusing on the Industry and Community Applications of: Machine Learning, Data Analytics, Intelligent Modelling, Expert System Design, Computational Optimisation.

Dr Russell W. Glenn spent sixteen years in the think tank community and several more on the faculty of the Australian National University’s Strategic and Defence Studies Centre after 22 years US Army service. He has since retired in Williamsburg, Virginia where he continues to conduct research and write. Recent books include Gods’ War (an American Civil War novel) and Brutal Catalyst: What Ukraine’s Cities Tell Us About Recovery From War.

Michael Stuckey is an Australian legal academic and legal historian with senior leadership experience as Dean of Law at several universities. He now leads a private higher education provider and writes on institutional design, accountability, and the intersection of law, strategy, and national security policy.

Drude Dahlerup is a Professor Emerita of Political Science at Stockholm University and an international expert advisor on the empowerment of women related to electoral systems and gender quotas.

Viet Dung Trinh is an intern with AP4D.

Mr Febry Triantama is a defence analyst and lecturer at the Department of International Relations, Paramadina University.