Description:The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law invites you to Security in Asia: an Australian Perspective, with James Alexander Brown, Military Fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy, Prudence Genevieve Field Flowers, Lecturer at Flinders University, and Marcus Paul Lumb, Executive Officer at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, on Friday, September 28 at 12:15 pm in Sid Richardson Hall, Room 3.122. Central Market sandwiches, iced tea and cookies will be provided.

As part of the U.S. Department of States diplomatic efforts to support democracy around the world, this delegation of emerging leaders from Australia is coming to the Strauss Center to discuss major security issues in Asia affecting the world today. Associate Director Celeste Ward Gventer will moderate a discussion with the delegation, please bring your toughest questions!

Mr. James Brown is a former officer in the Australian Army, with service in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Solomon Islands. As the Military Fellow at the Lowy Institute, one of Australia’s foremost think tanks, his research focuses primarily on military issues and defense policy. He coordinates the MacArthur Foundation Asia Security Project, which seeks to explore security cooperation in Asia and promote measures to prevent Asia’s growing strategic rivalries from deepening into war. Mr. Brown also coordinates a project investigating the use of private military security companies in disaster and conflict zones. He is a regular contributor and commentator in a wide range of media.

At Flinders University, Dr. Prudence Flowers teaches all eras of American history, with broad research interests in politics, religion, gender, conservatism, and social movement activism, including a new research project looking at the factors influencing U.S. policy on global population issues. Dr. Flowers is also an Early Career Researcher at Flinders University’s new Centre for U.S. and Asia Policy Studies (CUSAPS). Among other projects, the Centre will be looking at the changing strategic relationships in Asia as it assesses the new U.S. policy of force rebalancing as well as the growth of defense spending and capabilities of major Asian powers including China, Japan, India, and Indonesia.

Mr. Marcus Lumb specialized primarily in Indonesian affairs while working at Australia’s premier intelligence agency, the Office of National Assessments. He continued this focus during subsequent duty at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), where he served in the Indonesia political section. Recently, his DFAT portfolio responsibilities have broadened to include Southeast Asia, with an emphasis on Burma, Laos and Cambodia.