Professor Bec Strating FAIIA
Professor Bec Strating FAIIA is the Director of La Trobe Asia and a Professor of International Relations at La Trobe University, Melbourne. She has extensive experience working in the academia-policy-public engagement nexus in the fields of international diplomacy and security. Her research focuses primarily on Asian regional security, maritime disputes, and Australian foreign and defence policy. She is the author of Girt by Sea: reimagining Australia’s Security with Professor Joanne Wallis (La Trobe University Press/Black Inc, 2024), which was launched by Foreign Minister Penny Wong in April 2024. Bec currently leads the DFAT-funded “Blue Security” network focused on maritime security issues in the Indo-Pacific, and in 2024 was made a Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs for contributions to knowledge on maritime security and for promotion of knowledge on Asia in Australia.
Associate Professor Danielle Chubb
Associate Professor Danielle Chubb is an academic in International Relations in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Deakin University. She is the author of Australian Public Opinion, Defence and Foreign Policy: Attitudes and Trends Since 1945 (Palgrave 2021 – with Prof Ian McAllister) and Contentious Activism and Inter-Korean relations (Columbia University Press 2014), and the editor of North Korean Human Rights: Activists and Networks (Cambridge University Press 2018 – with Prof Andrew Yeo). Danielle is also an Associate Editor with Foreign Policy Analysis, an International Studies Association journal.
Associate Professor David Hundt
Associate Professor David Hundt is a comparative political economist who has attained international recognition for his expertise on Australia’s economic and security relations with South Korea, Korean immigration to Australia, and the two countries’ responses to the rise of China. As a Deakin University Associate Professor, he teaches International Relations programs at undergraduate and master’s levels, and is also the Director of the Masters of International Relations. He has also held leadership roles in the Asian Studies Association of Australia, where he has been a journal editor (2018-2024), Vice President (2023-2024), and President (2024-).
Professor Baogang He FASSA
Professor Baogang He FASSA is an Alfred Deakin Professor at Deakin University and the Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. Known for his work in Chinese politics, in particular deliberate politics in China, and regionalism, he has authored influential books and papers, with several of his publications ranking in the top 1% of highly cited research. He has received numerous prestigious awards and held research fellowships at leading universities such as Stanford University and the University of Cambridge. His research also covers Australia's foreign policy, and Asian regionalism, contributing to an understanding of diplomatic relations, trade, and security dynamics in the Asia-Pacific region.