I am a Professor of International Political Economy and Deputy Head of School (Research) in the School of Social Sciences at UNSW Sydney. 

I have previously held an Asia Society Australia-Korea Fellowship (2021-2022) and a UNSW Scientia Fellowship (2019-2022), as well as Visiting Fellowships at Seoul National University (as a Korea Foundation Fellow) and China Foreign Affairs University.

My research examines the strategic role of the state (i.e., national governments) in promoting successful national techno-industrial development, upgrading, and transformation. 

My most significant contributions to academic and policy knowledge examine:

• varieties of economic statecraft

• the rise and transformation of East Asia's 'developmental states' (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China) 

• the strategic role of the state in the clean energy shift in East Asia and Australia

• the political economy of international trade and investment agreements, with a particular focus on the impact of these agreements on states' policy 'room to move'. 

• the challenge of Weaponised Trade

I have written widely on these topics for academic and popular audiences and am passionate about communicating and collaborating with policy, business and NGO professionals about the pressing economic challenges facing Australia and the globe. 

I am currently a Chief Investigator on three major collaborative grants: 

• an Australian Research Council Discovery Project examining East Asia’s Clean Energy Transition (with SY Kim, J Mathews and H Tan), 

• an Academy of Korean Studies Laboratory Project Grant examining Korea’s past, present and future development trajectory (with Keun Lee, DJ Kim, Js Shin J Song and C-y Wong), 

• an Australian Department of Defence Strategic Policy Grant examining Weaponised Trade and its implications for Australia (with Lisa Toohey and Markus Wagner).

I regularly work with government, business and NGO leaders to better understand the challenges involved in promoting techno-industrial transformation and a rapid green energy shift. 

Since 2008, I have served as a Board Member of the Jubilee Australia Research Centre, a NGO dedicated to research-based  advocacy on questions of social, economic and environmental justice in the Asia-Pacific, with a particular focus on promoting Australian government and corporate accountability: http://www.jubileeaustralia.org/. 

I hold a Ph.D. in Government (International Political Economy) from the University of Sydney. I also completed my Economics (Social Sciences) Degree at Sydney University, where I was awarded first-class Honours and the University Medal for Academic Excellence.