Legacies of 9/11: 25 Years of Changing Global Security

Moderator & Panellist

Research Fellow, Australian National University

Dr Levi West is an internationally recognised expert on terrorism and counter-terrorism and a Research Fellow at the Australian National University, where he researches radicalisation. Previously Director of Terrorism Studies at Charles Sturt University, his research focuses on the intersection of terrorism, communication and technology. He holds a PhD from Victoria University, for which he received the Terrorism Research Initiative Thesis of the Year award, and regularly advises government, intelligence, law enforcement and military stakeholders in Australia and internationally.

Panellist

Associate Professor, POLIS: The Social Policy Research Centre, ANU

Dr Emily Corner is an Associate Professor at POLIS: The Social Policy Research Centre at the Australian National University. Prior to joining the ANU, Emily was a Research Associate at the department of Security and Crime Science at University College London, working on projects examining lone and group-based terrorism, radicalisation, mass murderers, and fixated individuals. Her doctoral research focused on examining mental disorders and terrorist behaviour and won the Terrorism Research Initiative’s Thesis award in 2016. She has published in leading psychology, forensic science, criminology, threat assessment, and political science journals. She has worked on research projects funded by Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, the European Union, the National Institute of Justice, the Department of Defence, and the Department of Home Affairs. Prior to her doctoral research she worked across step-down, low, and medium secure psychiatric hospitals, in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

Panellist

Research Member, AVERT Research Network

Dr Jennifer B. Robinson completed her thesis, entitled “A Network of National Socialists? The Physical Manifestation of Extreme Right Ideology in the trans-Tasman, 2000-2022” in October 2024, at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University, Canberra; it was conferred on 9 December 2024. She has since published two articles derived from her doctoral research in Terrorism and Political Violence journal. Jennifer is a Research Member of Addressing Violent Extremism and Radicalisation to Terrorism (AVERT), based in Melbourne, Australia and a member of the IAPSS/CREST Community of Interest on Violence Norms. In addition to a PhD, she also holds a Master of International Security, from the University of Sydney, and a Master of Arts (Honours) in Modern History from the University of St Andrews, Scotland. Previously, she was a Commissioned Officer in His Majesty’s Royal Air Force in the U.K.

Moderator

Director of Online Violence Prevention, Moonshot

Theresa Rajah is Director of Online Violence Prevention at Moonshot, a global social impact organisation delivering evidence-based digital interventions across Five Eyes countries. She leads government-commissioned programmes in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, countering gender-based violence, violent extremism, and online harm. With over a decade of experience across social inclusion, gender equity, and violence prevention, Theresa has served on the Victorian Government Expert Panel on Terrorism and Violent Extremism and advised the Ministerial Taskforce on Social Cohesion and Community Resilience. Her expertise bridges social policy, prevention programmes, and advisory across government, civil society, and the technology sector.

Panellist

Professor of Law, Swansea University

Stuart Macdonald is Professor of Law at the Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law, Swansea University, UK. He is Co-Director of the University’s Cyber Threats Research Centre (CYTREC) and Coordinator of the VOX-Pol Network. Stuart’s research focuses on terrorists’ use of the internet. Most recently, he has examined jihadist narratives, the strategies used to disseminate terrorist propaganda online, and regulatory responses. He has received research funding from the British Academy, Welsh Government, US Government, NATO and the EU, among others. Stuart is the lead organiser of the biennial Terrorism and Social Media (TASM) conference, a member of Europol’s Advisory Network on terrorism and propaganda, a Senior Fellow at Hedayah and an Associate Fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague. In 2016/17 he was also the holder of a Fulbright Cyber Security Award.

Panellist

Co-panellist organisation

The Christchurch Call Foundation is the independent nonprofit organisation driving the Christchurch Call — a global commitment by governments and technology platforms, supported by civil society and multilateral partners — to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content (TVEC) online while protecting human rights and the open internet. Born from the March 15, 2019 terrorist attack at two mosques in Christchurch, CCF operates as the multistakeholder mechanism coordinating crisis response, tackling pathways to online radicalisation, enabling algorithmic research, and driving the development of open-source safety tools.

Caroline O'Hare, APM

Counter Terrorism, NSW Police (Ret.)

Caroline was a NSW police officer for forty-two years and performed duty as a Detective, Prosecutor, Close Personal Protection Officer, Negotiation team leader and Intelligence Analyst. She also performed counter terrorism duties for over thirty years across in investigations, intelligence, education, strategy, research and as a counter terrorism negotiation team leader. In 2011 with Dr David Gawel APM, Caroline initiated Australia’s first terrorism cold case, the bombing of the Hakoah Club & Israeli Consulate Sydney in 1982, identifying the international terrorists and local elements responsible. Caroline has degrees in Law, Criminology & Policing (Prosecutions), and was admitted as a Solicitor of the NSW Supreme Court in 2000. In 2016 awarded the Australian Police Medal (APM) for distinguished service by the Governor General of Australia. Upon retirement Caroline and others established Victims of Terrorism Australia, a not-for-profit support group for all Australians impacted by terrorism. VOTA is engaged with Government in producing a countering violent extremism education program and enhancing social cohesion with the direct input of survivor voices, due for completion in December 2026.

Counter Terrorism and Countering Violent Extremism, UK Police

Ian Cherrington is a former Detective Chief Inspector and Counter Terrorism Senior Investigating Officer (CT SIO) from the UK. During his policing career, Ian led teams responsible for Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) in Prevent and oversaw numerous live operations involving individuals suspected of planning terrorist attacks. He has also led investigations into completed terrorist attacks and their associated inquests. He led the initial response to the Reading terrorist attack, carried out by a lone actor Jihadist and was also the CT SIO for two significant high profile international events. Prior to this, Ian worked as a Senior Behavioural Analyst with the UK National Crime Agency (NCA), where he contributed to linking serial homicide and sexual offences cases across the UK. He holds a Master's degree in Forensic Psychology, and subsequently became the UK national lead for Counter Terrorism Policing in understanding the pathway to violence for lone actors. His work focused on identifying behavioural warning signs before an attack occurs, with the aim of improving early intervention and prevention. He has trained extensively across the UK and Europe and has led large scale research collaborations between law enforcement, academia and UK government research departments. Since moving to Australia, Ian has continued to train and consult with law enforcement, CVE practitioners and government on lone-actor violence and behavioural threat assessment. He teaches post graduate students at Macquarie University on both the advanced terrorism studies and extremism courses. He is currently developing a PhD proposal with Western Sydney University examining the late stage warning signs preceding lone actor attacks and how recognition of these behaviours can be improved. His work is driven by a commitment to preventing lone actor attacks and reducing their devastating impact.

John Fahey

Military and Signals Intelligence, Australia

Dr John Fahey, PhD (University of Sydney), BA Hons (Deakin), PSC(R), MACPara, is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and an Honorary Fellow in the Discipline of Security Studies and Criminology at the School of International Studies, Macquarie University. He is also Managing Director of Cynergex Group Pty Ltd. Prior to Cynergex Group, Dr Fahey served in a number of postings, including intelligence, in the British and Australian armies over 28 years as well as serving as an officer of the Australian Signals Directorate. His doctoral thesis was Britain 1939-1945, The Economic Cost of Strategic Bombing. More recently, his primary area of research is intelligence history, in which he has published Australia’s First Spies, a history of Australian foreign intelligence operations from 1901 to 1949; Traitors and Spies, a history of Australian domestic security intelligence activity 1901 to 1955; The Factory, volume one of the official histories of the Australian Signals Directorate from 1901 to 1972; and The Directorate, volume two of the official history covering 1972 to 2001, which is awaiting publication. His work draws heavily on primary source documentation from Australian, UK and US archives. He has also written articles including China and the Cross: Xi’s Vatican Gambit (Catholic Weekly, 2020) and The Origins of Australian Naval Intelligence (Wartime Magazine, 2023). He has also published widely in emergency medicine.

Deputy Director of Research, Impact and Engagement, School of Social Sciences, Monash University

Dr Susan Carland is a sociologist of religion and the Deputy Director of Research, Impact, and Engagement for the School of Social Sciences at Monash University. She has won awards for both research and teaching. She has received a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) Fellowship investigating gender and Islamophobia, a Churchill Fellowship investigating global best-practice responses to Islamophobia, and she is the Chief Investigator on an ARC Linkage project tracking Islamophobia and its impact on Australian Muslims' lives. She is also currently conducting research on Islam on the Cocos Islands. She is the lead researcher and deputy director of the Islamophobia Register Australia, where she led the latest Islamophobia in Australia Report.

Professor of Criminology and Global Justice, Aston University

Tahir Abbas is Professor of Criminology and Global Justice at Aston University, Birmingham, and Founding Director of the Centre on Radicalisation, Inclusion and Social Equity (RISE). Across three decades, his research has examined radicalisation, Islamophobia, extremism, and social exclusion, focusing especially on Muslim communities in Britain and Western Europe. He was formerly Professor of Radicalisation Studies at Leiden University’s Institute of Security and Global Affairs and is an Honorary Professor at the University of Exeter’s Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies. He led the EU-funded DRIVE project on radicalisation and social exclusion across Northwestern Europe, as well as the PROTONE project on the protection of religious spaces. His forthcoming monograph, Radical Belonging, draws on this work to argue that strong Muslim identity operates as a protective factor against extremism, challenging deficit-led narratives about diaspora communities. Recent books include Global Counter-Terrorism: A Decolonial Approach (Manchester University Press) and the co-edited Routledge International Handbook on Social Exclusion and Radicalisation. He has advised UK government bodies, including the Home Office and counter-terrorism policing, and is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and the Royal Society of Arts. He writes and speaks on Islamophobia and the politics of Muslim diaspora life.

Paul Thomas

Professor of Youth and Policy, University of Huddersfield

Paul Thomas is Professor of Youth and Policy in the School of Business, Education and Law at the University of Huddersfield, UK. Paul’s research focuses on how frontline practitioners enact state policies around the prevention of violent extremism and around community cohesion and racial tensions. Paul was co-PI for the ESRC/CREST-funded UK ‘Community Reporting Thresholds’ study and for the subsequent Canadian and US replication studies. The UK study directly informed the UK’s ‘ACT Early’ campaign. Paul also worked with Joel Busher and Tufyal Choudhury on the first English national study of how educators in England’s schools and colleges were implementing the Prevent counter-terrorism duty. Paul is a qualified youth and community worker and previously worked for the UK Government’s Commission for Racial Equality.

Kelly Mischel

Commissioner, Countering Violent Extremism, Victoria

Dr Mischel is a Forensic Psychologist with over 17 years experience in prison and probationary settings. During her time as the Principal Clinician for Countering Violent Extremism for Corrections Victoria she had a lead role in the clinical service delivery including assessment, treatment planning, intervention, case management and transition of high risk and violent extremist offenders. Dr Mischel is a specialised assessor in violent extremism assessments including the Violent Extremist Risk Assessment (VERA-2R), Terrorist Radicalization Assessment Protocol (TRAP-18) and Radar/PIM. Dr Mischel is currently the Commissioner, Countering Violent Extremism and is responsible for Whole of Government coordination of CVE policy and Crowded Places Safety strategy implementation in Victoria. She further oversees the implementation of legislated early intervention case management schemes to support individuals at risk of radicalising towards violent extremism.

Keiran Hardy

Associate Professor, Griffith Criminology Institute

Dr Keiran Hardy is an Associate Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Griffith University and a member of the Griffith Criminology Institute. He is a recognised expert in counter-terrorism and national security law and he contributes regularly to the media and public inquiries. He is the author of Law in Australian Society: An Introduction to Principles and Process (Routledge, 2024, 2nd ed.) and is currently undertaking a 3-year ARC Discovery Project on conspiracy extremism, focusing on sovereign citizen beliefs and behaviours, pseudolaw, and the impact of conspiracy extremism on families and communities.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Victoria University

Dr Andrew Zammit is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Victoria University. His research career in political science, including both public-facing research and applied research with government partners, has focused on terrorism and violent extremism in Australia along with other areas of public policy and national security. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, a member of the Victorian Government’s Expert Advisory Committee on Countering Violent Extremism and a member of the AVERT Executive Committee. He was recently awarded a National Intelligence Postdoctoral Grant for the project “How events abroad shape threats at home: grounded approaches for forecasting violent extremism”.