A proud Wiradjuri man, James Blackwell is a Research Fellow in Indigenous Diplomacies at the Australian National University’s Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs.
James’ work is currently focused on conceptualising First Nations foreign policy approaches in the Twenty-First Century, and how First Nations peoples and knowledges can be better utilised in IR theory and foreign policy practice. He also has written on U.S. domestic/electoral politics, civil-military relations, and U.S. foreign and defence policy. He has experience working with remote and disadvantaged First Nations communities around Australia, and has large networks across these spaces. James is a current member of the Uluru Dialogue based out of UNSW, working to support the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and on advancing a constitutionally-enshrined First Nations Voice to Parliament, both through advocacy and through research.
Before joining the ANU, he worked as a Research Fellow in Indigenous Policy at UNSW’s Centre for Social Impact, and as a research academic at the University of Queensland’s School of Political Science and International Studies.