About

David M. Andrews

I am an international security, defence, and foreign policy expert with more than 12 years’ experience across the government, university, and research sectors, currently working at the intersection of policy and academia.

Most recently I was Senior Manager for Policy Outreach and Engagement at the ANU National Security College. In that capacity, I was also the Executive Producer and regular host of The National Security Podcast and have been regularly engaged by Australian and international media for expert commentary and analysis.

Though I ultimately withdrew from the program, I previously spent several years pursuing a PhD in Politics and International Relations at La Trobe University, which examined the factors which contribute to the durability and effectiveness of alliances and multilateral security organisations. Specifically, my thesis focused on the Central Treaty Organisation, Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation, Anglo-Malaysian Defence Agreement, and Five Power Defence Arrangements.

I also spent five-and-a-half years working for the Australian Department of Defence in Canberra, principally in strategic policy roles. During that time I also completed a Master of Arts (Strategic Studies) with Honours at the ANU Strategic and Defence Studies Centre before making the move to Amman, Jordan in 2018. I lived in Jordan for ten months before spending the next three years in Kuwait and returning to Canberra in mid-2022.

I earlier obtained my Bachelor of Social Science with Honours in Politics and International Relations at UNSW Sydney, then a Master of Arts in Ancient History from Macquarie University, focused on the late antiquity period in the Eastern Roman Empire.

In my spare time, I’m a keen sports fan, a budding gardener (pun very much intended), an extremely amateur numismatist, and am presently rekindling an interest in miniature painting/tabletop wargaming.