Associate Professor Christian Downie

He is a political scientist and policy adviser with expertise in energy politics, climate politics, and foreign affairs. He holds an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellowship and was previously a Vice Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of New South Wales.

Christian has worked as an adviser to several Australian Government agencies, including the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. He holds a PhD in international relations and political science from ANU, having graduated from the University of Sydney with first class honours in economics.

He has spent time teaching or researching at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the London School of Economics and Political Science and the Balsillie School of International Affairs among others, and he has worked in policy think tanks in Canberra and Washington D.C. Christian is the author of more than 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters including publications in regulation and governance, global environmental politics, review of international studies, energy policy, climate policy, international affairs, and business and politics. His latest book is Business Battles in the U.S. Energy Sector: Lessons for a clean energy transition.

Christian’s writing has also been published by the ABC, CNN, The Canberra Times, Lowy Interpreter, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Conversation, among others. He is frequently cited in the international and Australian media.