Ashton Robinson

Biography
Publications

Ashton Robinson was born in Waratah, NSW, in 1950 and educated at The Armidale School and Australian National University, where he graduated with an M.A. in African History.

He had an initial career in the then Department of Foreign Affairs in Canberra. Most of his subsequent experience in government was with the Australian Department of Defence, the Iraq Survey Group in Baghdad and the Office of National Assessments (ONA) – which was part of the Australian Prime Minister’s portfolio – dealing with long-term strategic matters, including terrorism, transnational crime and irregular migration.

In the 1980s, Ashton published as Assistant Editor, three volumes of documents on Australian foreign policy in the 1940s. He was an occasional lecturer in History at Wollongong, Sydney and La Trobe universities in Australia and on strategic issues at the Australian Defence Force Academy, the Australian Army Research Centre and at the Australian Command and Staff College in Canberra. He has also lectured at all of the Australian Defence Force single service staff colleges and at the University of Seychelles.

From 2016 to 2023 he was an Honorary Fellow at the University of Melbourne’s School of Social and Political Sciences publishing on Iraq and Seychelles. In 2023 he joined the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre in the Coral Bell School at ANU.

South Africa: Strange noises in the cabinet
South Africa: Strange noises in the cabinet
Some clever politicking has left ANC in the drivers’ seat, and this will direct foreign policy for the BRICS and beyond.
Seychelles: Washington comes calling
Seychelles: Washington comes calling
Small island states are back on the diplomatic agenda with the West looking for strategic depth in the Indian Ocean region.
Seychelles: New man, changing strategic environment
Seychelles: New man, changing strategic environment
A long campaign has seen a prodigious organiser force a sea change in a nation Australia often mistakenly ignores.
Seychelles: Truth, justice and Australia
Seychelles: Truth, justice and Australia
An Australian lawyer leads efforts to examine the political, human rights and legal legacy of a dictator.
Diego Garcia: Unnerving neighbours and raising ghosts
Diego Garcia: Unnerving neighbours and raising ghosts
Competing claims to the Chagos Archipelago involve regional rivals, colonial history, and security concerns.
Seychelles: life after the boss
Seychelles: life after the boss
India and China are competing for influence in the Indian Ocean nation while the long shadow of a past ruler recedes.
Zimbabwe: New crocodile, same teeth
Zimbabwe: New crocodile, same teeth
Real and progressive change is someway off in Zimbabwe.
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