Ben Scott

Director, Australia’s Security and the Rules-Based Order Project
Areas of expertise

Australian national security policy; International rules and norms; US foreign policy; the Middle East

Ben Scott
Biography
Publications

Ben Scott is a Senior Advisor at the Australian National University’s National Security College. He has more than 25 years’ experience in diplomacy, think tanks, intelligence and international development. He served as the Director of the Australia’s Security and the Rules-Based Order Project at the Lowy Institute from 2020 to 2022, and at the Office of National Intelligence (ONI), which he represented in Washington, DC from 2016-2020.

Ben has published widely on national security decision-making, international order, US grand strategy and competition with China, cyber strategy and intelligence.

He also has extensive experience in the Middle East, as: a senior analyst at ONI; Rule of Law Adviser to Quartet Representative Tony Blair; Australian Representative to the Palestinian Authority and Third Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv. He served as a Bougainville peace monitor for six months in 1998.

Ben was a Diplomatic Fellow at the Lowy Institute in 2005 and wrote the Lowy Institute Paper, Re-imagining PNG: Culture, Democracy and Australia’s Role.

Australia and the crisis in Europe: threats and opportunities
Australia and the crisis in Europe: threats and opportunities
A global contest of values and interests – and sharply divergent visions of order - is now dramatically intensified.
Australian intelligence should not be used for political goals. The US is still recovering from Trump doing just that
Commentary
Australian intelligence should not be used for political goals. The US is still recovering from Trump doing just that
The political consensus on China is a dead end. Australia should harness political debate to produce smarter policies. Originally published in The Guardian.
Getting ready for Trump as President 47
Getting ready for Trump as President 47
In order to adjust to an unpredictable United States, Canberra needs new habits.
Best decision-making needed as Fortress Australia rejoins the world
Commentary
Best decision-making needed as Fortress Australia rejoins the world
The central challenge is striking the right balance between negative and positive globalisation. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review.
Digital Conference: The Indo-Pacific Operating System
Speeches
Digital Conference: The Indo-Pacific Operating System
The digital conference The Indo-Pacific Operating System: Power, Order and Rules for the 21st Century was hosted by the Lowy Institute on 1-2 December 2021.
US seeks recalibration, but China is unlikely to reciprocate
Commentary
US seeks recalibration, but China is unlikely to reciprocate
Washington wanted the Biden-Xi meeting to establish guardrails to prevent confrontation. Beijing will probably see that as just code for maintenance of the US-dominated status quo…
The Indo-Pacific Operating System: How can America shore up the regional order?
Interactives
The Indo-Pacific Operating System: How can America shore up the regional order?
Five essays from experts from, or based in, Southeast Asia provide a sense of the region’s complexity and the nuance with which any effort to shore up – or rebuild – regional…
International rules make U.S.-China conflict more likely
Commentary
International rules make U.S.-China conflict more likely
Cross-border principles governing conduct only exist if they are accepted by states. Originally published in Nikkei Asia Review Ben Scott
Rules Based Audio (Episode 3): In Conversation with Hilary Charlesworth
Podcasts
Rules Based Audio (Episode 3): In Conversation with Hilary Charlesworth
In this episode of Rules Based Audio, Ben Scott talks to Professor Hilary Charlesworth
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