Lydia Khalil

Project Director, Digital Threats to Democracy Project; Research Fellow, Transnational Challenges
Areas of expertise

Terrorism and violent extremism; digital technology; disinformation; authoritarianism; national security; emergency management and countering violent extremism; crisis and natural disasters; radicalisation; counterterrorism; policy; Middle East; US national security

Lydia Khalil
Biography
Publications

Lydia Khalil is a Research Fellow on Transnational Challenges at the Lowy Institute. She manages the Digital Threats to Democracy Project.

Lydia has spent her career focusing on the intersection between governance, technology and security. She has a broad range of policy, research and private sector experience and has a professional background in international relations, national security and strategic intelligence analysis, with a particular focus on terrorism and other forms of political violence.

Lydia is also a Senior Research Fellow at Deakin University’s Alfred Deakin Institute, where she is the co-convener of the Addressing Violent Extremism and Radicalisation to Terrorism (AVERT) Research Network. Lydia is a research member of the Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies (CRIS), where she leads the Crisis Points project on the intersection of disasters, extremism and disinformation. She serves as an editorial board member of the academic journal Studies in Conflict & Terrorism.

Lydia has held previous appointments as an international affairs fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and Macquarie University. She has previously served as an adviser with the US Department of Defense and as a senior policy and intelligence adviser to the Boston Police Department. She has also worked as a senior counter-terrorism and intelligence analyst for the New York Police Department.

Lydia is a frequent media commentator and has published widely in both popular and academic publications on her areas of expertise. She holds a BA in International Relations from Boston College and a Master’s in International Security from Georgetown University.

She is the author of the book Rise of the Extreme Right: The New Global Extremism and the Threat to Democracy (Penguin, 2022).

The case to prosecute “jihadi brides” at home
The case to prosecute “jihadi brides” at home
Women played a key role in ISIS – while there are dangers, countries have a responsibility to see justice done.
Repatriating female foreign fighters: political not personal
Repatriating female foreign fighters: political not personal
Many foreign women who join ISIS were not duped or coerced. It is time to recognise Shamima Begum’s agency.
Terror: time to stop politicising and start getting practical
Commentary
Terror: time to stop politicising and start getting practical
Originally published in Sydney Morning HeraldLydia Khalil
Concerns over Saudi Arabia go far beyond Khashoggi
Concerns over Saudi Arabia go far beyond Khashoggi
The death of the dissident journalist has exacerbated regional worry about the many missteps by the Saudi Crown Prince.
Egypt’s new media law is ahead of the curve
Egypt’s new media law is ahead of the curve
The regime has unabashedly claimed that what is up is down and what is black is white.
Trump's goal is regime change
Commentary
Trump's goal is regime change
Originally published in the Australian Financial Review.Lydia Khalil
Decay and new growth
Decay and new growth
The Middle East lacks the frameworks needed to capitalise on green shoots of change.
In Syria, Trump must collude with Russia
In Syria, Trump must collude with Russia
Airstrikes aside, the US needs Moscow to influence the Assad regime and negotiate an end to this sordid conflict.
Favourites of 2017: The Exile
Favourites of 2017: The Exile
It is a revealing and compelling read that recounts a hidden history of an organisation that transformed the world. 
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