Major General (Ret'd) Mick Ryan AM

Senior Fellow for Military Studies, International Security Program
Areas of expertise

Russia-Ukraine war; military history and strategy; advanced technologies

Major General (Ret'd)  Mick Ryan AM
Biography
Publications
News and media

Mick Ryan is a Senior Fellow for Military Studies in the Lowy Institute’s International Security Program.

Mick spent 35 years in the Australian Army and had the honour of commanding soldiers at multiple levels. His operational service includes deployments to East Timor, Iraq, and southern Afghanistan, and he also served as a strategist on the United States Joint Staff in the Pentagon.

Mick has a bachelor’s degree in Asian Studies from the University of New England and is a graduate of the Australian Defence Force School of Languages. He is a Distinguished Graduate of the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and a graduate of the USMC School of Advanced Warfighting. In 2012, he graduated with distinction from the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies.

Mick has a long-standing interest in military history and strategy, advanced technologies, organizational innovation, and adaptation theory. He was inaugural President of the Defence Entrepreneurs Forum (Australia) and is a member of the Military Writers Guild. He is a keen author on the interface of military strategy, innovation, and advanced technologies, as well as how institutions can develop their intellectual edge. He has contributed to several books, including Strategy Strikes Back (2018), Why We Write (2019), On Strategy (2020) and To Boldly Go (2021). Mick has also authored major reports that include the Ryan Review (2016) and Thinking About Strategic Thinking (2021).

On 27 February 2022, Mick retired from the Australian Army. In the same month, his book War Transformed was published by USNI Books. He is a strategy consultant, a columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald and ABC Australia, and an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC.

His latest book is White Sun War, published in May 2023. It is a fictional account of a war over Taiwan.

Military trends to watch in 2025
Military trends to watch in 2025
The year ahead will be at least as uncertain, violent and chaotic as 2024. Here are five key trends to watch in 2025.
Taiwan and Ukraine: Learning the right lessons
Taiwan and Ukraine: Learning the right lessons
The Ukraine experience has turbocharged Taiwan's learning about modern war.
Putin’s chilling nuclear threat has one strategic target
Commentary
Putin’s chilling nuclear threat has one strategic target
Originally published in The Sydney Morning Herald
Putin’s chilling nuclear threat has one strategic target
Commentary
Putin’s chilling nuclear threat has one strategic target
Originally published in The Sydney Morning Herald
Victory in 21st century conflict
Victory in 21st century conflict
Western powers need to re-acquaint themselves with a concept that is out of fashion.
North Korea has joined Putin’s war effort. A timid West must respond
Commentary
North Korea has joined Putin’s war effort. A timid West must respond
Originally published in The Sydney Morning Herald
Kamala Harris and Ukraine: Is the US truly committed to Ukrainian victory?
Kamala Harris and Ukraine: Is the US truly committed to Ukrainian victory?
The only nation with a viable theory of victory is Russia. Harris must decide if the US will change that equation.
Trump may surprise us on the Ukraine war
Trump may surprise us on the Ukraine war
If Donald Trump can’t achieve a quick solution in Ukraine, he could well turn on Putin and increase US support to Ukraine.
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