Dr Rodger Shanahan

Dr Rodger Shanahan
Biography
Publications

Dr Rodger Shanahan is a former Nonresident Fellow at the Lowy Institute.

A former army officer, he had extensive service within the Parachute Battalion Group (PBG) and has had operational service with the UN in South Lebanon and Syria, with the PBG in East Timor, in Beirut during the 2006 war, and in Afghanistan. He was the former director of the Army's Land Warfare Studies Centre, and has also been posted to the Australian Embassies in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. Dr Shanahan has MAs in International Relations and Middle East Studies from the ANU, and a PhD in Arab and Islamic Studies from the University of Sydney.

He is also a part-time member of the Refugee Review Tribunal.  He has written numerous journal, media and policy articles, is a frequent commentator on Middle East issues for Australian and international media, has appeared as an expert witness for several terrorism trials in Australia and is the author of Clans, Parties and Clerics: the Shi’a of Lebanon.

The puzzling demise of Lebanon’s Sa’ad Hariri
The puzzling demise of Lebanon’s Sa’ad Hariri
Riyadh’s man in Beirut is gone but seemingly not in some careful Saudi plot.
Prince Salman wields his sword in the house of Saud
Commentary
Prince Salman wields his sword in the house of Saud
Originally published in The Australian.Rodger Shanahan
Kurds aren’t always the good guys
Kurds aren’t always the good guys
Foreign fighters who join armed Kurdish groups become hostage to their political agenda.
Kurdistan’s strategic overreach
Kurdistan’s strategic overreach
Holding a provocative, quixotic and externally friendless referendum was an unnecessary risk for the Kurds to take, for very little return.
Iran nuclear deal: ‘Trump’s approach can hurt US interests’
Commentary
Iran nuclear deal: ‘Trump’s approach can hurt US interests’
Originally published in The Australian (Photo: Office of the Supreme Leader) Rodger Shanahan
Trump on Iran: Speaking loudly and carrying a small stick
Trump on Iran: Speaking loudly and carrying a small stick
Trump has failed to apply Roosevelt's advice in dealing with the Middle East.
Syria: Five stages of grief (part 2)
Syria: Five stages of grief (part 2)
Countries that supported the regime will have the inside running for reconstruction contracts.
Syria: The five stages of grief (part 1)
Syria: The five stages of grief (part 1)
There is a sense that the Syrian war is effectively over bar the fighting.
War reporting 101: Check your sources
War reporting 101: Check your sources
The news media has reported casualty claims later found to be spurious but paid little attention to the sources of these claims.
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