RSIS Seminar by Dr Kristie Barrow, Visiting Senior Fellow, RSIS, Director of International and Domestic Engagement, Australian Civil-Military Centre

Seminar Abstract

In this seminar, I will discuss Australia’s understandings of HADR preparedness and response in the Asia-Pacific region, including current policy settings and goals, engagement in regional architecture and what values inform the way Australia undertakes HADR in our region. Civilian-Military-Police coordination and a whole-of-government response lies at the heart of Australia’s approach, and in this seminar I will discuss my role in the Australian Civil-Military Centre and provide a practitioner’s insight into Australia’s approach

About the Speaker

Dr Kristie Barrow is a visiting senior fellow with the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster relief Programme, NTS Centre, RSIS and the Director of International and Domestic Engagement at the Australian Civil-Military Centre. She was an Australian diplomat for 12 years with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with postings at Australia’s Embassies in Ukraine, Malta, Afghanistan and Spain. During this time she worked on a range of topics as diverse as Kidnapping Taskforce to China and Japan Free Trade Agreements.

Dr Barrow served as Political Advisor to the NATO Ambassador to Kabul in 2014-15, living and working on a military base as part of the International Security Assistance Force, and later, Operation Resolute Support. In this role, she provided political and strategic advice to the civilian head of the NATO mission in support of the international security mission.

Dr Barrow has a Master of Public Policy from the University of Oxford (2017), a PhD in International Relations from the University of Queensland (2007) and a Bachelor’s degree with First Class Honours in Languages and Linguistics from Griffith University (2001). Before joining the Foreign Service, she worked with arms control and disarmament NGOs and think tanks, including the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.