Expertise: Global Challenges to Democracy
Lydia Khalil is a Program Director for the Transnational Challenges at the Lowy Institute where she also directs the Digital Threats to Democracy Project. She is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Globalisation and Citizenship at Deakin University where she convenes the Addressing Violent Extremism and Radicalisation to Terrorism (AVERT) Research Network. Lydia has published widely in both popular and academic publications on her areas of expertise. She has a broad range of policy, research and private sector experience and has a professional background in international relations and national security, with a particular focus on terrorism and other forms of political violence. Her current work focuses on countering violent extremism, terrorism and and anti democratic social movements as well as the impacts of digital technology on democracy and security. She serves as an editorial board member of the academic journal Studies in Conflict & Terrorism and has held previous appointments as an international affairs fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and Macquarie University. 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 recent book Rise of the Extreme Right: The New Global Extremism and the Threat to Democracy (Penguin, 2022).