Thank you for your interest - this event is full and registrations have closed.  if you have a spot reserved or wish to make an inquiry please contact us on T: 02 6295 1555 or E: events@ifrs.org.au

Please join members and guests of the IFRS for an address from Nick O’Brien, Associate Professor of Counter Terrorism and Levi West, Director of Terrorism Studies at Charles Sturt University.

This seminar on Countering Radicalisation will precede our October Congress From the Suburbs to Syria: Countering Radicalisation and Terrorism

Nick O'Brien and Levi West will discuss what Radicalisation is and why it matters to Australia’s National Security.  If you are attending the Congress event and looking to get your mind in the right space or if you can not attend the Congress and want a taste of the issues surrounding this topic, then this is the place to be. 

This is also a great opportunity to meet professionals working in national security in a free and lively venue!

Nick O’Brien
Associate Professor of Counter Terrorism
Charles Sturt University

Before joining Charles Sturt University, Nick O'Brien represented the UK Association of Chief Police Officers - Terrorism and Allied Matters Committee (ACPO-TAM) and all the UK police forces in a diplomatic post as the Counter Terrorism and Extremism Liaison Officer (CTELO) at the British High Commission in Canberra.   Nick covered Australasia and had a ‘watching brief’ on the Asia and the Pacific region.

Prior to this posting Nick was in charge of International Counter Terrorism in Special Branch at New Scotland Yard. He also had responsibility for the National Terrorist Financial Investigations Unit (NTFIU) and International Liaison.

Nick represented the UK at the G8 Counter Terrorist Practitioners. Nick has visited both Sri Lanka and Israel to study the phenomenon of suicide attacks.

Nick has also represented the UK at Europol and the European Police Working Group on Terrorism.

Nick has spoken on Counter Terrorism at Conferences in Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Canada, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu the USA and Malaysia. 

He is a graduate of the international Leadership in Counter Terrorism (LinCT) program.

Nick first started working in the counter terrorism related area in 1981 and has worked on Irish as well as international terrorism.

Nick has written for various publications and has appeared on radio and television commentating on terrorist related matters.

He sits on the Board of Management of the Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security.

Levi West
Director of Terrorism Studies
Charles Sturt University

Levi is currently a PhD student at the School of International, Political and Strategic Studies at the Australian National University where he is completing doctoral research into the impact of technology on insurgency, via a case study analysis of Al-Qaeda, the Sinaloa Cartel, and Anonymous. 

Levi has an extensive background in national security focused academia, with a focus on non-State violence and terrorism. 

Levi has lectured, studied and worked in Australia and overseas. Levi has lectured at the National Security College at the ANU; as part of ANU Military Studies program at the Australian Command and Staff College at the Australian Defence College; at the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation in Indonesia; and is a Visiting Fellow in Terrorism and Counter Terrorism at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad, India in 2013. 

Levi has travelled and worked in Israel, having been a 2011 Australia Israel Jewish Affairs Council Rambam Israel Fellow. In this capacity, Levi was part of a parliamentary delegation that travelled extensively in Israel and Palestine. 

Levi previously worked as a researcher at the Centre for the Study of the Presidency and Congress in Washington D.C. where he undertook research on the impact of non-state actors on traditional conceptualisations of deterrence, especially in relation to the US Missile Defence program. This was part of a yearlong exchange program wherein Levi lived and worked in the United States. Levi has lectured on a number of different topics to a range of government and non-government audiences both in Australia and overseas, including law enforcement, intelligence, military and business audience. 

Levi recently contributed, along with Dr. Adam Henschke, a Research Fellow at the national Security College at ANU, and Mr. S. Brandt Ford of the AGSPS, to Cybersecurity: Mapping the Ethical Terrain, published by the National Security College at the Australian National University.