• Global Indigenous politics
• Australian First Nations Constitutional recognition, a Voice to Parliament, and the Uluru Statement From the Heart
• First Nations policy design and development
• United States domestic & foreign policy
• Civil-military relations

James Blackwell is a Research Fellow in Indigenous Diplomacy at the Australian National University’s Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, as well a PhD Candidate within the School. 

A proud Wiradyuri man, James’ work centres on prioritising Indigenous voices within predominately white systems of governance. He sees this work as a way to advance Indigenous knowledges and perspectives into spaces previously built around the exclusion of Indigenous voices, and create a greater presence for his community. 

James’ is currently focused on conceptualising First Nations foreign policy approaches in the Twenty-First Century, and how First Nations peoples and knowledges can be better utilised in IR theory and foreign policy practice. He also has written on U.S. domestic/electoral politics, civil-military relations, and U.S. foreign and defence policy.  

He also is a current member of the Uluru Dialogue based out of UNSW, working to support the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and on advancing a constitutionally-enshrined First Nations Voice to Parliament, both through advocacy and through research.  

Before joining the ANU, he worked as a Research Fellow in Indigenous Policy at UNSW’s Centre for Social Impact, and as a research academic at the University of Queensland’s School of Political Science and International Studies.  

James has a Master of International Relations from the University of Queensland, as well as a Bachelor of Political, Economic and Social Science from the University of Sydney. He is currently completing a PhD in International Relations at the ANU, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Wiradjuri Language, Heritage and Culture at Charles Sturt University.