Biography
Benjamin Isakhan is Associate Professor of Politics and Policy Studies and Founding Director of POLIS, a research network for Political Science and International Relations scholars in the Alfred Deakin Institute at Deakin University, Australia.
Ben is also Adjunct Senior Research Associate, Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa and Consulting Scholar at the Penn Cultural Heritage Centre at the University of Pennsylvania, US.
Ben has also held Visiting Research Fellowships at Stanford University, Oxford University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Exeter, University of Chicago, and Newcastle University.
Previously, Ben has held Postdoctoral Research Fellowships with the National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies (Griffith University), the Centre for Dialogue (La Trobe University) and the Alfred Deakin Institute (Deakin University).
Ben is the author of Democracy in Iraq: History, Politics, Discourse (Routledge, 2016 [2012]) and the editor of 6 books including, The Secret History of Democracy (Palgrave, 2011 - translated into Arabic and Japanese), The Legacy of Iraq: From the 2003 War to the Islamic State (Edinburgh University Press, 2015), and State and Society in Iraq: Citizenship under Occupation, Dictatorship and Democratization (I.B. Tauris, 2017).
Ben has also published articles in world-leading journals in the fields of Middle East studies, Political Science and Heritage Studies, such as: The International Journal of Press/Politics, The Journal of Social Archaeology, The Middle East Journal, Terrorism and Political Violence, Politics, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Middle East Policy, International Journal of Heritage Studies, Australian Journal of Political Science, among several others.
Ben has also won various awards and grants, including an Australian Research Council (DECRA) grant for the project 'Measuring the Destruction of Heritage and Spikes of Violence in Iraq' (AU$403,639, 2012-15), a grant from the Australian Department of Defence for the project 'Measuring Cultural Property Destruction in Iraq and Syria' (AU$650,444, 2015-17) and an ARC Discovery project 'After Islamic State: Local-State-Global Heritage Dynamics in Syria and Iraq' (AU$463,940; 2020-23).
In 2018, Ben was awarded the Faculty Research Award for Mid Career Researcher. In 2016 Ben received a Highly Commended in the Vice Chancellor's Award for Research Partnerships and received the Faculty Research Award for Industry Collaboration Research. In 2012 Ben was awarded the Vice Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Contribution to Research: Early Career Researcher and in 2009 Ben won the La Trobe University Postdoctoral Research Proposal Award.
Ben has taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses on the Politics, International Relations and History of the Middle East, as well as more broadly in the field of Political Science. He supervises several PhD students, is a member of various professional and academic associations, and is regulalrly interviewed in the media.
For more details on Ben's work and a list of publications, see his Academia site, Google Scholar and Twitter.
Read more on Benjamin's profileCareer highlights
Adjunct and Visiting Research Fellowships:
2019: Distinguished Visiting Research Fellow, Stanford Archaeology Centre, Stanford University (US).
2017 - : Consulting Scholar, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania (US).
2017: Visiting Research Fellow, Damage to Syrian and Iraqi Heritage Project, Penn Cultural Heritage Centre, University of Pennsylvania (US).
2016: Visiting Research Scholar, Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa project, Universitu of Oxford (UK).
2015 - : Associate, Sydney Democracy Network, University of Sydney, Australia.
2014 - 2020: Adjunct Senior Research Associate, Department of Politics and International Relations, Faculty of Humanities, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
2014 - 2015: Honorary Research Fellow, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter (UK).
2013: Visiting Research Fellow, International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies, Newcastle University (UK).
2012: Visiting Research Fellow, Centre for Middle Eastern Studies and the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago (US).
Research interests
- Middle East Politics and History
- Heritage Destruction across the Middle East
- The History of Democracy
- Iraqi Politics and History
- Political Science
- Heritage Studies
Affiliations
Middle East Studies Association (US)
The American Academic Research Institute in Iraq (US and Iraq)
The International Association of Contemporary Iraqi Studies (UK)
The Middle East Institute (US)
The British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (UK)
Australasian Political Science Association (APSA)
Professional activities
Editorial Committee
Journal of Democratic Theory (international peer-reviewed journal)
Awards
2018: Faculty Research Award – Mid-Career Researcher. Faculty wide award for best mid-career researcher. Deakin University.
2016: Highly Commended: Vice Chancellor's Awards for Research Partnerships. University wide award for the most significant partnership between Deakin researchers and external partners. Deakin University.
2016: Faculty Research Award - Industry Collaboration Research. Faculty wide award for best research partnership with external stakeholders. Deakin University.
2012: Vice-Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Contribution to Research: Early Career Researcher. University wide award competition for best ECR contribution to research. Deakin University.
2009: La Trobe University Postdoctoral Research Proposal Award. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (for Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship submission). La Trobe University.
Projects
Throughout his career, Ben has also won various awards and national competitive grants, including receiving more that AU$2million in research funding. He has served as Chief Investigator on the following projects:
Isakhan, B. (2012-2015). Measuring the Destruction of Heritage and Spikes of Violence in Iraq. Australian Research Council. Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Three year fully-funded fellowship. AU$403,639.
Isakhan, B. (2015-17). Measuring Cultural Property Destruction in Iraq and Syria. The Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation (AGO), Department of Defence, Australian Government. AU$677,272.
Isakhan, B. & Meskell, M. (2020-2023). After Islamic State: Local-State-Global Heritage Dynamics in Syria and Iraq. Australian Research Council. Discovery Project. Four year funded research project. AU$463,940.
Publications
Benjamin Isakhan, Sofya Shahab
(2020), Vol. 20, pp. 3-25, Journal of Social Archaeology, London, Eng., C1
The Abbott government and the Islamic State: a securitised and elitist foreign policy discourse
P Mulherin, B Isakhan
(2019), Vol. 54, pp. 82-98, Australian journal of political science, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Benjamin Isakhan, Jose Zarandona, Taghreed Al-Deen
(2019), pp. 181-194, Sites of pluralism community politics in the Middle East, London, Eng., B1
B Isakhan, Lynn Meskell
(2019), Vol. 25, pp. 1189-1204, International journal of heritage studies, Abingdon, Eng., C1
C Pan, B Isakhan, Z Nwokora
(2019), pp. 1-16, Politics, London, Eng., C1
Peter Mulherin, Benjamin Isakhan
(2019), Vol. 24, pp. 531-550, International journal of press/politics, London, Eng., C1
Perceptions of democracy and the rise of Donald Trump: a framing analysis of Saudi Arabian media
Benjamin Isakhan, Zim Nwokora, Chengxin Pan
(2019), Vol. 15, pp. 159-175, Global media and communication, London, Eng., C1
B Isakhan, J Gonzalez Zarandona
(2018), Vol. 24, pp. 1-16, International journal of heritage studies, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Digitally mediated iconoclasm: the Islamic State and the war on cultural heritage
J Gonzlez Zarandona, C Albarrn-Torres, B Isakhan
(2018), Vol. 24, pp. 649-671, International Journal of Heritage Studies, Abingdon, Eng., C1
B Isakhan
(2018), pp. 1-25, Terrorism and Political Violence, Abingdon, Eng., C1
The ritualization of heritage destruction under the Islamic State
B Isakhan, S Shahab
(2018), Vol. 18, pp. 212-233, Journal of social archaeology, London, Eng., C1
Basra's bid for autonomy: peaceful progress toward a decentralized Iraq
B Isakhan, P Mulherin
(2018), Vol. 72, pp. 267-285, The Middle East journal, Washington, D.C., C1
The manipulation of social, cultural and religious values in socially mediated terrorism
C Smith, R von der Borch, B Isakhan, S Sukendar, P Sulistiyanto, I Ravenscroft, Ida Widianingsih, C de Leiuen
(2018), Vol. 9, pp. 1-19, Religions, Basel, Switzerland, C1
Shi'i division over the Iraqi state: decentralization and the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq
B Isakhan, P Mulherin
(2018), British journal of Middle Eastern studies, Abingdon, Eng., C1
How to interpret ISIS's heritage destruction
B Isakhan
(2018), Vol. 117, pp. 344-350, Current history, Philadelphia, Pa., C1
State-society relations in Iraq: negotiating a contested historiography
B Isakhan, F Dawood
(2017), pp. 7-29, State and society in Iraq: citizenship under occupation, dictatorship and democratization, New York, N.Y., B1
The road to the 'Islamic State': state-society relations after the US withdrawal from Iraq
B Isakhan
(2017), pp. 260-279, State and society in Iraq: citizenship under occupation, dictatorship and democratization, London, Eng., B1
Lessons from the past for a future Iraq
B Isakhan, S Mako
(2017), pp. 280-288, State and society in Iraq: citizenship under occupation, dictatorship and democratization, London, Eng., B1
The Iraqi Kurdish response to the 'Islamic State': Political leverage in times of crisis
B Isakhan
(2017), pp. 437-448, The Kurdish question revisited, London, Eng, B1
Heritage under fire: lessons from Iraq for cultural property protection
B Isakhan
(2016), pp. 268-279, A Companion to Heritage Studies, London, Eng., B1
A Hassin, B Isakhan
(2016), Vol. 62, pp. 88-100, Australian journal of politics and history, Chichester, Eng., C1
Eurocentrism and the history of democracy
B Isakhan
(2016), Vol. 51, pp. 56-70, Politische vierteljahresschrift, Berlin, Germany, C1
Creating the Iraq cultural property destruction database: calculating a heritage destruction index
B Isakhan
(2015), Vol. 21, pp. 1-21, International journal of heritage studies, Abingdon, England, C1
Succeeding and seceding in Iraq: the case for a Shiite State
B Isakhan
(2015), pp. 139-152, Territorial separatism in global politics: causes, outcomes and resolution, London, Eng., B1
The complex and contested history of democracy
B Isakhan
(2015), pp. 1-26, The Edinburgh companion to the history of democracy: from pre-history to future possibilities, Edinburgh, Scotland, B1
Introduction: The Iraq legacies - intervention, occupation, withdrawal and beyond
B Isakhan
(2015), pp. 1-18, The Legacy of Iraq: From the 2003 War to the 'Islamic State', B1
The de-baathifi cation of post-2003 Iraq: Purging the past for political power
B Isakhan
(2015), pp. 21-35, The Legacy of Iraq: From the 2003 War to the 'Islamic State', B1
Shattering the Shia: A Maliki political strategy in post-Saddam Iraq
B Isakhan
(2015), pp. 67-81, The Legacy of Iraq: From the 2003 War to the 'Islamic State', B1
Doing democracy in difficult times: Oil unions and the Maliki Government
B Isakhan
(2015), pp. 125-137, The Legacy of Iraq: From the 2003 War to the 'Islamic State', B1
Conclusion: The Iraq legacies and the roots of the 'Islamic state
B Isakhan
(2015), pp. 223-235, The Legacy of Iraq: From the 2003 War to the 'Islamic State', B1
Democracy: critiquing a Eurocentric history
B Isakhan
(2015), pp. 1-14, APSA 2015 : Proceedings of the 2015 Australian Political Studies Association Conference, Canberra, A.C.T., E1
Protests and public power in post-Saddam Iraq: the case of the Iraqi federation of oil union
B Isakhan
(2014), pp. 117-128, Informal power in the greater Middle East: hidden geographies, Abingdon, England, B1
Wikileaks and the limits of representative democracy and transnational democratisation
S Slaughter
(2014), pp. 166-185, Democracy and Crisis: Democratising Governance in the Twenty-First Century, B1
B Isakhan
(2014), pp. 149-165, Democracy and crisis: democratizing governance in the twenty-first century, London, England, B1
The future of democratic governance
B Isakhan, S Slaughter
(2014), pp. 253-263, Democracy and crisis: democratizing governance in the twenty-first century, London, England, B1
The politics of Australia's withdrawal from Iraq
B Isakhan
(2014), Vol. 49, pp. 647-661, Australian journal of political science, Melbourne, Vic., C1
Heritage destruction and spikes in violence: The case of Iraq
B Isakhan
(2013), Vol. 2, pp. 219-247, Heritage and Identity, B1
Despots or democrats?: Sistani, Sadr and Shia politics in post-Saddam Iraq
B Isakhan
(2013), pp. 171-192, Islam, Islamist movements and democracy in the Middle East: challenges, opportunities and responses, Delhi, India, B1
Islam and democracy in Australia
B Isakhan
(2013), pp. 45-53, Education integration challenges: the case of Australian muslims, Melbourne, Vic., B1
B Isakhan
(2012), pp. 19-34, The secret history of democracy, London, Eng., B1-1
The streets of Iraq: protests and democracy after Saddam
B Isakhan
(2012), pp. 191-203, The secret history of democracy, London, Eng., B1-1
Introduction : democracy and history
B Isakhan, B Isakhan, S Stockwell, S Stockwell
(2012), pp. 1-16, The secret history of democracy, London, Eng., B1-1
Conclusion : democratising the history of democracy
B Isakhan, S Stockwell
(2012), pp. 219-224, The secret history of democracy, London, Eng., B1-1
Conclusion : the promises and challenges of the Arab revolutions
S Akbarzadeh, F Mansouri, B Isakhan
(2012), pp. 153-159, The Arab revolutions in context : civil society and democracy in a changing Middle East, Melbourne, Vic., B1
B Isakhan, F Mansouri, S Akbarzadeh
(2012), pp. 1-20, The Arab revolutions in context : civil society and democracy in a changing Middle East, Melbourne, Vic., B1
Democracy in Iraq: History, politics, discource
B Isakhan
(2012), pp. 1-188, Democracy in Iraq: History, Politics, Discource, A1
Introduction: The complex and contested history of democracy
B Isakhan
(2012), pp. 1-26, The Edinburgh Companion to the History of Democracy, B1
B Isakhan
(2012), pp. 407-417, The Edinburgh companion to the history of democracy, Edinburgh, Scotland, B1
Oil unions and democracy in post-Saddam Iraq
B Isakhan
(2012), pp. 718-735, APSA 2012 : The Refereed Proceedings of the 2012 Australian Political Studies Association Conference, Hobart, Tas., E1
Occupation and democracy in re-colonial Iraq
B Isakhan
(2012), pp. 119-143, DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ: HISTORY, POLITICS, DISCOURCE, Farnham, England, B1-1
B Isakhan
(2012), pp. IX-X, DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ: HISTORY, POLITICS, DISCOURCE, Farnham, Eng, B1-1
Oppression and resistance in post-colonial Iraq
B Isakhan
(2012), pp. 97-118, DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ: HISTORY, POLITICS, DISCOURCE, Farnham, England, B1-1
B Isakhan
(2012), pp. 57-80, DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ: HISTORY, POLITICS, DISCOURCE, Farnham, England, B1-1
Introduction : Democracy in Iraq
B Isakhan
(2012), pp. 1-13, DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ: HISTORY, POLITICS, DISCOURCE, Farnham, England, B1-1
B Isakhan
(2012), pp. 15-36, DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ: HISTORY, POLITICS, DISCOURCE, Farnham, England, B1-1
Benjamin Isakhan
(2012), pp. 37-56, DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ: HISTORY, POLITICS, DISCOURCE, London, Eng., B1
Conclusion : Democracy in Iraq
B Isakhan
(2012), pp. 145-152, DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ: HISTORY, POLITICS, DISCOURCE, Farnham, England, B1-1
Discourses of democracy in colonial Iraq
B Isakhan
(2012), pp. 81-95, DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ: HISTORY, POLITICS, DISCOURCE, Farnham, England, B1-1
Towards understanding what Australia's Muslims really think
H Rane, M Nathie, B Isakhan, M Abdalla
(2011), Vol. 47, pp. 123-143, Journal of Sociology, C1-1
B Isakhan
(2011), Vol. 4, pp. 257-281, Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication, C1
Orientalism and the Australian news media : origins and questions
B Isakhan
(2010), pp. 3-25, Islam and the Australian news media, Melbourne, Vic., B1-1
Despots or democrats? : Sistani, Sadr and Shia politics in post-Saddam Iraq
B Isakhan
(2010), APSA 2010 : Proceedings of the Australian Political Studies Association Annual Conference : Connected globe : conflicting worlds, Melbourne, Vic., E1-1
The streets of Iraq : protests, the public sphere and democracy
B Isakhan
(2009), pp. 1-18, APSA 2009 : Proceedings of the Australian Political Studies Association annual conference 2009, Brisbane, Qld., E1-1
The early Australian press and the Middle Eastern 'other'
B Isakhan
(2009), pp. 730-746, ANZCA 2009 : Proceedings of the 2009 Australian and New Zealand Communication Association Conference : Communication, creativity and global citizenship, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, E1-1
Targeting the cultural history of Iraq : implications for national identity and democracy
B Isakhan
(2009), ISCH 2009 : Cultures of violence and conflict : Proceedings of the 2009 International Society for Cultural History Conference, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld., E1-1
Manufacturing consent in Iraq : interference in the post-Saddam media sector
B Isakhan
(2009), Vol. 3, pp. 7-25, International journal of contemporary Iraqi studies, Bristol, England, C1-1
Democracy building in post-Saddam Iraq : 'historical memory' and 'primitive democracy'
B Isakhan
(2008), pp. 1-18, OCIS 2008 : Proceedings of the Oceanic Conference on International Studies, Brisbane, Qld., E1-1
Mediated hegemony : interference in the post-Saddam Iraqi media sector
B Isakhan
(2008), pp. 1-19, APSA 2008 : Australian Political Studies Association Annual Conference, Brisbane, Qld., E1-1
Oriental despotism and the democratisation of Iraq in The Australian
B Isakhan
(2008), Vol. 16, pp. 1-17, Transformations, Bundaberg, QLD., C1-1
The Post-Saddam Iraqi Media: Reporting the Democratic Developments of 2005
B Isakhan
(2008), Vol. 7, Global Media Journal, C1-1
The post-Saddam Iraqi media : the public sphere and democratisation
B Isakhan
(2008), pp. 1-14, Asian Media Information and Communication (AMIC) Conference, Brisbane, QLD, E1-1
The role of the press in Iraq's long struggle for democratic reform
B Isakhan
(2007), pp. 1-33, OURMedia - NUESTROSMedios VI 2007 : Sustainable futures, roles and challenges for community, alternative and citizens's media in the 21st century : Proceedings of the 2007 International Conference, University of Western Sydney, New South Wales, Sydney, N.S.W., E1-1
Engaging "primitive democracy": Mideast roots of collective governance
B Isakhan
(2007), Vol. 14, pp. 97-117, Middle East Policy, C1-1
B Isakhan
(2007), Vol. 29, pp. 97-114, Australian journalism review, Kelvin Grove, Qld., C1-1
creativity.com : Aladdin's cave or pandora's box?
B Isakhan, J Nelson, P West
(2006), Vol. 9, pp. 1-1, M/C : a journal of media and culture, Brisbane, Qld., C1-1
B Isakhan
(2006), pp. 1-31, JEA 2006 : Proceedings of the 2006 Journalism Education Association conference, Auckland, New Zealand, E1-1
Re-thinking Middle Eastern democracy : lessons from ancient Mesopotamia
B Isakhan
(2006), pp. 1-16, APSA 2006 : Proceedings of the 2006 Australasian Political Studies Association conference, Newcastle, New South Wales, E1-1
B Isakhan
(2006), pp. 1-14, ANZCA 2006 : Empowerment, creativity and innovation : Challenging media and communication in the 21st century, Adelaide, S. Aust., E1-1
Engaging Mesopotamia's 'primitive democracy' : re-thinking the democratisation of the Middle East
B Isakhan
(2006), pp. 1-21, WOCMES-2 2006 : Proceedings of the Second World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies conference, Amman, Jordan, Amman, Jordan, E1-1
Read all about it : the free press, the public sphere and democracy in Iraq
B Isakhan
(2006), Vol. 8, pp. 119-153, Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, Amman, Jordan, C1-1
B Isakhan
(2005), pp. 1-22, JEA 2005 : Proceedings of the 2005 Journalism Education Association conference, Gold Coast, Queensland, E1-1
B Isakhan
(2005), pp. 1-16, Sites of Cosmopolitanism Conference, Brisbane, July 6-8 2005, Griffith University : conference papers, Brisbane, Queensland, E1-1
Re-ordering Iraq : minorities and the media in times of disorder
B Isakhan
(2005), Vol. 7, pp. 1-1, M/C : a journal of media and culture, Brisbane, Qld., C1-1
Funded Projects at Deakin
Australian Competitive Grants
Measuring the Destruction of Heritage and Spikes of Violence in Iraq
A/Prof Benjamin Isakhan
ARC DECRA - Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
- 2014: $138,953
- 2013: $138,147
- 2012: $126,539
After Islamic State: Local-State-Global Heritage Dynamics in Syria and Iraq
A/Prof Benjamin Isakhan, Prof Lynn Meskell
ARC - Discovery Projects
- 2020: $32,767
Other Public Sector Funding
Measuring Cultural Property Destruction in Iraq and Syria
A/Prof Benjamin Isakhan
- 2017: $345,454
- 2016: $231,818
- 2015: $100,000
Supervisions
Sayed Fadlullah Fadel
Thesis entitled: The Military and Egypt's Failed Democratisation: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Media Coverage
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Diane Christine Siebrandt
Thesis entitled: Military Occupation of Heritage Sites: Orientalism, Archaeology and the Iraq War
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Tezcan Gumus
Thesis entitled: Turkey's failure to consolidate democracy and the role of political leaders
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Elizabeth Effeney
Thesis entitled: Democratically Grounded Cosmopolitanism: Iraqi Refugees in Australia Since 2003
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Ahmed Hassin
Thesis entitled: Roles of Civil Society in Nation-Building and Post-conflict Reconstruction in Iraq
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Humanities and Social Sciences