Levi West

Academic Staff

Levi West

Lecturer
Canberra

Levi is a Lecturer, Terrorism and National Security and also the Course Coordinator, Master of Terrorism and Security Studies.

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. The paper is available here: http://nsc.anu.edu.au/documents/ocassional-paper-6-cyber-ethics.pdf

Research Interests

  • Terrorism and insurgency
  • Diversity and evolution of violent non-State actors
  • Use of technology by non-State actors
  • Transnational crime and illicit finance
  • State responses to non-State violence
  • Cyber security, particularly as it pertains to non-state actors

Qualifications

Levi holds the following qualifications:

  • Graduate Certificate in National Security Policy (ANU)
  • Masters of Policing, Intelligence, and Counter Terrorism (MQ)
  • Masters of International Security Studies (MQ)
  • Bachelor of Arts (Politics & International Relations/Justice Studies) (SCU)

Publications

  • Conduit, D., Malet, D. and West, L. (2015). 'Canada, Australia and New Zealand and the Islamic State,' in Covarrubias, J., Lansford, T. and Pauly, R. (eds.) The New Islamic State, Ashgate.
  • West, L.J. (2014). "Virtual Terrorism: Data as a Target" in Cybersecurity: Mapping the Ethical Terrain. Evans, N.G., Ford, S.B., Gastineau, A.C., Henschke, A., Keelty, M. & West, L.J. National Security College.
  • West, L.J. 'The strategic power of small acts'. The Strategist, September 2014. Available here: http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-strategic-power-of-small-acts/
  • West, L.J. (2014). Conference paper. 'The Limits of Analogies: Why Cyber is different'. Oceanic Conference on International Studies. 9-11 July, University of Melbourne.
  • West, L.J. (2013). "Illicit Organizations and Financial Intelligence," in Prunckun, H. (ed.) Intelligence and Private Investigation: Developing Sophisticated Methods for Conducting Inquiries. USA: Charles C Thomas Publishers.
  • West, L.J. (2013). Workshop Paper. 'Virtual Terrorism: Data as a Target'. National Security College/Centre for Philosophy and Applied Ethics 'Ethics of Cyber Security' workshop. 5-6 August, Australian National University.
  • West, L.J. (2013). 'Book review: Kill Decision'. Salus, 1(1), 55-56. Available here: http://www.salusjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2013/03/West_Salus_Journal_Issue_1_Number_1_2013_pp_55-56.pdf
  • West, L.J. 'Westgate: A means not an end'. The Strategist, October 2013. Available here: http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/westgate-a-means-not-an-end/
  • West, L.J. 'Thank security agencies whenever there isn't an attack'. The Drum. April 2013. Available here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-17/west---boston/4635080
  • West, L.J. 'Where in the world?'. The Strategist, November 2012. Available here: http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/where-in-the-world/
  • West, L.J. 'Indonesia's terrorism: A perpetual threat'. The Strategist. October 2012. Available here: http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/indonesias-terrorism-a-perpetual-threat/

Back to Staff listings