Professor David Lowe was recently interviewed for Deakin University’s Invenio, ‘When Policy Meets History’, discussing the role of historians in policymaking, particularly in times of rising international tensions.
In October 2018, David will take up the Smuts Visiting Fellowship at Cambridge University, researching the role of the Commonwealth in aid and development of Asia during the decolonisation process in the 1950s. During this time in the United Kingdom, David aims to strengthen the relationship between the Australian Policy and History Network and the British Policy and History group:
“Essentially, the mission of these two groups is to ask which of the great policy issues that governments are wrestling with have historical precedents that historians might be able to bring to the debate,” he said.
“For example, terrorism prevention laws balance protection and the diminishing of personal liberties and raise the question of how far governments can go while maintaining the trust of their people. You can imagine that these same issues arose during both World Wars and with the creation of security and secret services.”
In other exciting news, David has also been awarded a fellowship at the University of Tokyo as Visiting Professor in Australian Studies, a position he will commence in 2019 after the completion of his research in the United Kingdom.
