Overview
Background
Senior Lecturer in International Relations. Her research and teaching interests include Southeast Asian politics and international relations, Cambodian politics and post-conflict reconstruction, and non-traditional security in East Asia (including trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling, pandemic disease and child protection issues). Dr. Curley co-facilitated the UQ Working Group on Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling in the T.C Bernie School of Law (http://www.law.uq.edu.au/humantrafficking) from 2012-2016. She has published in internationally peer reviewed journals including: Review of International Studies, The Journal of Law and Society, Australian Journal of Human Rights, and Australian Journal of International Affairs, amongst others. Her most recent book is Migration and Security in Asia (Routledge 2008) with S.L. Wong. Before joining the School in January 2006, Dr. Curley was a researcher in the China-ASEAN project at the Centre of Asian Studies at the University of Hong Kong, where she also coordinated a consultancy project on Southeast Asian affairs for the Hong Kong Government's Central Policy Unit. She holds a Ph.D in International Relations from Nottingham Trent University in the UK, and BA(Hons) in Government from UQ.
In 2015, Dr Curley joined the Executive Advisory Board of Bravehearts, an Australian not-for profit organisation that aims to educate, empower and protect Australian children from sexual assault, and in 2016 was made a Paul Harris Fellow, in recognition of her services to The Rotary Foundation. In 2020 she gained Fellowship status with the Higher Education Academy (UK).
Availability
- Associate Professor Melissa Curley is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours) of Arts, The University of Queensland
- Doctor of Philosophy, Nottingham Trent University
Research interests
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Non-traditional Security in the Asia Pacific
Non-traditional security issue in International Relations are commonly understood to be transnational, multi-jurisdictional policy issues that impact multiple states and which cannot be solved via domestic (internal) policies alone, such as: trafficking in persons, migrant smuggling, public health and pandemic disease and drug and wildlife trafficking and child exploitation. My publications have appeared in a range of internationally peer-reviewed journals in Political Science, Asian Studies, International Relations and Law across these topics, often as lead author. Focus areas include: policy approaches to non-traditional security in state and institutional contexts; conceptual intersections between traditional and non-traditional security; infectious and pandemic diseases including SARS, H5N1 Bird Flu, COVID 19; and child trafficking and exploitation and relevant international legal frameworks.
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Governance of civil society in authoritarian states
The role of civil society under authoritarian rule. How do they navigate relations with the state and advocate for their agenda?
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Migration and Security
• Forms of irregular migration and security and their 'securitisation' by the state • Securitisation theory and its application in non-democratic contexts
Research impacts
In 2015, I was invited to join the Executive Advisory Board of Bravehearts, an Australian not-for profit organisation that aims to educate, empower and protect Australian children from sexual assault.
External recognition of my research and contribution to the field of International Relations is reflected by various (funded) invitations to speak at international and Australian conferences and forums associated with non-traditional security and policy related research.
o Australian Federal Police to speak at International Symposium on Child Sex Tourism in Bangkok in 2012, and Fiji in 2013.
o Nanyang University of Technology, to speak at Symposiums on Irregular Migration in 2012 and 2009.
o University of Western Australia, to speak at Conference on Regional Leadership and Norms: EU and Asia-Pacific Trajectories, 2012.
Works
Search Professor Melissa Curley’s works on UQ eSpace
Featured
2018
Journal Article
Governing Civil Society in Cambodia: Implications of the NGO Law for the “Rule of Law”
Curley, Melissa (2018). Governing Civil Society in Cambodia: Implications of the NGO Law for the “Rule of Law”. Asian Studies Review, 42 (2), 247-267. doi: 10.1080/10357823.2018.1457624
Featured
2014
Journal Article
Combating child sex tourism in South-east Asia: law enforcement cooperation and civil society partnerships
Curley, Melissa (2014). Combating child sex tourism in South-east Asia: law enforcement cooperation and civil society partnerships. Journal of Law and Society, 41 (2), 283-314. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6478.2014.00667.x
Featured
2012
Journal Article
Human security's future in regional cooperation and governance?
Curley, Melissa (2012). Human security's future in regional cooperation and governance?. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 66 (5), 527-541. doi: 10.1080/10357718.2011.570242
Featured
2011
Journal Article
The securitization of avian influenza: International discourses and domestic politics in Asia
Curley, Melissa G. and Herrington, Jonathan (2011). The securitization of avian influenza: International discourses and domestic politics in Asia. Review of International Studies, 37 (1), 141-166. doi: 10.1017/S0260210510000537
Featured
2008
Book
Security and migration in Asia : The dynamics of securitisation
Melissa Curley and Sui-lun Wong eds. (2008). Security and migration in Asia : The dynamics of securitisation. Politics in Asia series, New York, United States of America: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780203934722
2023
Book Chapter
Governing the limits of civil society in Cambodia and Myanmar
Curley, Melissa and McCarthy, Stephen (2023). Governing the limits of civil society in Cambodia and Myanmar. Authoritarianism and civil society in Asia. (pp. 197-217) edited by Anthony J. Spires and Akihiro Ogawa. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003256809-16
2022
Journal Article
Promoting compassionate responses to disclosures of sexual violence in university settings: exploring the impact of a social marketing campaign
Irvine-Collins, Emma, Moore, Emma, Cao, Kailun, Curley, Melissa, Ablaza, Christine and Heard, Emma (2022). Promoting compassionate responses to disclosures of sexual violence in university settings: exploring the impact of a social marketing campaign. Violence Against Women, 29 (9), 107780122211348-1852. doi: 10.1177/10778012221134822
2019
Book Chapter
Exporting harmful people: analysing Australia’s extraterritorial child sex tourism laws
Curley, Melissa (2019). Exporting harmful people: analysing Australia’s extraterritorial child sex tourism laws. The state and cosmopolitan responsibilities. (pp. 119-146) edited by Richard Beardsworth, Garrett Wallace Brown and Richard Shapcott. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780198800613.003.0007
2018
Journal Article
Competing Visions of the Rule of Law in Southeast Asia: Power, Rhetoric and Governance
Curley, Melissa, Dressel, Björn and McCarthy, Stephen (2018). Competing Visions of the Rule of Law in Southeast Asia: Power, Rhetoric and Governance. Asian Studies Review, 42 (2), 192-209. doi: 10.1080/10357823.2018.1448753
2016
Journal Article
Extraterritorial jurisdiction, criminal law and transnational crime: insights from the application of Australia's Child Sex Tourism Offences
Curley, Melissa and Stanley, Elizabeth (2016). Extraterritorial jurisdiction, criminal law and transnational crime: insights from the application of Australia's Child Sex Tourism Offences. Bond Law Review, 28 (2), 169-197.
2016
Journal Article
The securitisation of migrant smuggling in Australia and its consequences for the Bali Process
Curley, Melissa and Vandyk, Kahlia (2016). The securitisation of migrant smuggling in Australia and its consequences for the Bali Process. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 71 (1), 1-21. doi: 10.1080/10357718.2016.1181149
2016
Conference Publication
Cambodia’s health systems performance and the need for systems thinking approach
Macarayan, Erlyn, Western, Mark, Curley, Melissa and Gilks, Charles (2016). Cambodia’s health systems performance and the need for systems thinking approach. Prince Mahidol Award Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, 26-31 January 2016. Bangkok, Thailand: Prince Mahidol Award Conference.
2016
Book Chapter
Migration and the movements of people
Curley, Melissa (2016). Migration and the movements of people. An introduction to non-traditional security studies: a transnational approach. (pp. 193-209) edited by Mely Caballero-Anthony. London, United Kingdom: Sage.
2015
Conference Publication
Healthcare financing and outcomes in low and middle income countries
Macarayan, E. R. K., Western, M., Curley, M. and Gilks, C. (2015). Healthcare financing and outcomes in low and middle income countries. 9th European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health, Basel, Switzerland, 6-10 September 2015. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell. doi: 10.1111/tmi.12575
2015
Conference Publication
Assessing health systems performance in low and middle income countries
Macarayan, E., Western, M. and Curley, M. (2015). Assessing health systems performance in low and middle income countries. 6th Annual CUGH Conference, Boston, MA United States, 26-28 March 2015. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.aogh.2015.02.942
2014
Journal Article
Beyond the Criminal Justice Orthodoxy? Australia’s overseas aid program and compliance with the trafficking protocol
Curley, Melissa and Holt, Bethany (2014). Beyond the Criminal Justice Orthodoxy? Australia’s overseas aid program and compliance with the trafficking protocol. Australian Journal of Human Rights, 20 (1), 129-161. doi: 10.1080/1323-238X.2014.11882143
2014
Edited Outputs
Australian Journal of Politics and History
Australian Journal of Politics and History. (2014). 60 (2)
2014
Journal Article
Undergraduate research and human rights: an Australian case study on human trafficking and migrant smuggling
Curley, Melissa and Schloenhardt, Andreas (2014). Undergraduate research and human rights: an Australian case study on human trafficking and migrant smuggling. Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly, 34 (3), 24-29.
2014
Conference Publication
Mapping health systems in low and middle income countries: directions for aid flows
Macarayan, E., Curley, M. and Western, M. (2014). Mapping health systems in low and middle income countries: directions for aid flows. McDonell International Symposium, St Louis, Missouri, United States, 16-19 October 2014.
2014
Conference Publication
Typologies of people-centered health systems in low and middle income countries
Macarayan, E., Curley, M. and Western, M. (2014). Typologies of people-centered health systems in low and middle income countries. Third Global Symposium on Health Systems Research, Cape Town, South Africa, 30 September-3 October 2014.
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Associate Professor Melissa Curley is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Available projects
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The role of civil society groups in Environmental Governance (Indo-Pacific)
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Combating Trafficking and Modern Day Slavery in Southeast Asia
How do states in Southeast Asia combatt trafficking in persons? This research agenda includes the governance of anti-trafficking iniatives within government and the implementation of domestic trafficking laws, in compliance with the UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol (2000).
How are NGOs and other faith-based organisations involved in anti-trafficking initiatives?
How is trafficking in children and child exploitation related? What are the drivers of child exploitation in Southeast Asia (tourism industry, trafficking for domestic labour and sexual exploitaton) and how can they be reduced and/or eradicated?
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Dynamic Responses of Southeast Asian States to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Andrew Phillips
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Doctor Philosophy
State Formation and Self-Determination in post-Colonial Africa: The Case of Secessionists Movements in Sudan and Nigeria
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alexander Bellamy
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Doctor Philosophy
Become Worthy or Remain Neglected: A Gendered Analysis of the United Kingdom and Australia's Regulation of ISIS Women Returnees
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Nicole George
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Doctor Philosophy
The localization of the right to asylum norm in ASEAN: Assessing ASEAN Response during the Refugee Crisis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alexander Bellamy
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Doctor Philosophy
State Formation and Self-Determination in post-Colonial Africa: The Case of Secessionists Movements in Sudan and Nigeria
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alexander Bellamy
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Doctor Philosophy
Jihadi Brides, Race, and their Return: Examining Government Responses in the United States (U.S.), Malaysia, and Germany
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Nicole George
Completed supervision
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2022
Doctor Philosophy
China's Rising Influence in Cambodia: Local Contestation and State Responses
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Shahar Hameiri
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Indonesia's Anti-Trafficking Policy, 2000-2019: Governing Labour Trafficking in West Kalimantan
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Frank Mols
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2015
Doctor Philosophy
Beyond the Law: Understanding the Political Dynamics of Grassroots Democracy in Vietnam
Principal Advisor
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2015
Doctor Philosophy
Civil Society and Governance in Vietnam's One Party System
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Roland Bleiker
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
The localisation of the right to asylum norm in ASEAN: Assessing ASEAN Response during the Refugee Crisis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alexander Bellamy
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
Emotions and Everyday Practices of Protection for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Indonesia
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Emma Hutchison
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Southeast Asian Regional Governance and the Domestic Politics of Portfolio Investment Liberalization: The Case of Indonesia
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Shahar Hameiri
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2019
Doctor Philosophy
Policy innovations and agency under the one-party system of Vietnam: the study of primary education decision-making
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Alastair Stark
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2018
Doctor Philosophy
Indonesia's Criminal Justice Response to the Smuggling of Migrants
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Andreas Schloenhardt
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2017
Doctor Philosophy
The Use of the Death Penalty for Drug Offences in Southeast Asia: Sovereignty, Deterrence, Retribution and Proportionality
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Roland Bleiker
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2016
Doctor Philosophy
Rice, politics and power: the political economy of food insecurity in East Asia
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Lawrence
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2016
Doctor Philosophy
Health systems strengthening in global and national contexts
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Mark Western
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2015
Doctor Philosophy
The Responsibility to Protect and Responsible Power: Explaining China's Acquiescence to International Intervention to Protect Libyan Populations in 2011
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Alexander Bellamy
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2012
Doctor Philosophy
Government-Business Relations and ASEAN Economic Integration in Trade in Services after the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis: Case Studies of Thailand and Malaysia
Associate Advisor
Media
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