Ben Scott

Director, Australia’s Security and the Rules-Based Order Project
Areas of expertise

Australian national security policy; International rules and norms; US foreign policy; the Middle East

Contact
Ben Scott
Biography
Publications

Ben Scott is a Senior Advisor at the Australian National University’s National Security College. He has more than 25 years’ experience in diplomacy, think tanks, intelligence and international development. He served as the Director of the Australia’s Security and the Rules-Based Order Project at the Lowy Institute from 2020 to 2022, and at the Office of National Intelligence (ONI), which he represented in Washington, DC from 2016-2020.

Ben has published widely on national security decision-making, international order, US grand strategy and competition with China, cyber strategy and intelligence.

He also has extensive experience in the Middle East, as: a senior analyst at ONI; Rule of Law Adviser to Quartet Representative Tony Blair; Australian Representative to the Palestinian Authority and Third Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv. He served as a Bougainville peace monitor for six months in 1998.

Ben was a Diplomatic Fellow at the Lowy Institute in 2005 and wrote the Lowy Institute Paper, Re-imagining PNG: Culture, Democracy and Australia’s Role.

Ali Wyne on great power competition, the United States and China
Podcasts
Ali Wyne on great power competition, the United States and China
What does great power competition mean, and where did the concept come from? In this episode of Rules Based Audio, Ben Scott speaks to author and analyst Ali…
Jerusalem, the rules-based order and deal-making
Jerusalem, the rules-based order and deal-making
Australia's interests – near and far – are best served by consistent support for an effective multilateral system.
Competing and cooperating: the paradox in US strategy
Competing and cooperating: the paradox in US strategy
The new National Security Strategy at least acknowledges the shape of the problem even if not yet providing an answer.
Should democracies ever lie?
Should democracies ever lie?
Is bending the truth sometimes necessary and justified in situations short of war?
Rules Based Audio: AUKUS – Are Australian nuclear submarines a dangerous precedent?
Podcasts
Rules Based Audio: AUKUS – Are Australian nuclear submarines a dangerous precedent?
What is Australia’s plan B for China?
Commentary
What is Australia’s plan B for China?
The US may not win, and China may not be easily appeased either. We need more eggs in more baskets. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review.
Frontier Rules: Emerging tech and challenges to the rules-based order
Interactives
Frontier Rules: Emerging tech and challenges to the rules-based order
Intensifying geopolitical competition is combining with emerging technologies to create new frontiers for statecraft and present new challenges to the rules-based order. How…
A strategy for uncertain times
A strategy for uncertain times
Is a case-by-case approach good enough for Australia to respond to the great and developing regional challenges?
How do we keep an eye on our spies?
Commentary
How do we keep an eye on our spies?
Our intelligence services have never been more important to us, and democratic governance is part of their strength. But do we need to look at this again? Originally published in…
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