Dr Samuel Bashfield is an Australian expert on Indo-Pacific security and defence policy with ten years’ experience as an author, researcher, consultant and project manager, delivering insights and dialogue on our most pressing national security challenges.

Sam speaks and publishes on national security and defence issues in leading international disciplinary journals and influential media outlets. In his current role as Research Fellow & Director, Security & Geopolitics at the University of Melbourne’s Australia India Institute, he studies and interprets geopolitical and defence trends across the Indo-Pacific, with a particular focus on India, the Indian Ocean Region, maritime security, and seabed issues.

Sam was conferred his PhD in national security policy from NSC in 2025, where he also attained a master’s degree. He has a Bachelor of Arts (Global) degree with first class honours from Monash University.

He has a particular interest in assessing how Australia and its partners respond to global geopolitical developments, new technologies and changing power distributions. Sam regularly presents at industry events, government dialogues and to media to help inform debate and improve policy outcomes.

Sam was a Non-Resident Fellow with the Royal Australian Navy’s Sea Power Centre and has completed fellowships with the Australian War College, the Observer Research Foundation (India) as well as the Pathfinder Foundation (Sri Lanka). He was a Raisina Young Fellow in 2024.

Sam has previously worked at NSC, University of Sydney, and at the Australian Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department. He also consults government and industry clients on a range of defence and national security issues.

He is currently drafting two books – the first examining seabed critical infrastructure protection and the second analysing Cold War-era Indian Ocean strategic dynamics, with a focus on the British Indian Ocean Territory and Anglo-US relations.