Melanie Brand
@melaniebrand.bsky.social
Lecturer in Intelligence Studies at Macquarie University, Sydney. Book Review Editor, Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism. Historian interested in intelligence, analysis, warning, secrecy, accountability and espionage pop culture.
We are hiring! @mqsois.bsky.social is currently recruiting a full time, ongoing Lecturer Level B in Cyber Security and Cyber Intelligence. This is a Teaching & Leadership position and could be a great opportunity for an early career academic. More info here: www.seek.com.au/job/88616507
November 19, 2025 at 2:08 AM
We are hiring! @mqsois.bsky.social is currently recruiting a full time, ongoing Lecturer Level B in Cyber Security and Cyber Intelligence. This is a Teaching & Leadership position and could be a great opportunity for an early career academic. More info here: www.seek.com.au/job/88616507
One of the things I’ve loved most about my time at @mqsois.bsky.social has been teaching, so I’m really pleased and happy to share that I received a Faculty of Arts Early Career Teaching Award today (!!)
November 13, 2025 at 6:40 AM
One of the things I’ve loved most about my time at @mqsois.bsky.social has been teaching, so I’m really pleased and happy to share that I received a Faculty of Arts Early Career Teaching Award today (!!)
🚨MISRG is excited to announce that renowned intel scholar John Blaxland has agreed to be our 2025 MQ Intelligence Studies Research Group Speaker! John will be "Revealing Secrets" about the 5👁️ intel sharing relationship at 4pm Sydney time Mon 3 Nov on campus @mqsois.bsky.social & via Zoom Details ⬇️
October 21, 2025 at 8:43 AM
🚨MISRG is excited to announce that renowned intel scholar John Blaxland has agreed to be our 2025 MQ Intelligence Studies Research Group Speaker! John will be "Revealing Secrets" about the 5👁️ intel sharing relationship at 4pm Sydney time Mon 3 Nov on campus @mqsois.bsky.social & via Zoom Details ⬇️
This looks like a really interesting talk with the terrific Ebony Nilsson & Rhys Crawley on Spies and Cold War Australia. It's on at a UK friendly time too! Link to register is here: www.historycouncilvic.org.au/mph_may_2025...
May 8, 2025 at 6:53 AM
This looks like a really interesting talk with the terrific Ebony Nilsson & Rhys Crawley on Spies and Cold War Australia. It's on at a UK friendly time too! Link to register is here: www.historycouncilvic.org.au/mph_may_2025...
Very excited to finally get hold of this fantastic volume… After two cancelled online orders finally found it in the bookstore of the National Arboretum in Canberra of all places!
April 12, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Very excited to finally get hold of this fantastic volume… After two cancelled online orders finally found it in the bookstore of the National Arboretum in Canberra of all places!
3) Children’s Rights, ‘Foreign Fighters’, Counter-Terroris: Children of Nowhere by Rumyana van Ark, Devyani Prabhat, and Faith Gordon. Get in touch if you're interested!
February 20, 2025 at 7:11 AM
3) Children’s Rights, ‘Foreign Fighters’, Counter-Terroris: Children of Nowhere by Rumyana van Ark, Devyani Prabhat, and Faith Gordon. Get in touch if you're interested!
2) The Gendered and Colonial Lives of Gurkhas in Private Security From Military to Market by Amanda Chisholm
February 20, 2025 at 7:11 AM
2) The Gendered and Colonial Lives of Gurkhas in Private Security From Military to Market by Amanda Chisholm
Here's another couple of books that are available for review. 1) War, Violence and Women’s Agency in Pakistan: The Case of Swat By Rehana Wagha
February 20, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Here's another couple of books that are available for review. 1) War, Violence and Women’s Agency in Pakistan: The Case of Swat By Rehana Wagha
And one more that might appeal to historians as well as intelligence studies researchers: The Official Record: Oversight, National Security and Democracy.
February 18, 2025 at 8:13 AM
And one more that might appeal to historians as well as intelligence studies researchers: The Official Record: Oversight, National Security and Democracy.
If intelligence ethics is your thing, I'm also looking for a reviewer for Jan Goldman's "Ethical Espionage: Ethics and the Intelligence Cycle". We are keen to encourage & support early career scholars and PhD candidates, so don't hesitate to reach out.
February 18, 2025 at 8:13 AM
If intelligence ethics is your thing, I'm also looking for a reviewer for Jan Goldman's "Ethical Espionage: Ethics and the Intelligence Cycle". We are keen to encourage & support early career scholars and PhD candidates, so don't hesitate to reach out.
📢 JPICT (www.tandfonline.com/journals/rpi...) is seeking reviewers for the following new releases on warning and intelligence failure. If you’re interested, please either send me a DM or email melanie dot brand @ mq dot edu dot au for more details.
February 18, 2025 at 8:13 AM
📢 JPICT (www.tandfonline.com/journals/rpi...) is seeking reviewers for the following new releases on warning and intelligence failure. If you’re interested, please either send me a DM or email melanie dot brand @ mq dot edu dot au for more details.
Hello OZ Historians! ICYMI over the holidays, I wrote a little something on 'Mrs Petrov' and the Australian media. I talk about female spies and what the coverage of Evdokia tells us about Australian society & identity during the Petrov Affair. www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....
January 31, 2025 at 3:59 AM
Hello OZ Historians! ICYMI over the holidays, I wrote a little something on 'Mrs Petrov' and the Australian media. I talk about female spies and what the coverage of Evdokia tells us about Australian society & identity during the Petrov Affair. www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....
I also need to send a massive thank you to my wonderful MQ PICT8044 intelligence analysis students, who arranged for me to receive a care package of treats and a card when I arrived at NIHC. Was such a thoughtful and unexpected gift - I haven’t stopped smiling all day!
November 20, 2024 at 10:04 PM
I also need to send a massive thank you to my wonderful MQ PICT8044 intelligence analysis students, who arranged for me to receive a care package of treats and a card when I arrived at NIHC. Was such a thoughtful and unexpected gift - I haven’t stopped smiling all day!
Really excited to be presenting my research on the complicated Australian press coverage of Evdokia Petrova at the National Intelligence History Conference at Bletchley Park Wed 20 Nov. Amazing location and so many fantastic speakers - looking forward to seeing everyone in person!
November 17, 2024 at 8:24 PM
Really excited to be presenting my research on the complicated Australian press coverage of Evdokia Petrova at the National Intelligence History Conference at Bletchley Park Wed 20 Nov. Amazing location and so many fantastic speakers - looking forward to seeing everyone in person!
I've also written about Australia's own little known D-Notice system of press censorship. If you're interested, the link is here and it's free to read: doi.org/10.1080/1031...
November 13, 2024 at 6:08 PM
I've also written about Australia's own little known D-Notice system of press censorship. If you're interested, the link is here and it's free to read: doi.org/10.1080/1031...
Delighted to announce that I have joined the Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism as Book Review Editor. If you are interested in reviewing a book in these fields or have a book coming out, please get in touch!
November 12, 2024 at 6:46 PM
Delighted to announce that I have joined the Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism as Book Review Editor. If you are interested in reviewing a book in these fields or have a book coming out, please get in touch!
And a copy of this gorgeous full color cover of Woman's Day magazine featuring an interview with Evdokia Petrova. I'll be talking more about this interview at the National Intelligence History Conference at Bletchley Park next week, so I'll be adding this to my slides!
November 12, 2024 at 6:33 AM
And a copy of this gorgeous full color cover of Woman's Day magazine featuring an interview with Evdokia Petrova. I'll be talking more about this interview at the National Intelligence History Conference at Bletchley Park next week, so I'll be adding this to my slides!
Some fantastic finds in the Kew archives this trip! Here's a document that makes it pretty clear why Australia has ASIO and not the Australian Security Service:
November 12, 2024 at 6:33 AM
Some fantastic finds in the Kew archives this trip! Here's a document that makes it pretty clear why Australia has ASIO and not the Australian Security Service:
Hello to all my new followers! If you don't know my work, I'm a Cold War intelligence historian currently investigating the way that popular culture frames our understanding of intelligence services. My latest (open access) article on the Petrov Affair can be found here: doi.org/10.1080/1444...
November 10, 2024 at 5:59 AM
Hello to all my new followers! If you don't know my work, I'm a Cold War intelligence historian currently investigating the way that popular culture frames our understanding of intelligence services. My latest (open access) article on the Petrov Affair can be found here: doi.org/10.1080/1444...
Thanks Paul! It was great to see the fabulous KCL campus and meet your students. And yes, I think it's clear why the name Australian Secret Service was replaced!
November 9, 2024 at 6:44 AM
Thanks Paul! It was great to see the fabulous KCL campus and meet your students. And yes, I think it's clear why the name Australian Secret Service was replaced!
That's a wrap on the Macquarie Intelligence Studies Research Group 2024 Seminar Series! A big thank you to our fantastic speakers David Gioe, Aaron Bateman, Miah Hammond-Errey, and Ashley Barnett for making the series a success!
September 5, 2024 at 3:10 AM
That's a wrap on the Macquarie Intelligence Studies Research Group 2024 Seminar Series! A big thank you to our fantastic speakers David Gioe, Aaron Bateman, Miah Hammond-Errey, and Ashley Barnett for making the series a success!
Really excited to announce our next speaker in the 2024 Macquarie Intelligence Studies Research Group Speaker Series! Ashley Barnett (Hunt Lab, UniMelb) will be talking about Explanatory Reasoning in Intelligence Analysis Wed 28 August 2pm Sydney Time. All Welcome - DM for Zoom link
August 21, 2024 at 11:12 AM
Really excited to announce our next speaker in the 2024 Macquarie Intelligence Studies Research Group Speaker Series! Ashley Barnett (Hunt Lab, UniMelb) will be talking about Explanatory Reasoning in Intelligence Analysis Wed 28 August 2pm Sydney Time. All Welcome - DM for Zoom link