Wilson Center Awards Australian Scholarship to Gregory Sheridan

WASHINGTON--The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars today announced the appointment of Greg Sheridan as a Wilson Center Australian Scholar. Sheridan will spend two months in residence at the Wilson Center, beginning in August 2010, working on a research project examining U.S.-Australian strategic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific.

Sheridan is the foreign editor of the Australian, which, based in Sydney, is the nation's largest circulation national newspaper. He is a veteran of international affairs who has interviewed leaders all over the Asia Pacific and America. He began his journalism career in the late 1970s at the Bulletin magazine. His first trips into Asia were to cover stories on Vietnamese refugees to Australia in the early 1980s. In 1984 he joined the Australian as an editorial writer. In 1985 he was appointed Beijing correspondent, and in 1986 and 1987 was Washington correspondent. He returned to Sydney in 1988 as chief editorial writer, then in 1990 went to Canberra as the foreign affairs writer. In 1992 he returned to Sydney as the paper's foreign editor.

During his time at the Wilson Center, Sheridan will examine the continuity and change in U.S. and Australian Asia-Pacific strategic policy since the George W. Bush administration and the John Howard government. In particular he will focus on the question of whether alliance arrangements, such as enhanced intelligence cooperation, have continued under more recent leadership. Sheridan will also look at how the United States and Australia have each approached their bilateral relationships with both China, Japan and Indonesia, and how Washington and Canberra have handled the problem of North Korean nuclear brinkmanship, and Islamist terrorism in Southeast Asia.

The Australian Scholar program is the centerpoint of the Woodrow Wilson Center's enhanced emphasis on Australia and U.S.-Australian relations. This scholarship competition is open to men and women currently residing in Australia, or of Australian citizenship. Applications are accepted from individuals in academia, business, journalism, government, law, and related professions. Candidates must be currently pursuing research on key public policy issues facing Australia, including U.S.-Australian relations and East Asian political, security, and economic issues.

Successful applicants will spend 2-4 months in residence at the Wilson Center, where they will carry out advanced, policy-oriented research and writing designed to bridge the gap between the academic and policy communities.