Nemat Bizhan

Nemat Bizhan is a Senior Lecturer at the Development Policy Centre, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University (ANU), and Team Leader for the ANU/UPNG partnership. He also serves as a Senior Research Associate with the Global Economic Governance Program at Oxford University's Blavatnik School of Government. His roles include leading international development research collaborations and advising on policy responses to state fragility.

Education: PhD in Politics and International Relations (ANU), MA in Development Economics (Williams College), MD (Avicenna Medical Faculty). Previous roles include Youth Deputy Minister of Afghanistan, Director General positions in the Ministry of Finance and National Development Strategy, and civil society activism focused on governance accountability.

Research interests span public policy, international development, state fragility, and post-conflict reconstruction. Key works include State Fragility: Case Studies and Comparisons (2021) and Aid Paradoxes in Afghanistan (2017), examining statebuilding challenges in fragile states. His op-eds have appeared in global media including Project Syndicate and Foreign Policy.

Grants and advising include leadership in ANU-UPNG partnerships and contributions to Afghanistan's post-2001 recovery programs. Active in policy networks such as the Oxford-LSE Commission on State Fragility. Engages with media through regular TV/radio commentary and social media presence (@Nematbizhan).

Labs/Teams: Core member of ANU's Development Policy Centre and Oxford's Global Economic Governance Program. Collaborates internationally on fragile states research and policy advocacy.