Nematullah Bizhan

Nematullah Bizhan serves as a Senior Lecturer and team leader for the ANU/UPNG partnership at the Development Policy Centre, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University. He simultaneously holds a position as Senior Research Associate with the Global Economic Governance Program at the Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University.

His research expertise spans public policy, international development, state fragility and state building, with particular focus on post-conflict reconstruction contexts. Dr. Bizhan examines multidimensional aspects of state fragility including political legitimacy, institutional capacity, economic resilience, and responses to political and economic shocks across diverse national contexts.

His recent scholarly output demonstrates a consistent analytical approach to understanding fragile states through comparative case studies, with publications focusing on Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea, Lebanon, Burundi and other fragile contexts. His work bridges theoretical frameworks with practical policy implications for international development practitioners.

• A Path to Self-Reliance for Afghanistan op-ed appeared in 27 publications across 9 languages worldwide

Dr. Bizhan has extensive practical policy experience from his service in Afghanistan's government during the post-2001 recovery period, where he held several high-level positions including Youth Deputy Minister and Director General of Budget at the Ministry of Finance. His policy commentary appears regularly in major media outlets including Foreign Policy, Project Syndicate, and BBC Persian.

He leads the ANU/UPNG partnership initiative which focuses on research and policy engagement related to state fragility and development challenges in the Pacific region, particularly examining Papua New Guinea's governance structures and societal dynamics.