About Us

Dr. Vlado Vivoda joined Rabdan Academy as Associate Professor / Associate Researcher in August 2022. He is also Honorary Fellow, Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM), Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI), at the University of Queensland (UQ). From February 2020 to August 2022, he acted as Senior Lecturer in Strategic Studies at Deakin University, and Academic Advisor, Defence and Strategic Studies Course (DSSC) at the Australian War College (AWC). Previously, He was employed in research roles at the University of Queensland (2014-2020), Griffith University (2010-2014) and the University of South Australia (2007-2010).

His academic career includes more than 15 years of experience in research, teaching, and other roles. He has an extensive academic publication record on a broad range of topics, which includes more than 60 books, book chapters, peer-reviewed journal articles, technical reports and working papers. My consulting work spans a diverse range of clients in the private and public sectors. He is also a regular media commentator on matters related to energy security.

PhD, International Relations (Flinders University), 2008

MA Hons, International Relations (Australian National University), 2004

BA Hons, History (National University of Singapore), 2003

Books and book chapters

• “Energy Security Issues in Asia”, in Subhes C. Bhattacharyya (ed.), Routledge Handbook of Energy in Asia, Routledge (2017), pp. 272–283.
• “Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in the Mining Industry”, in Terry O’Callaghan & Geordan Graetz (eds.), Mining in the Asia-Pacific: Risks, Challenges and Opportunities, Springer (2017), pp. 19–33.
• “Regulatory Regimes, Foreign Mining Investment and Risk in the Asia-Pacific Region: Comparative Evaluation and Policy Implications”, in O’Callaghan & Graetz (eds.), Mining in the Asia-Pacific, Springer (2017), pp. 35–48, with Terry O’Callaghan.
• “Mergers and Acquisitions: The Politics of Megadeals in the Mining Industry”, in O’Callaghan & Graetz (eds.), Mining in the Asia-Pacific, Springer (2017), pp. 121–138, with Geordan Graetz.
• “Natural Gas”, in O’Callaghan & Graetz (eds.), Mining in the Asia-Pacific, Springer (2017), pp. 189–215.
• “Investment Decision-Making Tools for the Mining, Oil, Gas, and Infrastructure Sectors”, in O’Callaghan & Graetz (eds.), Mining in the Asia-Pacific, Springer (2017), pp. 373–387, with Terry O’Callaghan.
• “Sino-Japanese Competition and Energy Security”, in Jeffrey Reeves, Jeffrey Hornung & Kerry Lynn Nankivell (eds.), Chinese-Japanese Competition and the East Asian Security Complex: Vying for Influence, Routledge (2017), pp. 86–99.
• “Shale Gas and the Energy Policy ‘Trilemma’”, in Tina Hunter (ed.), Handbook of Shale Gas Law and Policy: Economics, Access, Law and Regulation in Key Jurisdictions, Intersentia (2016), pp. 369–382, with Cristelle Maurin.
• “Rise of State-Firm Bargaining in the 2000s”, in Paul Alexander Haslam & Pablo Heidrich (eds.), The Political Economy of Natural Resources and Development: From Neoliberalism to Resource Nationalism, Routledge (2016), pp. 53–69.
• “Energy Security in East Asia”, in Jeffrey Reeves & Ramon Pacheco Pardo (eds.), Non-Traditional Security in East Asia: A Regime Approach, Imperial College Press (2015), pp. 143–165.
• “State-Market Interaction in Hydrocarbon Sector: The Cases of Australia and Japan”, in Kim Talus & Andrei Belyi (eds.), States and Markets in Hydrocarbon Sectors, Palgrave (2015), pp. 240–265.
• Energy Security in Japan: Challenges after Fukushima, Routledge (2014).
• “How Global Companies Make National Regulations”, in John Mikler (ed.), The Handbook of Global Companies, Wiley-Blackwell (2013), pp. 155–172, with Terry O’Callaghan.
• The Return of the Obsolescing Bargain and the Decline of Big Oil: A Study of Bargaining in the Contemporary Oil Industry, Saarbrücken, Germany: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller (2008).




Journal articles

• “A Critical Minerals Perspective on the Emergence of Geopolitical Trading Blocs”, Resources Policy, vol. 89 (February 2024), 104587, with Ron Matthews and Neil McGregor.
• “Lithium Nexus: Energy, Geopolitics, and Socio-Environmental Impacts in Mexico's Sonora Project”, Energy Research & Social Science, vol. 108 (February 2024), 103393, with Morgan D. Bazilian, Asmaa Khadim, Natalie Ralph and Ghaleb Krame.
• “‘Friend-shoring’ as a Panacea to Western Critical Mineral Supply Chain Vulnerabilities”, Mineral Economics (2023), with Ron Matthews.
• “‘Water Wars’: Strategic Implications of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam”, Conflict, Security and Development, vol. 23, no. 4 (September 2023), pp. 333– 366, with Ron Matthews.
• “Narco Drones: Tracing the Evolution of Cartel Aerial Tactics in Mexico's Low- Intensity Conflicts”, Small Wars & Insurgencies, vol. 34, no. 6 (August 2023), pp. 1095–1129, with Ghaleb Krame and Amanda Davies.
• “Friend-shoring and Critical Minerals: Exploring the Role of the Minerals Security Partnership”, Energy Research & Social Science, vol. 100 (June 2023), 103085.
• “Oil Theft, Energy Security and Energy Transition in Mexico”, Resources, vol. 12, no. 2 (February 2023), 30, with Ghaleb Krame and Martin Spraggon.
• “LNG Export Diversification and Demand Security: A Comparative Study of Major Exporters”, Energy Policy, vol. 170 (November 2022), 113218.
• “Australia’s Energy Security and Statecraft in an Era of Strategic Competition”, Energies, vol. 15, no. 19 (October 2022), 6935.
• “Implications of COVID-19 on the Global Mining Sector”, Aspects in Mining & Mineral Science, vol. 4, no. 5 (May 2020), pp. 546–547.
• “Country-level Governance Frameworks for Mining Induced Resettlement”, Environment, Development and Sustainability, vol. 22, no. 5 (June 2020), pp. 4907–4928, with John Owen and Deanna Kemp.
• “A Sustainable Future for Mining by 2030? Insights from an Expert Focus Group”, The Extractive Industries and Society, vol. 6, no. 4 (November 2019), pp. 1086–1090, with Anna Littleboy, Julia Keenan, Carlos M. Ordens, Andrea Shaw, Roger H. Tang, Brunilde Verrier, Mohsen Yahyaei and R. Anthony Hodge.
• “Regulating the Social Aspects of Mine Closure in Three Australian States”, Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law, vol. 37, no. 4 (October 2019), pp. 405–424, with Deanna Kemp and John Owen.
• “LNG Import Diversification and Energy Security in Asia”, Energy Policy, vol. 129 (June 2019), pp. 967–974.
• “How do National Mining Industry Associations Compare on Sustainable Development?”, The Extractive Industries and Society, vol. 6, no. 1 (January 2019), pp. 22–28, with Deanna Kemp.
• “Steady as She Goes’: Effect of the Fukushima Disaster on Australia-Japan Relations”, Asian International Studies Review, vol. 19, no. 2 (December 2018), pp. 87–114.
• “Industry and Government Responses to Unconventional Gas Development in Australia”, The Extractive Industries and Society, vol. 5, no. 4 (November 2018), pp. 422–426, with Katherine Witt, Stephen Kelemen and Helen Schultz.
• “Myanmar's Extractive Industries: An Institutional and Regulatory Assessment”, The Extractive Industries and Society, vol. 3, no. 4 (November 2016), pp. 1075–1083, with Gillian Cornish.
• “Nuclear Policy and Regulation in Japan after Fukushima: Navigating the Crisis”, Journal of Contemporary Asia, vol. 45, no. 3 (August 2015), pp. 490–509, with Geordan Graetz.
• “Problems of Regulatory Governance in the Mining Sector in Asia”, Transnational Corporations, vol. 22, no. 1 (April 2015), pp. 31–57, with Terry O’Callaghan.
• “Natural Gas in Asia: Trade, Markets and Regional Institutions”, Energy Policy, vol. 74 (November 2014), pp. 80–90.
• “Enhancing the Energy Security and Governance of Shale Gas”, Oil, Gas & Energy Law, vol. 12, no. 3 (June 2014), pp. 1–36, with Benjamin K. Sovacool.
• “International Political Economy: A Field Born of the OPEC Crisis Returns to Its Energy Roots”, Energy Research & Social Science, vol. 1 (March 2014), pp. 206–216, with Kathleen J. Hancock.
• “LNG Import Diversification in Asia”, Energy Strategy Reviews, vol. 2, no 3/4 (February 2014), pp. 289–297.
• “A Comparison of Chinese, Indian and Japanese Perceptions of Energy Security”, Asian Survey, vol. 52, no. 5 (September/October 2012), pp. 949–969, with Benjamin K. Sovacool.
• “Japan’s Energy Security Predicament post-Fukushima”, Energy Policy, vol. 46 (July 2012), pp. 135–143.
• “Bargaining Model for the International Oil Industry”, Business & Politics, vol. 13, no. 4 (December 2011), pp. 1–34.
• “International Oil Companies and Host States: A New Bargaining Model”, Oil, Gas & Energy Law, vol. 9, no. 5 (October 2011), pp. 1-19.
• “Oil Import Diversification in Northeast Asia: A Comparison between China and Japan”, Journal of East Asian Studies, vol. 11, no. 2 (May 2011), pp. 223–254, with James Manicom.
• “Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in the Mining Sector in Asia: A Comparison between China and India”, Resources Policy, vol. 36, no. 1 (March 2011), pp. 49–59.
• “Evaluating Energy Security in the Asia-Pacific Region: A Novel Methodological Approach”, Energy Policy, vol. 38, no. 9 (September 2010), pp. 5258–5263.
• “International Oil Companies, US Government and Energy Security Policy: An Interest-Based Analysis”, International Journal of Global Energy Issues, vol. 33, no. 1/2 (April 2010), pp. 73–88.
• “Resource Nationalism, Bargaining and International Oil Companies: Challenges and Change in the New Millennium”, New Political Economy, vol. 14, no. 4 (December 2009), pp. 517–534.
• “Diversification of Oil Import Sources and Energy Security: A Key Strategy or an Elusive Objective?”, Energy Policy, vol. 37, no. 11 (November 2009), pp. 4615–4623.
• “China Challenges Global Capitalism”, Australian Journal of International Affairs, vol. 63, no. 1 (March 2009), pp. 22–40.
• “Assessment of the Governance Performance of the Regulatory Regime Governing Foreign Mining Investment in the Philippines”, Minerals & Energy – Raw Materials Report, vol. 23, no. 3 (September 2008), pp. 123–145.
• “Anglo-American International Oil Companies and Iraq: ‘Promised Land’ or Reality Check?”, The Flinders Journal of History and Politics, vol. 24 (2007), pp. 85–109.




Technical reports and working papers

• “Australian Energy Transition Research Plan: Transition Dynamics”, ACOLA Research Briefing Paper, Report Five, Australian Council of Learned Academies (May 2022), with Drew Clarke, Kenneth Baldwin, Fran Baum, Bruce Godfrey, Sue Richardson and Libby Robin.
• “Global Trends Affecting the Mining Industry and the Implications for Peru”, CCPM and Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, University of Queensland (April 2020), with Miguel Cervantes Rodríguez, Jorge Chávez, Ada Pango Nazar, Kathryn Sturman and Sarah Mackenzie.
• “Social Aspects of Mine Closure: Governance and Regulation”, Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, University of Queensland (March 2020), with Anthony Kung and Jo-Anne Everingham.
• “Community Development Agreements: Guidance Document for the Oil and Gas Industry”, report prepared for IPIECA (June 2019), with Rodger Barnes, Nick Bainton and Deanna Kemp.
• “A Framework for Social Impact Assessment of Shale Gas Development in the Northern Territory”, Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, University of Queensland (January 2018), with Katherine Witt, Jo-Anne Everingham and Nick Bainton.
• “Comparative Analysis of Legal and Regulatory Frameworks for Resettlement in the Global Mining Industry”, Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, University of Queensland (August 2017), with John R. Owen and Deanna Kemp.
• “Australia and Germany: A New Strategic Energy Partnership”, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, ASPI Strategy (July 2017).
• “Mine Waste Classification and Management”, Series on International Best Practice, Working Paper No. 1, Mining Legislation Reform Initiative, Center for Responsible Mining, American University of Armenia (February 2017), with Jonathan Fulcher.
• “Remediation, Rehabilitation and Mine Closure”, Series on International Best Practice, Working Paper No. 2, Mining Legislation Reform Initiative, Center for Responsible Mining, American University of Armenia (February 2017), with Jonathan Fulcher.
• “Compensation for Environmental Damage”, Series on International Best Practice, Working Paper No. 3, Mining Legislation Reform Initiative, Center for Responsible Mining, American University of Armenia (February 2017), with Jonathan Fulcher.
• “Environmental and Social Impact Assessment”, Series on International Best Practice, Working Paper No. 4, Mining Legislation Reform Initiative, Center for Responsible Mining, American University of Armenia (February 2017), with Jonathan Fulcher.
• “Monitoring, Enforcement and Compliance”, Series on International Best Practice, Working Paper No. 5, Mining Legislation Reform Initiative, Center for Responsible Mining, American University of Armenia (February 2017), with Jonathan Fulcher.
• “Occupational Health and Safety”, Series on International Best Practice, Working Paper No. 6, Mining Legislation Reform Initiative, Center for Responsible Mining, American University of Armenia (February 2017), with Jonathan Fulcher.
• “Project-Induced In-Migration and Large-Scale Mining: A Scoping Study”, Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, University of Queensland (January 2017), with Nick Bainton, Deanna Kemp, John R. Owen and Julia Keenan.
• “Social Acceptance for Mineral and Metal Projects”, report prepared for the Metals Study Groups – the International Lead and Zinc Study Group, International Copper Study Group and International Nickel Study Group (July 2016), with Paul Rogers, Saleem Ali and Sarah Mackenzie.
• “Rapid Appraisal of the Policy and Regulatory System Governing the Mining Sector: Benchmarking Performance in Australia, Chile, South Africa and Zambia”, report prepared for the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, The Presidency, South Africa (October 2015), with David Brereton, Kathryn Sturman, Caroline Digby, Sivalingum Rungan, Magdalena Morel Ruiz, Elizabeth Fierman, Jerónimo Carcelén and Ignacio Irarrazaval.
• “Benchmarking Study of Leading Practice in Minerals and Coal Policy and Administration”, report prepared for the Directorate General of Mineral and Coal, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia (September 2015), with Ian Satchwell, Kathryn Sturman, Joe Fardin and Robert Milbourne.
• “Australia’s Energy Policy: Towards a Secure Energy Future?”, Griffith Asia Institute, The Australia-Japan Dialogue – Energy Security: Challenges and Opportunities, Regional Outlook Paper No. 46 (2014), pp. 116–32.

International Relations

International Political Economy

Strategic Studies

Security Studies

Energy Security

Energy Policy

Mining Regulation

Critical Minerals

Statecraft

Strategy