Aspinall, Edward is a Senior Fellow and head of the Department of Political and Social Change at The Australian National University’s School of International, Political, and Strategic Studies. He is also the coordinating editor of Inside Indonesia, co-series editor of Policy Studies, and co-winner of the Asian Studies Association of Australia's Mid-career Researcher Prize for Excellence in Asian Studies (2010) for his book Islam and Nation. He previously served as a lecturer in Southeast Asian studies at the University of Sydney, (2003–2005) and as a lecturer in Indonesian studies at University of New South Wales from 1997 to 2001. He completed his PhD in the department of political and social change in 2000 on the topic of opposition movements and democratization in Indonesia. After graduation, he worked on a range of topics related to Indonesian democratization and civil society, especially concerning the separatist conflict in Aceh. His current research interests include ongoing research on Indonesian national and ethnic politics, as well as a comparative project on peace processes in the Asia-Pacific. He is the author of Islam and Nation: Separatist Rebellion in Aceh, Indonesia (Stanford University Press, 2009) and Opposing Suharto: Compromise, Resistance and Regime Change in Indonesia (Stanford University Press, 2005). He has edited or co-edited numerous books including Problems of Democratisation in Indonesia: Elections, Institutions, and Society (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2010) and Local Power and Politics in Indonesia: Decentralisation & Democratisation (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2003).