← All Researchers
Research Member
Professor Debra Smith
Professor Debra Smith, Professor and Senior Industry Research Fellow
Victoria University
Contact
Debra.Smith@vu.edu.auInstitution
Victoria University
Research Areas
TerrorismViolent extremismRisk assessmentPractitioner trainingDisengagement from extremismEmotions.
Professor Smith’s research focuses on questions of violent political extremism, social conflict and social change. She has a particular interest in the role of emotion within violent extremism beliefs and action, and in translating research for applied outcomes.
Debra has extensive experience working with policing, community and government stakeholders to improve knowledge of all kinds of violent extremism and to translate this research into frontline practitioner tools.
Debra co-leads the Applied Security Science Partnership (ASSP) that brings together policing and security practitioners with academics to collaboratively build robust evidence on behavioural indicators of violent extremism. She provides frontline training for policing, education and community stakeholders on early intervention and diversion from violent extremism. Debra was part of the expert panel commissioned for the Independent review of effective case management and information sharing barriers relevant to violent extremism.
Key Publications
Books
| The Far-Right in Contemporary Australia (2019) | Peucker M and Smith D (Eds.) |
Book Chapters
| Understanding transitions to violence and the role of practitioner–academic partnerships (2021)in Counterterrorism Yearbook 2021, Close L and Impiombato D (eds) | Smith D and Guenther R |
| Far-Right Movements in Contemporary Australia: An Introduction (2019)in The Far-Right in Contemporary Australia, Peucker M and Smith D (Eds.) | Peucker M and Smith D |
| Not a Monolithic Movement: The Diverse and Shifting Strategies of Australia’s Far-Right (2019)in The Far-Right in Contemporary Australia, Peucker M and Smith D (Eds.) | Peucker M and Smith D |
| Making Sense of the Far-Right in Australia (2019)in The Far-Right in Contemporary Australia, Peucker M and Smith D (Eds.) | Peucker M and Smith D |
Journal Articles
| Passionate Belief: Ideology, Emotion and Terrorist Action (2021) | Smith D |
| ‘Our diggers would turn in their graves’: nostalgia and civil religion in Australia’s far-right (2021) | Peucker M, Lentini P, Smith D and Iqbal M |
| Revisiting the relationship between academics and national security practitioners (2021) | Ilardi GJ, Smith D and Zammit A |
| Educating the Children of Returning Foreign Fighters: Fear as the antithesis of inclusive education (2021) | MacDonald F and Smith D |
| The Role of Schools and Education in Countering Violent Extremism (CVE): Applying lessons from Western countries to Australian CVE policy (2019) | Harris-Hogan S, Barrelle K, and Smith D |
| How to make enemies and influence people: A Social Influence Model of Violent extremism (SIM-VE) (2019) | Smith D and Talbot S |
| So how do you feel about that?: talking with Provos about emotion (2018) | Smith D |
Reports
| Validation of Radar CVE Case Management Tool Commissioned Report prepared for Victoria Police and Department of Justice and Community Safety (2020) | Smith D et al |
| From passive observers to active participants, identifying transitions to violent extremist activity, Commissioned Report prepared for Department of Justice and Community Safety (Vic) and Victoria Police (2020) | Smith D et al |
| Mapping Networks and Narratives of Online Right-Wing Extremists in New South Wales (2020) | Government report Commissioned by Department of Communities and Justice, NSW |
| Dissenting citizenship? Understanding vulnerabilities to right-wing extremism on the local level: a multilevel analysis of far-right manifestations, risk and protective factors in three local municipalities in Victoria (2020) | Commissioned Report for Department of Justice and Community Safety (Vic) |
| Independent review of effective case management and information sharing barriers relevant to violent extremism (2019) | Report to Victorian Government |
Grants and Projects
| ‘Countering Violent Extremism Flexible Learning Program’Department of Families, Fairness, and Housing (Vic), 2021 | Smith D and Cochrane B |
| ‘Community Integration Support Program (CISP): Facilitating disengagement from violent extremism’Victoria Police, 2021 | Smith D, Iqbal M and Spaaij R |
| ‘Countering Violent Extremism and Women’Icon Agency, 2021 | Smith D and Cochrane B |
| ‘Regenerative City Living Lab’Victorian Higher Education Strategic Investment Fund, 2021 | Smith D, Baker A, Jackson K, Quayle A, Hopman J and Ooi D |
| ‘Known Entity Management Model (KEM) Validation Stage 1’Victoria Police, 2021 | Smith D and Iqbal M |
| ‘Evaluation of Victorian Fixated Threat Assessment Centre’Victoria Police, 2020 | Smith D, Iqbal M and Spaaij R |
| ‘Destroying the world to save it: Why security studies needs to engage with the planetary health agenda’Internal VU Grant, 2020 | Smith D, Iqbal M and Zammit A |
| ‘Applied research into countering violent extremism (CVE) and counter-terrorism (CT) risk assessment tools’Victoria Police, 2019 | Smith D, Spaaij R and Iqbal M |
| ‘Revisiting risk: an assessment of how terrorism subjects make the transition to violence’Australia New Zealand Counter Terrorism Committee (ANZCTC), Countering Violent Extremism Sub-Committee (CVESC) / Victoria Police, 2019 | Smith D |
| ‘Dissenting citizenship? Discussing concerns about diversity, immigration and what it means to be Australian today’Department of Justice and Community Safety (Vic), 2019 | Smith D, Peucker M and Spaaij R |
| ‘Applied Security Science Partnership (ASSP)’Defence Science Technology Group, 2019 | Smith D and Spaaij R |
| Partnership with Deakin University in the Collaborative Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Communities (CRIS) Think TankVictorian Government Department of Premier and Cabinet / Deakin University, 2019 - 2024 | Smith D and Spaaij R |
| ‘Applied research into countering violent extremism (CVE) and counter-terrorism (CT) risk assessment tools’Department of Justice and Community Safety (Vic), 2019 | Smith D, Spaaij R and Iqbal M |
| Capacity Building GrantVictorian Government Department of Premier and Cabinet, 2018 | Smith D, Spaaij R, Baker A and Puecker M |
| ‘Independent Review of Effective Case Management and Information Sharing Barriers Relevant to Violent Extremism’Victorian Government Department of Premier and Cabinet, 2018 | Smith D |
| ‘New Landscapes of Terrorism Conference and Workshops’Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2018 | Smith D and Andre V |
| ‘From Passive Observer to Active Participant: Identifying Transitions to Violent Extremism Activity’Victorian Government Department of Premier and Cabinet, 2018 | Smith D and Spaaij R |
| ‘Mapping networks and narratives of emerging far-right social movements in Victoria’Victorian Government Department of Premier and Cabinet, 2018 | Smith D and Peucker M |