Rate My Professor Adam Simpson

Dr Adam Simpson is Senior Lecturer in International Studies within the School of Society and Culture, College of Education, Behavioural and Social Sciences, at Adelaide University. He holds a PhD and a Master of Environmental Studies from the University of Adelaide, as well as a Bachelor of Economics and a Bachelor of Science (Mathematical and Computer Science) from the same university, and a Graduate Diploma of Education from Southern Cross University. Prior to his academic career, Simpson served as an analyst with US and British investment banks in the City of London, including Merrill Lynch (now Bank of America), Bankers Trust International (now Deutsche Bank), and NatWest Global Financial Markets (now Royal Bank of Scotland). He contributes courses to the Bachelor of International Relations and International Security major and has held distinguished visiting positions, including Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University (2025 and 2016), SOAS University of London (2017), Queen Mary University of London (2014), and Visiting Lecturer at Keele University (2011).

Simpson's research specializations encompass environmental politics in Southeast Asia, civil society under authoritarian regimes, military coups and civil conflict, with a focus on Myanmar and Thailand, alongside studies on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Australian climate politics. Key publications include his monograph Energy, Governance and Security in Thailand and Myanmar (Ashgate, 2014; revised edition NIAS Press, 2017), co-edited Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Myanmar (2018, with N. Farrelly and I. Holliday), and Myanmar: Politics, Economy and Society (Routledge, 2020; second edition 2023). Selected articles feature "Environmental activism and authoritarianism in Myanmar: interrogating assemblages across three political epochs" (Environmental Politics, 2026, with T. Kean and S. Park), "Illiberalism and energy transitions in Myanmar and Thailand" (Georgetown Journal of Asian Affairs, 2019, with M. Smits), and "Transitions to energy and climate security in Southeast Asia? Civil society encounters with illiberalism in Thailand and Myanmar" (Society & Natural Resources, 2018, with M. Smits). He is lead editor of two editions of Myanmar: Politics, Economy and Society, Founding Co-Convenor of the Australian Political Studies Association Environmental Politics and Policy Research Group, and former President of the Ecopolitics Association of Australasia. His articles on The Conversation platform have accumulated over 1.15 million reads since 2021.