Sarah Maddison

Sarah Maddison is Professor of Politics in the School of Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Arts, at the University of Melbourne. She is Director of the Australian Centre and Co-Director of the Indigenous Settler Relations Collaboration. Maddison has also served as Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Arts. She was educated at the University of Sydney and the University of Technology, Sydney, and holds a PhD in the Discipline of Government and International Relations from the University of Sydney.

Maddison's research specializations and academic interests include Australian politics, Indigenous settler relations, agonism, reconciliation, conflict transformation, Indigenous political culture, and social movements. Her major publications encompass several influential books such as The Colonial Fantasy: Why White Australia Can’t Solve Black Problems (2019), Questioning Indigenous-Settler Relations (2020), Conflict Transformation and Reconciliation: Multi-level Challenges in Deeply Divided Societies (2015), Black Politics: Inside the Complexity of Aboriginal Political Culture (2009), Beyond White Guilt: The Real Challenge for Black-White Relations in Australia (2011), Silencing Dissent: How the Australian Government is Controlling Public Opinion and Stifling Debate (2007, Allen & Unwin), Activist Wisdom: Practical Knowledge and Creative Tension in Social Movements (2006, UNSW Press), and An Introduction to Australian Public Policy: Theory and Practice (2013, co-authored with Richard Denniss, Cambridge University Press). She has edited volumes including Public Policy and Indigenous Futures (2023, with Nikki Moodie, Springer), The Limits of Settler Colonial Reconciliation (2016, co-edited with Tom Clark and Ravi de Costa), and Unsettling the Settler State (2011, co-edited with Morgan Brigg). Among her honors, Maddison received a Churchill Fellowship in 2009 to study models of Indigenous representation in the United States and Canada. She currently serves on the boards of Justice Connect and Unharm.

Professional Email: sarah.maddison@unimelb.edu.au