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The Australian National University

Ms Cynthia Banham

PhD Scholar
Centre for International Governance & Justice (CIGJ)
Email: 
cynthia.banham@anu.edu.au
Building: 
Coombs Extension, #8
Qualifications: 
Bachelor of Arts/Law, Macquarie University; Graduate Certificate in Legal Practice, UTS; Graduate Certificate in Journalism, UTS; Masters of International Affairs with Distinction, ANU
Biography: 

Cynthia has worked as a lawyer and a journalist. She has over a decade's experience as a senior journalist working in the Canberra press gallery covering foreign policy and defence issues. Most recently, she was a regular columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald. Before commencing her PhD at ANU, she was a Visiting Fellow/Journalist in Residence in the ANU International Relations Department.

Research interests: 

International human rights law and politics

Thesis topic: 
Torture, liberal democracies and the war on terror

This thesis is a comparative study, and compares how three liberal democracies – Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom – responded to the torture of their own citizens after 11 September 2001. I am particularly interested in looking at how each of these three states’ particular conceptions of liberalism and human rights can be used to explain and understand their different responses to this issue.

Primary supervisor: 
Professor Hilary Charlesworth
Scholarship: 
Australian Post-Graduate Award

Updated:  14 January, 2013/Responsible Officer:  Regnet Communications and Outreach Officer/Page Contact:  Rhianna Gallagher