Michael Clarke
As his profile in Linkedin indicates that Clarke has extensive research experience in the Asian history. Despite his expertise relating to history, Clarke positions himself as some kind of terrorism / counter terrorism expert, well out of his field of study.
In his key document - Widening the net: Chinas anti-terror laws and human rights in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region - published in 2010, Clarke frequently refers to terrorism in the established ironic former of single inverted commas. As an example, of the 75 instances of "terrorism", 14 are ironic, indicating skepticism of claims of terror in Xinjiang. This does not include other usage, such as "inciting terrorism" also frequently used ironically. Despite criticising anti-terror activities by "various Western governments", the unironic use of terrorism when discussing terrorism generally indicates a decidedly anti-China posture and prior judgement of Chinese policy, regardless of the outcome or any evidence of human rights abuses.
The core thesis of this paper is to reject, if not scorn, the policies of China on terrorism .
Subsequent events in Xinjiang and Syria have demonstrated that Clarke has a complete lack of understanding of terrorism, suggesting his reach into this area of expertise was based on hubris rather than research.
Biographical details
Michael Clarke describes himself as an experienced researcher with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. Skilled in Lecturing, Academic Writing, Policy Analysis, Social Sciences, and Research. Strong research professional with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) focused in Asian History and International Relations from Griffith University.