Our People
David Kilcullen
Counter Insurgency; Urban Development Expert, Australia/US
Associate of The Brenthurst Foundation
Dr. David Kilcullen is Professor of International and Political Studies at the University of New South Wales, Canberra, Professor of Practice at Arizona State University, and CEO of the research firm Cordillera Applications Group. He previously founded and led the global consulting firm Caerus Associates, and the technology firm First Mile Geo (now Native).
Dr. Kilcullen is a theorist and practitioner of guerrilla and unconventional warfare and counterterrorism, with operational experience over a 25-year career with the Australian and U.S. governments as a light infantry officer, intelligence officer, policy adviser and diplomat.
He served in Iraq as senior counterinsurgency advisor to U.S. General David Petraeus, then as a senior counterterrorism advisor to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and has served in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Libya and Colombia. He is the author of five prize-winning books on terrorism, insurgency, urbanization and future warfare as well as numerous scholarly papers on urbanization, conflict and future warfare.
He heads the Future Operations Research Group at UNSW Canberra, has led several concept design projects for U.S. and allied governments, and currently works with national and city-level governments in the United States, Australia, Africa, Latin America and Europe on urban development, public safety, resilience and counterterrorism.
He worked for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Afghanistan, and continues to work with advanced research agencies in the United States, Canada, the UK and elsewhere, focused on technology and future conflict. He is a lead researcher for NATO's ongoing Urbanization Program, and is an Associate of the South Africa-based Brenthurst Foundation.
Content by David Kilcullen
VIDEOS
The Future War Laboratory of Ukraine
David Kilcullen, Greg Mills
17 Aug 2023
NEWS
‘I am Sorry for the Dogs’ — in the Ruins of Ukraine’s Kherson, Humanity Still Shines Through
Greg Mills, David Kilcullen
11 Aug 2023
EVENTS
Watch: Putin's Ukraine Gamble
with David Kilcullen, Rory Stewart, Greg Mills
EVENTS
Watch the Webinar: Afghanistan After the West's Withdrawal
with David Kilcullen, Rory Stewart, Greg Mills
NEWS
From Afghanistan to Africa: What the West's Failure Should Teach Us
Olusegun Obasanjo, David Kilcullen, Greg Mills
4 Aug 2021
PUBLICATIONS
Where the Rubber Hits the Road - The Future Of African Cities
Olusegun Obasanjo, Juan Carlos Pinzón Bueno, Dickie Davis, David Kilcullen, Emily van der Merwe, Archimedes Muzenda, Dianna Games, Nicola Doyle, Sarah Calburn, Nchimunya Hamukoma, Ray Hartley, Greg Mills
27 Jan 2020
PUBLICATIONS
Mombasa - Gateway to Africa
David Kilcullen
18 Sep 2019
PUBLICATIONS
Hargeisa, Somaliland - Invisible City
David Kilcullen
1 Apr 2019
NEWS
Polity's Sashnee Moodley and Greg Mills speak about his co-authored book on Colombia
Greg Mills, David Kilcullen, Dickie Davis, David Spencer
28 Feb 2017
PUBLICATIONS
Tswalu Dialogue Report - Future of African Cities
Greg Mills, Terence McNamee, David Kilcullen, Dickie Davis
24 May 2016
BOOKS
A Great Perhaps? Colombia: Conflict and Convergence
Greg Mills, Dickie Davis, David Spencer, David Kilcullen
PUBLICATIONS
Poles of Prosperity or Slums of Despair? The Future of African Cities
Wendy Trott, Greg Mills, David Kilcullen
24 May 2015