José Sousa-Santos is an Associate Professor of Practice and the head and convenor of the Pacific Regional Security Hub (PRSH) at the University of Canterbury. His research focuses on transnational crime, non-state spoilers, and state-condoned illicit disruptors, irregular warfare, and cultural intelligence in the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia. In 2021, Sousa-Santos was appointed to the Global Initiative against Transnational Crime panel of experts, and he consults with the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime. Previously, he held positions as Senior Fellow (transnational crime) at the Australia Pacific Security College, Australian National University (2020-2023), subject matter expert (transnational crime and terrorism) with the executive educational cadre for the United States INDO PACOM and SOCPAC Cooperation Against Transnational Threats program, and Pacific Area Security Sector Working Group (2015-2019). In 2020-21, he was a Visiting Fellow with the Australian National University Cyber Institute. Sousa-Santos was formerly an advisor on conflict mediation and dispute resolution to HE Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta during his terms as Timor-Leste’s prime minister and president. He has received numerous commendations including from the United Nations Police for investigative work on transnational crime (human trafficking) and in 2007 he was nominated for the United Nations Sergio Vieira de Mello Human Rights Award for achievements in the area of community conflict mediation and dispute resolution during the Timor-Leste 2006 crisis. Sousa-Santos was formerly the lead analyst on disrupters and spoilers with the United Nations Joint Mission Analysis Centre in Timor-Leste. Prior to this, he served with the Australian Defence Force.

Lopeti Senituli is President of the Tonga Law Society specialising in the fields of law and politics. He was formerly the Political and Media Advisor to Prime Ministers Dr Feleti Vaka’uta Sevele (2006-2010) and Samuela ‘Akilisi Pohiva (2018-2019).

Tess Newton Cain is an Adjunct Associate Professor with Griffith University, public commentator, and former lecturer in law at the University of the South Pacific. Her expertise lies in Pacific regionalism and security and she is the co-lead of the Defence Diplomacy in the Pacific project. She is a citizen of the United Kingdom and Vanuatu.

Dr. Levi Tavita is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Samoan Studies of the National University of Samoa. He majors in Samoan Studies on Contemporary Politics and Government, Samoan Linguistics, and Academic Literacy. As an educator, he has served in Aotearoa New Zealand as a Tertiary Lecturer, Secondary Teacher, also had brief stints at Intermediate and Primary. Prior to, he worked in the Samoan media as a writer, editor and publisher of a newspaper he helped founded. He began his early career in the Samoa Public Service continuing on at the New Zealand Public Service before embarking on a teaching career. He also edits an online publication, OLA Puletini A’oga, that serves to promote the Samoan Language internationally. As a publisher he has published 15 books, 8 of which he authored, and more than 50 educational resources (readers, references, posters, etc). This is his first collection of short stories in Samoan.