Samina Yasmeen is Director of the Centre for Muslim States and Societies and Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Western Australia. She teaches courses on world politics, strategy and diplomacy, and Islam and world politics. Her research interests include the analysis of the domestic and foreign policies of the states of South Asia, confidence building in international relations, women and citizenship, and the place of Islam in the international system. She has recently co-edited Islam and the West: Reflections from Australia (2005), and is currently writing a book on Lashkar-e Toiba. She holds an MA from The Australian National University, and a PhD from the University of Tasmania.