Kanishka Jayasuriya is currently Professor of Politics and International Studies at the Department of Politics and International Studies at Murdoch University. He is also a Fellow of the Asia Research Centre at Murdoch University.

Prior to this appointment he was Director of Indo-Pacific Governance Research Centre (IPGRC) and Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of Adelaide.

He obtained his PhD from The Australian National University (ANU). He has held teaching and research appointments in several Australian and overseas universities including ANU, the University of Sydney, Murdoch University, Griffith University, National University of Singapore, and City University of Hong Kong. He has published extensively and is author or editor of nine books and over 100 journal articles.

His main areas of research interests lie in the process of state transformation, with an emphasis on regulation and governance with a focus on the Indo-Pacific. He works on issues of higher education and social policy.