Dr Marigold Black is a Senior Lecturer in War Studies at UNSW Canberra. She trained as an historian of ideas specialising in sovereignty, and now conducts research on the hidden architectures of thought shaping security and defence strategies in complex and evolving environments. Before joining UNSW Canberra, Dr Black was a Research Leader in Strategy and Statecraft at RAND Australia where she led and contributed to research across a wide range of national security and strategic policy issues including military integration of robotics and autonomous systems, defence mobilisation planning, governance in domains with alternative spatiality, deterrence (economic, grey zone, and nuclear), innovation systems, countering foreign interference, and sovereign capability. Dr Black has held fellowships with the Australian Army Research Centre, the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University, and the Laureate Research Program in International History at the University of Sydney. She was also Founder and Director of a private research company supporting clients in the Australian defence and national security sectors. Dr Black completed her PhD in history at the University of Sydney, where her research explored the intellectual pre-history of the U.S. Constitution, focusing on understandings of sovereignty before and during the American Revolution. For 2026-2027, Dr Black is also a non-resident fellow at RAND Australia.