Shannon McGarry

Shannon McGarry is a final-year Bachelor of International Relations and Law student at the Australian National University with a focus on the Middle East region and Arabic language. She is currently interning with the Lowy Institute’s West Asia program.

She has studied Modern Standard and Levantine Arabic to augment her knowledge of the region. During her studies, Shannon has spent time in Egypt and Jordan, and completed an Arabic language and culture program with the ANU and Middle East University in Jordan, where she engaged with various UN missions, the ICRC, the Australian ambassador to Jordan and fellow Jordaninan young adults. Shannon is also the Middle East and North Africa fellow for Young Australians in International Affairs, where she publishes monthly articles analysing Middle Eastern affairs and policy.

She is also interested in Islam and has studied the Qu’ran and researched the influence of Sharia in Jordanian law with the help of Jordanian lawyers. In addition to Arabic, Shannon also speaks German, and is interested in the law of armed conflict and international human rights.