John Murphy is a professor of politics at the University of Melbourne.

He is also Assistant Dean in the Faculty of Arts. He writes prolifically on Australian social and political history and is editor of the Australian politics and policy series in MUP s Academic Monograph series.

He is author of many books, including Harvest of Fear: A history of Australia's Vietnam War (Allen & Unwin, 1993); Imagining the fifties: Private sentiment and political culture in Menzies Australia (UNSW Press, 2000) and was a contributor to Half a Citizen: Life on welfare in Australia (Allen & Unwin, 2011).