Alice Paton is a Royal Australian Air Force Officer and Sir Richard Williams Scholar who is researching Australian civil-military relations.

Her research topic examines how relations between the Australian Government and military change across the conflict spectrum, from periods of relative peace to large‑scale conventional war. While civil–military relations scholarship has traditionally focused on civilian control and military obedience, less attention has been given to how political and military elites adapt their relationship as threat levels escalate. Despite its strategic importance, this question has been under‑examined in the Australian context