The alliance between Australia and the United States has grown from a formal treaty arrangement embodied in ANZUS to something far more comprehensive in both the ways in which it is described and the scope of operations, politics and values it is held to cover; indeed, the literature on the alliance refers to these dimensions constantly. At the same time, however, there is little by way of challenge in the literature to the claims made on behalf of the alliance – suggesting that these either do not exist, or are unimportant. This is a curious state of affairs because the opposite is the case: in terms of the history that defenders of the alliance appeal to, but also in the realms of every major proclaimed benefit of the alliance, there is substantial and developing body of contrary evidence which can be set rigorously against all of the benefits. This course will examine the full schedule of proclaimed benefits (what is sometimes called "the sophisticated case for the alliance"), and the evidence that is adduced for them, and juxtapose them with counter-narratives and evidence that has developed over the life of the alliance towards the end of establishing the intellectual, strategic, and political status of the relationship within Australian security strategy
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
By the end of this course you should be able to:
1. demonstrate a critical appreciation of the key concepts and overarching theories and approaches used by International Relations and Strategic Studies scholars in both the university and policy areas of government.
2. as IR and Strategic analysts, understand the likely dynamics of alliance relationships which must necessarily be factored into both intellectual understanding and policy advice.
3. reflect critically on arrangements which are at the core of national security
Indicative Assessment
Two research essays of 3000 words each worth 50% (LO 1, 2, 3)
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Workload
100 hours (approximately) over the duration of the course. The course will run over the 13 week semester with a 2 hour seminar for 11 of those weeks and 2 weeks set aside for assessment preparation.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2016 | $3252 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2016 | $4638 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
