Australian governments have consistently identified the island chain to the north of Australia, ranging from Indonesia through the Pacific Islands to New Zealand, as the region from or through which a security threat to Australia could most easily be posed. As a result, Australia is engaged in extensive efforts to support stability and security in this region, which has been the site of significant Australian military deployments and policing operations, and remains a focus for Australia’s development expenditure. At the same time, recent years have seen a rise in engagement by ‘non-traditional’ powers in the Pacific islands, in particular China, which some observers have seen as threatening Australia’s interests in the region. This course critically analyses the security challenges facing this region and, in particular, Australia’s role in the security of the region. This includes cooperation on transnational crime and counterterrorism; intervention and stabilisation; criminal justice assistance; governance capacity-building; natural disaster response; and substantial development assistance. The course considers ways in which Pacific understandings of security differ from Australia’s, and the implications of this for Australia’s engagement with Pacific Island governments, security agencies and societies. It also assesses the outlook over the next decade for security in this strategically important and rapidly changing region.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the significance of the Pacific Islands for Australia’s national security.
- Evaluate the security challenges facing the Pacific Islands, including the way these are perceived by Pacific Islanders.
- Analyse the ways in which Australian governments have approached securing the region over time, and critically evaluate these efforts.
- Conduct scholarly research, express ideas and construct evidence-based arguments in both written and oral form.
Indicative Assessment
- Ministerial Briefing Note (20) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Crisis simulation position paper (20) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Research Essay (50) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Tutorial and crisis simulation participation (10) [LO 1,2,3,4]
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Workload
This course comprises some 130 hours of activity over 12 weeks, including some 24 hours of lectures or an equivalent activity and some 12 hours of tutorials or equivalent activity. The course comprises a maximum of 6k words of assessment or the equivalent. Please note this is a general guide, averaged over the semester and the final hours ultimately depend on the individual's ability in reading and writing. There may also be some requirement for students to respond (briefly) in writing to developments in the crisis simulation outside the lecture periods in weeks 10 and 11.
Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Key readings will be provided via Wattle.
Majors
Minors
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you 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). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found 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 |
|---|---|
| 2024 | $4440 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2024 | $6000 |
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.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2565 | 19 Feb 2024 | 26 Feb 2024 | 05 Apr 2024 | 24 May 2024 | In Person | View |
