This course explores the practical and conceptual foundations of Australia's defence policy, as laid out in the National Defence Strategy and earlier Defence White Papers. The course explores the role and development of strategic guidance for defence in its departmental, strategic and political context. It examines the historical origins and evolution of key concepts such as defence and denial, conventional and nuclear deterrence, defence planning and alliance in Australian defence policy, and uses them to analyse contemporary policy directions, choices and challenges. Assessment in this course is scaffolded and designed to help students design a research-led examination of a policy question of their choice relating to current Australian defence policy.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Demonstrate understanding of the role and development of strategic guidance in Australian defence policy
- Apply concepts from the discipline of Strategic Studies to assess the development and practice of Australian defence policy
- Understand academic and policy debates about the direction of Australian Strategic and Defence Policy
- Frame research questions of relevance to understanding and informing current defence policy challenges
- Assemble and analyze evidence of relevance to research on curent defence policy challenges
- Apply, in written and oral form, the key concepts and debates to real world cases and contemporary issues in Australian Strategic and Defence Policy
Indicative Assessment
- Framing paper designing a research approach to a current policy challenge (1000 words) (20) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Oral presentation (10) [LO 1,2,3,4,6]
- Literature review (2000 words). Nested assignment 1 (30) [LO 1,2,3,5,6]
- Analytical Essay (3000 words) Nested assignment 2 (40) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
Approximately 130 hours comprising seminars as well as associated preparation, independent study, and assessment time. 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.
Prescribed Texts
N/A
Assumed Knowledge
Students should have completed 8001 before attempting this course, to ensure they have the required conceptual background in Strategic Studies to undertake the assessment required in this course.
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 |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $4920 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $7020 |
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.
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7269 | 27 Jul 2026 | 03 Aug 2026 | 31 Aug 2026 | 30 Oct 2026 | In Person | N/A |
| 8861 | 27 Jul 2026 | 03 Aug 2026 | 31 Aug 2026 | 30 Oct 2026 | Online | N/A |