This course is available for on-campus & remote (online) learning. All students participate in interactive, real-time classes.
National security challenges facing Australia and the world involve many complex risks and challenges from diverse sources. What exactly is national security? Beyond the headlines and the politics, how can we distinguish what really constitutes a national security threat? How can we critically assess the security policy responses that governments make? This course equips students with conceptual awareness and analytical skills to address these core questions.
Having established the complexities of the concept of security itself, we will look at the various political elements that inform how we understand national security - concepts such as sovereignty, power, and interest. In addition, the course will also consider the various methods analysts may use in understanding how these concepts interrelate, and learn to apply those methods to their own work. The course concludes by tasking students to share and articulate their own chosen concepts and methods for analyzing a contemporary security issue. Learning activities will include lectures, tutorials, analytical exercises and interactive discussions, in line with the National Security College’s signature pedagogy.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Identify and assess the causal forces and complex national security dynamics in which policy must be made, with reference to both contemporary and historical cases
- Develop an independent and intellectually rigorous conception of national security
- Use these frameworks and skills to analyse and critique actual policy choices made in Australia’s 21st century national security experience
- Produce written analysis of pressing contemporary national security concerns that is theoretically grounded and empirically supported.
- Reflect critically on the strengths and weaknesses of conceptual and methodological frameworks used to understand and explain contemporary security challenges.
Indicative Assessment
- Essay Plan (1000 words) (20) [LO 1,3]
- Short Essay (1500 words) (30) [LO 1,3,4]
- Research Essay (3000 words) (50) [LO 1,2,3,4]
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
The standard workload for a 6 unit course is 130 hours including class time and independent study.
Inherent Requirements
n/a
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
none
Preliminary Reading
There is no required textbook, but journal articles and book chapters are assigned from Political Science, International Relations, Comparative Politics, Strategic Studies, Economics, Social Psychology, History, Methodology, Philosophy and Policy Analysis. This reflects the interdisciplinary nature of national security studies. Examples include;
-David C. Engerman, ‘Bernath Lecture: American Knowledge and Global Power*’, Diplomatic History 31, no. 4 (2007): 599–622, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7709.2007.00655.x.
-Michel Foucault et al., Security, Territory, Population: Lectures at the Collège de France, 1977-1978, 1. Picador ed, ed. Michel Senellart, trans. Graham Burchell, Lectures at the Collège de France (Picador, 2009).
-Robert Jervis, System Effects: Complexity in Political and Social Life (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997) 125-127, 137-151, 155-176
-Arnold Wolfers, ‘“National Security” as an ambiguous symbol’, Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 67, 1952, pp. 481-502.
-Barry Buzan, People, States and Fear: An Agenda for International Security Studies in the Post-Cold War Era, Chapters 1 and 2.
-Michael Beckley, “The Power of Nations: Measuring What Matters,” International Security 2018 Vol. 43 No. 2 7-44
-David Ekbladh, “Present at the Creation: Edward Mead Earle and the Depression-era Origin of Security Studies”, International Security, Vol. 36. No 3, 2011-12, 107-141.
-Geddes, Barbara "How the Cases You Choose Affect the Answers You Get: Selection Bias in Comparative Politics." Political Analysis 1990 2: 131-150
Assumed Knowledge
nil
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 |
|---|---|
| 2027 | $5040 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2027 | $7200 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4571 | 22 Feb 2027 | 01 Mar 2027 | 31 Mar 2027 | 28 May 2027 | In Person | N/A |
| 5547 | 22 Feb 2027 | 01 Mar 2027 | 31 Mar 2027 | 28 May 2027 | Online | N/A |