Asia's economic rise has benefited Australian immensely in commercial terms. From a security perspective, however, it presents a raft of potentially significant dilemmas. This course examines the immense promise and potential strategic pitfalls that confront Australia at the dawn of the so-called Asian century. Questions to be examined in this course include: might Australia be forced to make a choice between its leading trading partner China and its closest security ally the United States if and when strategic competition deepens between these two regional heavyweights? What alternative security arrangements might Australia seek as the relative strategic weight of its American ally declines in the face of Asia's rise? How might Australia compensate for the fact that it might no longer be able to maintain a clear military technological edge over many of its increasingly prosperous Southeast Asian neighbours? And will Australia be forced to cede ground in its own South Pacific sphere of influence as Asia's great powers become increasingly interested and engaged in this part of the world?

• To provide course members with a greater empirical understanding of the range of national security challenges confronting Australia at the dawn of the so-called 'Asian century', both through the material delivered in lectures, as well as via the reading material assigned.
• To provide course members with a series of analytical frameworks for better understanding the complexities of the national security challenges confronting Australia at the dawn of the Asian century.
• To assist course members with developing the skills required to clearly and confidently articulate their ideas regarding Australia's national security challenges in the Asian century through in-class discussions, a variety of written assessments and tutorial based activities.

Tutorial attendance and participation (10 per cent); Essay plan (500 words) (10 per cent);  Research essay (3,000 words) (40 per cent); Take home exam (1,500 words)  (40 per cent).

34 contact hours per semester.

A 2-hour lecture session per week for twelve weeks and a 1-hour tutorial per week for ten weeks of the semester.

STST2001 and STST2002, or the permission of the coordinator

Intermediate knowledge of the history and the contemporary dynamics of the Asia-Pacific security environment.