Course overview
Whether the Cold War ever ended; or a new Cold War has now begun, the nature of international relations has fundamentally shifted over the past 30 years. First and foremost, the Atlantic World, though obviously remaining significant, is no longer at the core of geopolitics, geosecurities, and geoeconomics. A pivot has occurred, with the fulcrum of international relations in the 21st Century now shifted to what is increasingly referred to as the `Indo-Pacific?. It is in this region where most people in the world will live by 2050; a region broadly characterised by its relative poverty, and by its religious, political and cultural diversity. Australia, as well as many other countries in this broadly (and variously) defined super-region ranging from the waters of maritime Africa to the west coast of the Americas?find themselves reimagined (in geopolitical terms) as existing at the centre of the new world stage. Much of these Indo-Pacific countries? futures will be determined by a contestation for power between China and the United States, and how these Indo-Pacific nations shape and negotiate their international relations individually, and cooperatively: as regional neighbourhoods. Other questions of succession; the role of nation-states, corporations and civil society in generating economic growth and social stability; and the possibility of divining an 'Asian model' that other states could emulate, have all figured prominently in shaping these more recent and stimulating perspectives on the conduct of international relations. Even more significant, however, has been the rise of bilateral, multilateral and even larger regional forms of governance, simultaneously challenging the power of nation-states, as well as the dominance of undifferentiated models of globalisation. This course, then, examines the specifics of various pan- and sub-regional bodies such as ASEAN, APEC, IORA, PIC, SAARC, OBOR, CPEC? amongst many others emerging in the Indo-Pacific region.