International Studies in Australia

Dr Marianne Hanson, Reader in International Relations, and Dr Heloise Weber, Lecturer in International Relations and Development Studies, and Coordinator, Asia-Pacific Regional Section of the International Studies Association, The University of Queensland.

Australia has become a highly popular destination for students wishing to undertake Coursework Masters and PhD programs in International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies and Development. Collectively, these inter-related fields have come to be called International Studies, and many of Australia’s universities have responded to the increasing demand for programs in this area. These degrees from Australia are well-respected overseas and have led graduates to move on to outstanding careers in government agencies, NGOs, the UN and its various bodies and many other organizations.

Studying in Australia has some obvious attractions: it is a very friendly and welcoming country where visitors are made to feel at home very quickly. This is partly because Australia itself is a dynamic multicultural country. Overseas students will often find themselves sitting next to Australians of Italian, Vietnamese, Lebanese or British parentage (just to mention a few). All this has made for an open society that is generally tolerant, vibrant and very diverse.

Add to that of course Australia’s striking landscape of rainforests, sandy beaches, coral reefs and the ‘outback’, plus a thriving arts and intellectual scene and it is no wonder that international students are flocking to study ‘down-under’.

So what does Australia have to offer in the area of International Studies? One answer is the unique political-geographic perspective that Australia offers. We are situated on the fringes of Asia and the South Pacific, regions that we interact with on a daily basis, and many courses provide insight into the political dynamics of these regions. And while academic staff have inherited an approach to exploring International Relations (IR) and Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) mainly from the dominant European or North American traditions, they combine this with a world-view that is also subtly different from these perspectives alone.

A good example of this approach is the legacy of Hedley Bull, a foremost thinker in International Relations from the 1960s until his death in 1985, and author of the influential work The Anarchical Society: a Study of Order in World Politics. Professor Bull was an Australian who nevertheless became part of what was known as the ‘English School’ of thought in IR. But despite his strong links with Europe and also North America, Bull foresaw the need to include the views and interests of developing and small states in the goal of shaping an equitable and well-functioning ‘international society’.

This points to another aspect of International Studies in Australia: it is fair to say that many Australians consider their country to be a ‘good international citizen’, and that – despite the different emphases of various governments – they want to contribute to world politics in a positive way. Australians’ own sense of ‘a fair go’, stated so often in domestic political life, translates to a concern with global politics that plays an active part in the UN, supports peace keeping operations, and responds generously to natural disasters, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. (For example, within six days of the devastating tsunami that hit many parts of Asia in December 2004, Australians had given $100m to support survivors; this was quickly followed by a government package of one billion dollars to assist Indonesia alone.) None of this is to claim that Aussies are always angels, but they do have an outlook on life which is generally very cosmopolitan and which, at best, seeks to work actively through various channels to address questions of international peace and security.

The various programs in International Studies reflect this approach. They cover existing and dominant views in IR and PACS but will often go beyond these to examine regional derivatives and non-traditional approaches to security, development, peace studies and conflict resolution.

One indication of the strength of International Studies programs in Australia can be seen in the success of the third OCIS Conference (Oceanic Conference on International Studies), held at the University of Queensland in July 2008. This brought together almost 200 participants from various universities, and a large percentage of conference papers came from graduate students in IR, PACS and Development. Keynote Speaker, Andrew Linklater, Woodrow Wilson Professor of International Politics at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth, noted his pleasure in seeing how vibrant and intellectually stimulating International Studies now is in Australia. OCIS had evolved from a workshop on Ethics and Foreign Policy into a formal conference held every two years, the first hosted by the Australian National University in 2004, and the second by Melbourne University in 2006. The fourth OCIS Conference is scheduled to take place in Auckland, New Zealand, in mid-2010.

A further indication of the growth in this area is the recent decision taken by the International Studies Association, the premier professional body for scholars of International Studies, to establish an Asia-Pacific Regional Section of the ISA, based at the University of Queensland. Its conference is scheduled for June-July 2009, and promises to draw a large number of academics and graduate students from Australia and the Asia-Pacific region to Brisbane.

We are sure that if you undertake a degree in International Studies in Australia, you will find it a challenging and richly rewarding experience. It’s great place from which to study your world!