3012GIR Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: People Smuggling, Multilateralism, Anglosphere
22 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
L4. Security & Defence
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Themes
• Defining security
• Security policy much more than defence policy
• Long-term issues
• Security strategies
• Focus of security policies
Defining Security
• Former Foreign Minister, Steven Smith:
o "A broad and malleable concept these days"
o "The traditional approach focuses narrowly on individual nation states and their
covetioal ilitary assets ad threats … oly oe diesio"
(http://www.foreignminister.gov.au/speeches/2008/080309_nsd.html)
• Also need to include:
o "international terrorism, weapons proliferation (including the risk of nuclear, biological
or chemical weapons falling into the hands of terrorists), transnational crime, including
organised people smuggling, environmental degradation, energy security, health
pandemics, or even just plain old fashioned poverty and inequality as a cause of
instability"
Critique
• "National security is a greatly abused concept"
• Need to restrict definition
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o "To events that could seriously undermine our territorial sovereignty, democratic
freedoms and rule of law, and basic economic prosperity"
• Illegal people movements, transnational crime
o Inconveniences
• Climate change
o Challenge to living standards
• Not "existential threats"
(http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/sabrerattling-will-draw-near-with-
globalisation/2008/04/30/1209234954726.html)
• Traditional threats are real
• Asia contains "major concentrations of military power and potential hot spots"
o Korean Peninsula
o Taiwan Straits
o India and Pakistan
o Military build up in China and India
o Also South Korea and Japan and some Southeast Asian countries
Strategies for Australian Security
1. Great and powerful friends (i.e. alliances)
o Britain and the US
2. Close relationship with the region
o Asian engagement
3. Multilateralism and internationalism
o Good international citizenship
4. Greater self-reliance
o Within the Alliance
o Armed neutrality
• First 3 often seen as separate traditions of foreign policy
• But, inter-related
• Especially today
• No need for choice?
Long-Term Issues
• What will happen to US power?
o Can Australia depend on the Alliance?
• Will China's rise be peaceful?
• Is great power conflict in East Asia inevitable?
o Japan, China, Korea
• Will Southeast Asia remain politically stable?
o Indonesia
• Will terrorism become the most important security concern?
o Or is it just the most spectacular?
• Will cyber-security continue to grow in importance?
o Chaos at the push of a button
Defence Policy Themes
• How much spending?
• Where should Australia focus its defence spending?
• What type of hardware? For what purpose?
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