Policy Seminar with Prof Nick Bisley, La Trobe Asia, La Trobe University

Sir Walter Murdoch School of Public Policy and International Affairs invites you to a Policy Seminar with Professor Nick Bisley Executive Director, La Trobe Asia, La Trobe University. Professor Nick Bisley is Executive Director of La Trobe Asia and Professor of International Relations at La Trobe University. His research and teaching expertise is in Asia's international relations, globalisation and the diplomacy of great powers. Nick is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Australian J

“Not quite Shangri-La: Defence Diplomacy and Asia’s Changing Strategic Landscape”

Defence diplomacy is a growing part of Asia’s regional setting. Military and civilian defence officials undertaking the work normally tasked to diplomats has become a focal point for many states’ approach to the region. Yet it is something of a curious beast. Institutions and individuals whose primary function is the organised use of force are turned to the business of dialogue and communication, often with uncertain results  Moreover, it is a category that includes everything from officer exchanges to bilateral military exercises to high profile multilateral forums and just about everything in between. Just how effective defence diplomacy is and what role it plays in the regional order is thus hard to determine due to its nebulous form. This seminar will examine defence diplomacy in Asia and the role it plays in the current strategic setting. In particular it will examine the Shangri La Dialogue, the self-styled premier regional forum for defence diplomacy, as an illustrative example of defence diplomacy in Asia. It will assess the contribution the SLD makes to the regional order, the tensions inherent in its structure and form and consider how events at the 2014 SLD illustrate both the opportunities and risks inherent in using defence personnel in this way.

Discussant

Professor Mark Beeson

Professor of International Politics

Sir Walter Murdoch School of Public Policy and International Affairs

Tuesday 8 July 2014

Senate Meeting Room 2.002

12.30 to 1.45pm

Light lunch and refreshments provided

Please RVSP jade.lim@murdoch.edu.au