Research & publications

The National Security College conducts or commissions research projects aimed at identifying the likely main challenges facing the national security community over the period ahead. The initial research focus will be on topics that assist course development. Over time, the College intends to position itself as a hub for national and international researchers so that Australia extracts the maximum benefit from relevant expertise on national security issues.

Occasional Paper Series

National Security in Australia: Scoping the Field

This special edition provides new information about national security studies in an Australian context. This project was initiated because there is a gap in the written knowledge about the evolution of the concept of national security in Australia, and because there is a need to identify the elements of the emerging field of ‘national security studies’. The five attached papers cover different parts of the scoping task, and include discussions of the meaning of national security and the future security environment, and analysis of what kinds of subject matter should be considered under the banner of ‘national security studies’. Uniquely, these papers have been written from an Australian viewpoint and so consider the distinct historical, socio-political and strategic conditions found in this part of the world.

Ross Babbage, ‘National Security Studies: What at the Distinguishing Features?’ View the paper [PDF 186KB]
Brendan Taylor, ‘The Evolution of National Security Studies’ View the paper [PDF 134KB]
Hugh White, ‘The Idea of National Security: What Use is it to Policy Makers?’ View the paper [PDF 113KB]
Stephan Fruhling, ‘Ghosts of Papers Past: The Strategic Basis Papers and Australian National Strategy in the Twenty First Century’View the paper [PDF 183KB]
Andrew O’Neil, ‘Conceptualising Future Threats to Australia’s Security’ View the paper [PDF 166KB]

Collaborative Leadership within the National Security Community
A Literature Review

This literature review accompanies Occasional Paper 1. It examines the meaning of collaborative leadership from a number of different perspectives, and includes short cases to illustrate this concept from the viewpoint of national security organisations.

View the paper [PDF 575KB]

An Idea in Good Currency:
Collaborative Leadership in the National Security Community

The importance of collaborative leadership is widely acknowledged in Australia's national security community. But what is collaborative leadership? How do national security professionals learn about it? This National Security College Occasional Paper addresses both these questions and explores the extent to which a shared understanding of collaborative leadership exists in today's national security community.

View the paper [PDF 310KB]

Recent External Publications

Roberts Christopher (2012), ‘Laos: a More Mature and Robust State?’, in Daljit Singh and Pushpa Thambipillai (eds.), Southeast Asian Affairs 2012 (ISEAS: Singapore), pp.153-168.

Roberts Christopher (2012),' ASEAN Regionalism: Cooperation, Values and Institutionalisation', (Routledge: London).

Roberts Christopher (2012), 'State Weakness and Political Values: Ramifications for the ASEAN Community', in Ralf Emmers (ed) ASEAN and the Institutionalisation of East Asia (Routledge: London).

Enemark Christian (2011), 'Farewell to WMD: The Language and Science of Mass Destruction', Contemporary Security Policy 32, no. 2: 382-400.

Enemark Christian (2011), 'Drones over Pakistan: Secrecy, Ethics and Counterinsurgency', Asian Security 7, no. 218-237.

Roberts Christopher (2011), 'Region and Identity: The Many Faces of Southeast Asia', Asian Politics and Policy, vol.3, no.3, 2011, pp.365-382.

Roberts Christopher (2011), 'Changing Myanmar: Foreign Relations and the Futility of Isolation', Security Challenges, vol.7, no.4, 2011, pp.77-101.

Roberts Christopher (2011), 'Brunei Darussalam: Consolidating the Foundations of its Future?', in Daljit Singh (ed.), Southeast Asian Affairs 2011 (ISEAS: Singapore).

Thompson Sue (2011), 'The Western powers and the development of regional cooperation in Southeast Asia: the international dimension, 1945-67' in Global Change, Peace & Security, Vol 23, No. 1.

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