This is a core course in the Master of National Security Policy degree. It is also available as an elective to other students seeking a broad introduction to national security policy that bridges the practical and the conceptual. This course examines the structures, processes, actors and norms of national security policymaking, with reference to the Australian experience. The subject matter includes: the challenge of translating national security concepts into addressing practical policy problems; the nature, purpose and limitations of national security policymaking; actors, interests and structures in national security; practical aspects of national security policymaking including strategy, risk management and the impact of technology; the role of the private sector, interest groups, the media and academia/think tanks; national security policymaking in comparative perspective; and prospects for reform.

In line with the NSC’s signature pedagogy, this course is delivered as a collaboration between an academic convener and a policy practitioner. Guest presentations are included, both from other national security academics and from current and former senior policymakers, with the course convener and practitioner acting as discussants to sustain engagement with the content combining concepts and practice. Several of the seminars in the course provide a preview of other national security (elective) courses, improving students’ ability to structure their study experience. A highlight of the course is a fully-fledged exercise simulating whole-of-government national security policymaking in a crisis scenario.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Apply concepts of national security to critically analyse practical national security policymaking
2. Demonstrate a working understanding of the context, processes, challenges and options for national security policy development and implementation
3. Understand the workings of the Australian national security policy community, including as a model to assess the national security architecture in other countries
4. Conduct independent research on national security policy issues
5. Develop and communicate ideas, analysis, and argument in a range of written and oral forms for professional and scholarly audiences.

Research-Led Teaching

N/A

Field Trips

N/A

Additional Course Costs

N/A

Examination Material or equipment

N/A

Required Resources

A wide range of relevant texts to be provided to students via Wattle site. There is no one prescribed textbook.

Recommended Resources

It is important that students read widely on current issues in Australian national security and international affairs, eg. media, blogs, journals, National Security College policy publications, parliamentary Hansard, White Papers, speeches, political biographies etc.

A good primer is:

Catherine Althaus, Peter Bridgman and Glyn Davis, The Australian Policy Handbook: A Practical Guide to the Policy-making Process, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 2018 or the new edition released in 2023

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• Written comments
• Verbal comments
• Feedback to the whole class, to groups, to individuals, focus groups

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Other Information

CRAWFORD ACADEMIC SKILLS

The Crawford School of Public Policy has its own Academic Skills team dedicated to helping students to understand the academic expectations of studying at Crawford and succeed in their chosen program of study. Through individual appointments, course-embedded workshops and online resources, Crawford Academic Skills provides tailored advice to students keen to develop their academic reading, thinking, planning, writing, and presentation skills.CRAWFORD ACADEMIC SKILLS

The Crawford School of Public Policy has its own Academic Skills team dedicated to helping students to understand the academic expectations of studying at Crawford and succeed in their chosen program of study. Through individual appointments, course-embedded workshops and online resources, Crawford Academic Skills provides tailored advice to students keen to develop their academic reading, thinking, planning, writing, and presentation skills.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	How we got here
2	Politics and parliament
3	Law and national security policy
4	Departments, agencies and the policy process and cycle	Oral Presentation: due 18 August
5	The policy-intelligence nexus
6	'External' influences: media, civil society, think tanks, academia, industry
7	Strategy and geoeconomics
8	Leadership, crisis and risk	Research Essay: due 29 September
9	Technology and national security policy
10	Federalism and subnational security
11	National security policy in a comparative perspective	Policy brief: due 20 October
12	Policy exercise	Policy exercise debrief: due 3 November

Tutorial Registration

Non-Compulsory

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Spoken presentation on framing a policy problem	15 %	18/08/2024	30/08/2024	1, 2, 3, 5
Research Essay	50 %	29/09/2024	13/10/2024	1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Policy brief	25 %	20/10/2024	03/11/2024	1, 2, 3, 5
Policy exercise debrief	10 %	03/11/2024	28/11/2024	1, 2, 5

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website Students may choose not to submit assessment items through Turnitin. In this instance you will be required to submit, alongside the assessment item itself, hard copies of all references included in the assessment item.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Students are strongly encouraged to participate in seminars and tutorials. Participation will be especially beneficial in preparing for the assessment tasks.

Assessment Task 1

Spoken presentation on framing a policy problem

Students will be asked to record a video presentation of 5 minutes framing a national security policy problem. Full details including rubric will be provided in week 1.

Due: 18 August at 11.55pm

Length: 5 minutes maximum

Assessment Task 2

Research Essay

Due 29 September at 11.55pm

Word length: 3,000 words

The ANU College of Asia and the Pacific’s Word Length and Excess Word Penalty Guidelines applies to this assessment item and can be found here.

Assessment Task 3

Policy brief

Students will be asked to provide a policy brief providing recommendations for a government to address a national security problem. Full details, examples of previous high-scoring work, and a rubric will be provided in week 6.

Due: 20 October at 11:55pm

Word length: 1,500 words

The ANU College of Asia and the Pacific’s Word Length and Excess Word Penalty Guidelines applies to this assessment item and can be found here.

Assessment Task 4

Policy exercise debrief

This assessment will ask students to critically reflect on their experience in the Week 12 exercise and make connections with the course material. Further details will be provided in Week 10.

Due: 3 November 2024 at 11:55pm

Word length: 800 words

The ANU College of Asia and the Pacific’s Word Length and Excess Word Penalty Guidelines applies to this assessment item and can be found here.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of our culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically. This means that all members of the community commit to honest and responsible scholarly practice and to upholding these values with respect and fairness. The Australian National University commits to embedding the values of academic integrity in our teaching and learning. We ensure that all members of our community understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with. The University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Visit the following Academic honesty & plagiarism website for more information about academic integrity and what the ANU considers academic misconduct. The ANU offers a number of services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. The Academic Skills and Learning Centre offers a number of workshops and seminars that you may find useful for your studies.

Online Submission

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure The Course Convener may grant extensions for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information. In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service — including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy. If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes. Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Access and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents all ANU students