Impact

The real world impact of the RegNet Geoeconomics group is illustrated in the following research grants and activities:

The geoeconomics of critical technology standards in Southeast Asia

Our geoeconomics research informs new approaches to thinking about the importance of critical technology standards and standard setting. Standards are vital not only to unlock the economic opportunity offered by critical technology, but via their “geoeconomic” dimension, affecting broader patterns of geopolitical security, which in turn makes standard-setting a domain of strategic competition. Funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, this new project will deliver a series of virtual training workshops to partner governments in Southeast Asia to raise awareness of the importance of geoeconomics with respect to technology standards and related governance arrangements. The workshops and underlying research will support Australia’s long-term engagement with Southeast Asian governments by communicating the geoeconomic context, including economic opportunities and potential risks, and the consequences of alternative policy approaches with respect to standard setting.

Engaging with private sector on the intersection of economics, security and technology

Under a grant funded by National Foundation for Australia China Relations, members of the geoeconomics working group are holding executive workshops for Australian business leaders on issues related to geoeconomics and economic issues in China. The workshops will focus on issues of immediate concern such as economic coercion and mitigation strategies, as well as longer-term trends such as the impact of new technology, technology governance and standards, and rapidly changing trade and investment regulatory regimes. These activities are designed to help businesses build resilience, and to identify and manage risks associated with their direct and indirect economic interests in relation to China. The workshops are designed to deliver findings from the group’s cutting-edge research to Australian businesses that are trying to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the changing geoeconomic landscape.

Navigating the Emerging Geoeconomic Order: Integrating Economics, Security and Technology

The global and regional strategic environment is fundamentally changing. Whereas economics and security used to operate as largely separate fields, the two are converging in new ways. States are increasingly conscious of the vulnerabilities associated with economic interdependence and digital connectivity. Responding to this challenge, this multi-year project leverages the ANU Geoeconomics Working Group—a unique interdisciplinary group with expertise in security, economics, cyber issues, political science and law—to provide frameworks for understanding how economic relationships and policy instruments can be sources of leverage, and for evaluating cross-cutting risks and opportunities at the nexus of economics, security and technology. This project is funded by the Australian Defence Department and will culminate in a public report about navigating the emerging geoeconomic order.

Courses and Teaching

The members of the Geoeconomics group are engaged in teaching the following course in Australia and the United States that relate to geoeconomics and evolving notions of national security:

Security in the Indo-Pacific (Course taught by Dr. Benjamin Herscovitch at the National Security College, ANU)

National security is about the nexus of international and domestic security, and Australia’s security is bound up with its region, increasingly defined by governments as the Indo-Pacific. This course thus introduces students to the challenges and choices facing national security policy-makers in an era of connectivity and contestation across the Pacific and Indian oceans. The debate about the Indo-Pacific as a coherent regional framework will be introduced, along with implications for the security interests of key regional powers, notably China, India, Japan, Indonesia, the United States and Australia. The interstate and transnational dimensions of Indo-Pacific security challenges will be considered, including how risks related to climate change, maritime resource management, pandemics and piracy connect with interstate competition. In keeping with the National Security College signature pedagogy, this course will integrate academic expertise and the perspectives of senior policy practitioners. It will draw on resident expertise in National Security College and Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. The course will conclude with a geopolitical risk scenario, in which students represent the national security interests of multiple countries to present policy responses that integrate strategic, economic, diplomatic and narrative dimensions. This 3-unit course also serves to introduce students to options for deeper study on related topics in the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific.

Geoeconomics: Trade, Investment and Security (Course taught by Prof. Anthea Roberts at Harvard Law School)

In the post-Cold War period, economics and national security were relatively separate realms, both in policymaking and scholarship. But recent years have seen a marked convergence in the economic and security dimensions of policy and regulatory challenges facing many governments including Australia, China, Germany, Japan, Russia, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This interdisciplinary course introduces students to the study of geoeconomics, which sits at the intersection of geopolitics, economics, security, law, and technology policy. It explores the way in which major power rivalry is reshaping international trade and investment and their associated legal regimes across domains as diverse as supply chains, export controls, trade tariffs, investment screening, and student visas. It examines changing ideas about the opportunities and vulnerabilities associated with economic interdependence, particularly with respect to critical infrastructure and technology. It uses topical case studies, including economic coercion campaigns and the regulation of 5G networks, to examine the policy trade-offs and governance challenges involved in integrating economic and security considerations.

Geoeconomics and National Security (Course taught by Dr. Darren Lim at the National Security College, ANU)

National security and economics are often treated as separate realms, both in policymaking and scholarship. But the early 21st century is marked by a convergence of security and economic factors in the national security challenges facing governments. This course introduces students to the intersection of economics and security, captured in the concept of ‘geoeconomics’. It focuses on the uses – and limitations – of economic relations as an instrument of state power. Students are introduced to the longstanding connection between economics and national security; basic principles of economic theory; the mechanisms/instruments of geoeconomic statecraft (such as trade, finance and institutions); contemporary geoeconomic challenges, such as economic coercion, critical infrastructure and critical technologies; and the policy challenges involved in developing national responses that integrate security and economic considerations. The course will take a global perspective, but with case studies focused on China, the Indo-Pacific and Australia.

Leadership, Risk and National Security Crisis Management (Course taught by Prof. Anthea Roberts, Dr. Dirk van der Kley and Mark Crosweller at the National Security College, ANU)

Crises are endemic to national security policymaking. The modern era is punctuated by crises emanating from the natural and social worlds that threaten local, national and international security. This course considers this backdrop of threats alongside changing notions of ‘threat’, ‘risk’ and ‘crisis’ and challenges participants to determine how leadership and policymaking can reconcile the competing imperatives of national security and the public interest in the midst of crisis. This course introduces students to this important and challenging field through: (1) exploration of definitions and theories of national security and approaches to leadership, risk assessment/mitigation and crisis management; and (2) the application of this conceptual material to empirical cases of domestic, international and transnational crises. Conceptual approaches are complemented by insights from policy practitioners with extensive experience of crisis response.

China, America and National Security (Course taught by Dr. Dirk van der Kley at the National Security College, ANU)

This course examines the relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which will likely shape international security – and heavily influence Australia’s interests - for the foreseeable future. It is organised around three core questions: (i) how do the United States and China respectively understand national security?; (ii) how have changing power dynamics between the two affected their geopolitical, geoecominc and institutional preferences?; (iii) how might this impact their handling of potential flashpoints in their relationship?; and iv) what are the implications for the security interests of third countries, notably Australia?

News and Events

Prof. Anthea Roberts helps to launch a new report from the at the ANU National Security College on Adapting Australia to an era of geoeconomic competition; 11 February 2021

China’s terrifying master plan for Australia, ANU warns, February 28, 2021