Handbook

Subject Area: Politics and International Relations
This course can also be studied in the following specialisation: Asian Studies

The Indo-Pacific is a new and dynamic region, one that poses significant challenges and opportunities. In this course, you will explore the concept of the Indo-Pacific as a coherent regional construct, one that reflects the increasing interaction and connectivity between the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean regions. The concept of the Indo-Pacific is contested, and you will examine different conceptions of the Indo-Pacific and where its regional boundaries lie. In doing so, you will also consider different approaches to regions and regionalism, and the problems and prospects therein. The course will also introduce you to the significant political, strategic and economic issues that the region poses and the foreign policies of major regional actors, including India, China, the US, Japan and Australia. These issues and challenges are both interstate and transnational in nature, and include strategic rivalry and competition between major regional actors, counter-piracy, maritime surveillance, and trade.