This course affirms the central importance of political culture, as a methodology, within the field of International and Political Studies. Understanding the complex interconnections between culture and conflict is an increasingly challenging issue for defence and security planners, and is indispensable in the context of complex operational deployments. This is nowhere more apparent than in Australia's immediate, culturally diverse, strategic environment.
Drawing upon key conceptual debates concerning political culture, students will analyse the role of culture in the causes and courses of a range of violent conflicts, past and present. The course is divided into four sections: understanding political culture and interpreting the role of culture in conflicts; seminal works and significant approaches to political culture; assumptions and misperceptions of the cultural causes of conflict and; finally, a critical evaluation of challenges that have arisen in Australia's strategic engagement and operational deployments.
Jointly convened by scholars who approach this subject from compatible but distinct fields of research, the course seeks to stimulate a lively cross-disciplinary engagement with the subject matter. Students are encouraged to draw upon their own knowledge and experience in their analyses.