November 4: Strategic studies are no longer confined to military issues. Trade, environment, demography, narcotics and the like are today of considerable importance in the realm of strategic thinking. The inter-disciplinary nature of contemporary strategic studies has also made it incumbent on national governments to seek support from the private sector organisations and local interest groups in defining their respective strategic policies.

Prominent academic and military institutions specialising in strategic studies have recognised this emerging trend and sought to make necessary changes in their curriculum. The Australian College of Defence and Strategic Studies (ACDSS) is one of them, and has endeavoured to make the subject truly broadbased.

ACDSS is not a typical national defence college in that its activities are not confined to the concerns of the Australian government alone. Instead, the college takes up the strategic concerns of the entire Asia-Pacific region, and in the process, has addressed key strategic concerns of a number of countries in the region. The ACDSS facilities, based in Canberra, are open to participants from other Asia-Pacific countries. Air Marshall R G Funnell, AC (Retd), principal of the college, reveals that this year ``out of the 35 participants for the 12-month programme at the ACDSS, 15 were from overseas''.

The ACDSS programme provides the participants with ``a deeper understanding of the strategic factors and a broader understanding of the defence and security issues affecting the modern world, with emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region''.

Participants are appraised on the ``scope, forms and potential for regional cooperation, challenges of policy development and management in the defence and security field, as also the precepts, values and ethics in the profession of arms''.

Although the ACDSS curriculum is very broad, the college functions with only a small permanent staff. Explains Funnell, ``We are a little different from the other defence colleges in that we have only a small permanent faculty. What we did with our academic programme is that we broke it down to various units of academic work. After which, through an open tender we entered into contracts with 22 large independent universities of Australia and some consulting firms to send faculty members to our college to conduct our programmes in our own way.''

Says he, ``This was one way a small college like ours could get a high quality faculty.''

``It is three years since we have come into being, and the results have been excellent,'' says the principal.

The ACDSS academic staff is deeply involved in building Australia's perception of the other Asia-Pacific countries. To do this, the college conducts regular overseas field tours. In fact, A G Funnel was in Delhi recently, with a team of 23, for this very purpose of gaining first-hand knowledge of India. About the field tours, he says, ``Every year, we conduct four study tours in Australia, and two overseas tours, each of two weeks. We visit Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, and the South Pacific. That apart, we conduct tours to China, Japan and India on a rotational basis.''

``The objective is to add some more flavour and some direct knowledge to the rather bare academic study we undertake back in our campus in Canberra,'' he says.

Funnell admits that a two-week visit is too short a time to gain expertise on a particular country. Yet, he says that the direct knowledge the team gains is invaluable in the make-up of the college's academic exercises.The ACDSS team on tour follows a particular format. Before leaving Canberra, the team goes through a lot of research material on the country that is in focus. That apart, they also have a series of background briefings. For instance, says Funnell, ``We had the Indian high commissioner coming to our college in Canberra and talking to us before we came here.''

``Once we reach the destination country, we break up into small groups and interact with a large number of local groups and organisations. There is an exchange of ideas. And once we get back to Canberra, we put together our experiences, hold structured sessions during which a whole range of questions are raised on the subjects that have been surveyed.''

Says Funnell, ``We always encourage our participants to elevate themselves in an intellectual way to strategic thinking.''

The ACDSS curriculum involves studies on trade and economic issues. Says Funnell, ``In our college programme, we do have courses that build up participants' knowledge about economic aspects, international trade and finance. There is growing interaction between the trade and security areas, and with this emerging concept of geo-economics, we cannot overlook international trade as a subject.''

Says he, ``The trade linkages between various countries have helped to dampen the tensions, which, in the previous era, would have been more difficult to contain. Trade and economic linkages have indeed modified nations behaviour at the political level.''

As for the college's association with Indian institutions, Funnell says that the `Look East Policy' of India will ensure greater cooperation between strategic studies institutions in India and Australia. As of now, the ACDSS team is more interested in building their own knowledge of India through study tours. But, in the foreseeable future, one can see Indian defence and strategic experts visiting the ACDSS for engaging in studies on Asia-Pacific affairs.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.