AUKUS in Context: Security and Strategy Implications for the Indo-Pacific and Globally

This continuing professional development (CPD) course developed in collaboration with the PLuS Alliance partners will include:

• Expert-led briefings informed by the latest research on all aspects of the AUKUS agreement 
• Live forums with experts
• Unique opportunity for collaboration and knowledge-sharing
• Course concludes with a 2-hour live online wargame

The course is focused on both furthering participant understanding of the AUKUS trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, launched in September 2021, and its potential impact on regional and global security. It will examine key aspects of the partnership including the joint development of nuclear submarines and other advanced technologies, providing a basic technical introduction for non-specialists, while also examining some of the challenges that are likely to be encountered in their development. It will also explore the strategic value of the pact for each of the member countries and how AUKUS fits into the regional security architecture in the Indo-Pacific and globally.

The PLuS Alliance is a longstanding partnership between three universities – Arizona State University in the United States, King’s College London, and University of New South Wales in Australia – providing support and innovation to help solve global challenges. The Security & Defence PLuS initiative of the PLuS Alliance expands upon this partnership, allowing the Alliance to help advance and support statecraft, research, and policy in the spirit of the AUKUS partnership.

This course aims to equip participants with an understanding of the focus, challenges and potential benefits of the AUKUS agreement, placing the agreement in a regional and global context. At the end of the course, participants will understand the background to the agreement, the options for and pitfalls inherent in technology sharing, the perspectives of each of the partner governments in signing the agreement, and the strategic impact of the agreement from both a regional and global perspective.

On successful completion of the course, participants will be able to: Understand the AUKUS agreement; be able to explain its origins, purpose and likely future development; analyse the challenges inherent in executing a complex security and technology agreement between three major powers; understand, analyse and evaluate the regional and global security implications of the agreement. Students will also be able to critically engage with a wide body of literature and concepts; develop informed and critical judgement; manage the individual learning process and identify and explain reasoned solutions to conceptual problems. 

Participants are expected to have a working knowledge of the security sector as this course is aimed at professionals in government and defence, as well as journalists and security and private security specialists.