About us
Our governance
Professor Evelyn Goh - Acting Head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre
Evelyn Goh is the Shedden Professor of Strategic Policy Studies at the Australian National University, where she is also Research Director at the Strategic & Defence Studies Centre. She has published widely on U.S.-China relations and diplomatic history, regional security order in East Asia, Southeast Asian strategies towards great powers, and environmental security. These include The Struggle for Order: Hegemony, Hierarchy and Transition in Post-Cold War East Asia (Oxford University Press, 2013); ‘Great Powers and Hierarchical Order in Southeast Asia: Analyzing Regional Security Strategies’, International Security 32:3 (Winter 2007/8):113-57; and Constructing the US Rapprochement with China, 1961-1974 (Cambridge University Press, 2004). Her most recent edited volume is Rising China’s Influence in Developing Asia (Oxford University Press, 2016), and her latest book (co-authored with Barry Buzan) is Re-thinking Sino-Japanese Alienation: History Problems and Historical Opportunities (Oxford University Press, 2020).
She is the co-Managing Editor of the Cambridge Studies in International Relations book series, and serves on the Editorial Boards of various academic journals, including International Security, International Theory, Asian Security, and Journal of Global Security Studies.
Dr Jean Bou - Program Convenor, Master of Strategic Studies
Dr Andrew Carr - Program Convenor, Bachelor of International Security Studies
Associate Professor Amy King - Director of Research
Former Heads of SDSC are a highly esteemed group of leading thinkers and educators who enjoyed distinguished careers in public service and academia. Learn more about our Former Heads of Centre.
Our mission
The Strategic & Defence Studies Centre (SDSC) is Australia’s largest body of scholars dedicated to the analysis of the use of armed force in its political context. As a leading international research institution specializing in strategy and defence, SDSC has a three-part mission:
To provide ‘real world’-focused strategic studies that is research-based, research-led and world-class. Our primary expertise within the broad field of Strategic Studies consists of three related research clusters: Australian defence, military studies, and Asia-Pacific security. Our scholarship in these areas is intended to be recognized internationally and of value to the Australian policy community; To prepare and educate the next generation of strategic leaders – military, civilian and academic – in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region by providing world-class graduate and undergraduate programs in strategic and defence studies; and to contribute toward a better-informed standard of public debate in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region using high-quality outreach and commentary on issues pertaining to our core areas of expertise.
Our vision
Founded in 1966, the Strategic & Defence Studies Centre is proud to be counted among the earliest generation of post-World War II research institutions dedicated to the analysis of the use of armed force in its political context. The Centre seeks to build upon our achievements over the past half century, and to play a leading role in shaping international strategic studies, policies and debates. Within the next decade, SDSC aims to position itself as the leading university-based institution for research, education, and outreach in strategic and defence issues in the Asia-Pacific region. In a fluid and fast-changing strategic milieu, we will invest in the strategic development of our research and teaching programs in order to play a leading role in defining Strategic Studies for our age. Our goal is to shape the areas of scholarship and policy-making which will inform the leadership of the Asia Pacific, and equip strategic planners and analysts to be bold and innovative in addressing the challenges of the future.
