Competing strategic imaginaries in Asia - Professor Evelyn Goh

The contemporary struggle in Asia is as much about competing strategic 'imaginaries' as it is about military or economic power. Geopolitics is a way of framing the world; it rests on imagining and prioritizing some form of connectivity: which parts are connected to each other more importantly than with others? Thus, geopolitical competition is essentially a contest over which imagined connected community is most important.

Professor Evelyn Goh analyses the three main competing strategic imaginaries of Asia today: the ‘Asia-Pacific’; a revived 'Greater Asia' made possible by China's resurgence; and the ‘Indo-Pacific’ visions. All three will persist for the foreseeable future, and will affect how international actors deal with Asia.

Evelyn Goh is Professor of strategic policy studies and Research Director at the Strategic & Defence Studies Centre.

Evelyn moved to Australia and the ANU in August 2013, and has held previous faculty positions at Royal Holloway University of London (2008-13); the University of Oxford (2006-8); and the Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore (2002-5).

This series of Public Lectures seeks to stimulate public discussion on major challenges relating to Australia’s strategic and defence policy and to contribute to the vital national conversation about Australia’s future in the Indo-Pacific.