School of Politics & International Relations

This seminar will explore two broad, but ultimately unreconcilable, understandings of what al-Qa’ida in Yemen ‘really is’: one legible, organisationally rational and thus governable; and one not entirely so. I’ll argue that the divergence between these two ontologies matters—and is even part of the group survives and reproduces. That’s because Western counter-terrorism practices target a stripped-down, synoptic version of al-Qa’ida while missing, and even empowering, the shadowy appendage of state or hegemonic power that animates popular Yemeni discourses.

After two decades in the global tech industry, Mark Shaw made a bold decision to shift his career trajectory by pursuing a Master of Political Science (Advanced) at the Australian National University (ANU). The mid-life career change came after working as a part-time lecturer and tutor at the ANU College of Business and Economics.

On any given day in Jordan, more than nine million residents eat approximately ten million loaves of khubz 'arabi—the slightly leavened flatbread known to many as pita. Some rely on this bread to avoid starvation; for others it is a customary pleasure. Yet despite its ubiquity in accounts of Middle East politics and society, rarely do scholarly accounts consider how bread is prepared, consumed, discussed, and circulated—and how, in turn, we can theorise from such ordinary processes.

Who is a minority? The answer to this seemingly innocuous question is not obvious. Colonial constructions of the minority were shaped by racialised assumptions about the cultural other. The minority as the cultural other has seeped into nationalist imaginaries of postcolonial nation-states. Hegemonic constructions of gender, sexuality, and the family by postcolonial nation-states often serve as a cultural edifice for the construction of minorities and minority citizenship.

The Bachelor of Political Science is the only degree of its type in Australia offering unparalleled access and connections to the political heartbeat of the nation. The comparative nature of courses means you will develop an understanding of different systems of government using comparative methodology. The program places a major emphasis on students developing their research and analytical skills, with a required minimum of 12 units of courses on theory and 12 units of courses on method.

Students in this highly structured degree will examine:

Look at graduates of PPE degrees from Universities around the world, and you quickly realise they go places. They are in the top tiers of government, are editors in media, and directors of research institutions. Rewind a bit, and Liam was looking through course offerings, thinking about what to study at ANU. PPE stood out, and an article in The Guardian about the calibre of people who had done it in the UK convinced him it was worth a shot.

Turbulent Protagonist, it’s a personality type characterised by thoughtfulness, empathy, idealism, and a drive to understand and help others. It’s the personality type Yihan identified with, and why she explains she was so interested in studying international relations.