History of the Australian Defence Studies Centre
1987-2004
The Australian Defence Studies Centre (ADSC) had its origins in the Australian Study Group on Armed Forces and Society convened by Dr (later Associate Professor) Hugh Smith. The Group was based at RMC Duntroon and held annual conferences from 1979 onwards on themes relating to Australian society and its armed forces. With the opening of the Australian Defence Force Academy in 1986 it was decided to expand and develop the activities of the organisation.
The ADSC was formally established by the University of New South Wales in 1987 at University College, ADFA with three principal objectives:
- to promote research and study in all aspects of Australian defence
- to support and assist postgraduate and honours degree students in the relevant fields
- to cooperate with other organisations involved in the study of Australian defence.
The first Director of the Centre was Dr Hugh Smith, then of the School of Politics, who initiated a program of annual conferences, seminars, publications and Visiting Fellows. One of the early Visiting Fellows was Major General John Coates whose next appointment was as Chief of the General Staff. The first member of staff appointed specifically to the Centre was a part-time research assistant who joined in August 1988. In the planning for ADFA the Centre had been allocated a small office and a reading room near the Schools of History and Politics.
An important element of the Centre has been its policy orientation and its focus on activities of direct interest and relevance to the ADF and Department of Defence. Some of the early conferences included ‘Rewarding the Defence Force', ‘The Military Profession in Australia' and ‘Australia and Peacekeeping' (the first conference on this topic in Australia). Proceedings of these conferences were also published by the Centre.
The activities of the Centre were greatly expanded by Dr (later Associate Professor) Anthony Bergin who served as Director of the Centre from 1991 to 2003. The principal activities of the Centre in this period took the form of conferences, publications, Visiting Fellowships and linkages with the ADF and overseas organisations.
Conferences
Over 50 defence-related conferences were organised of which some 26 were major events, attracting substantial audiences and speakers from universities and other organisations in Australia and overseas. Topics ranged from women in the military to project management in Defence, from security of the Torres Strait to the future of airpower, and from peacekeeping to unmanned aerial vehicles. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 two major conferences with national and international speakers and audiences focused on homeland security.
The conferences also provided occasions for inter-disciplinary efforts among the various Schools at University College. Conferences were convened in collaboration with Economics and Management on topics such as project management and logistics, with History on topics such as prisoners of war and the history of Australia's defence industry, and with Geography and Oceanography on the theme of defence and the environment. As a result of these conferences and similar activities over 30 academic staff from eight Schools contributed to ADSC publications.
Publications
The Centre aimed to provide ideas and to support debate on issues of interest to Defence and the wider community in an accessible and prompt a form as possible. To this end the ADSC undertook a substantial publication program. A series of Working Papers was initiated which facilitated publication of views and arguments by ADF personnel, Defence officials, academics and others. In appropriate cases conference papers were published and on occasions the Centre also published papers for Chief of Army conferences. A series of public lectures at University College given by staff and visitors on the topic of strategy was also published. Some of these publications are used as textbooks at ADFA and other universities.
Visiting Fellows
From the early 1990s the number of Visiting Fellows averaged about four new appointments each year. In addition to ADF personnel and Defence officials, the program included visitors from other universities and the Australian Federal Police. Of particular value were Visiting Fellows from overseas, including Singapore, India, Malaysia, Japan, China, South Korea, Japan, the United States, New Zealand and Israel. From 1999 onwards the Japanese Defense Agency has sent a Fellow to the Centre for periods up to six months.
Linkages with the ADF
The Centre's focus on policy relevant issues of importance to the ADF and the Department of Defence was reflected in attendance at conferences, meetings, lectures and other events. More substantive linkages were developed through cooperation with the three single-service studies centres of the ADF, currently known as the Seapower Centre, the Land Warfare Studies Centre and the Air Power Development Centre. A number of activities were undertaken jointly with these Centres such as organisation of conferences and workshops, and support for visiting academics and officials.
Links with the ADF were also consolidated through the Centre acting as host for the CDF Visiting Fellow on an annual basis through a memorandum of understanding. The Centre also hosted a number of Chief of Army Visiting Fellows.
Overseas Linkages
As regional engagement became an increasingly important element of Australian defence policy, the Centre decided to develop linkages with counterpart institutions in the Asia-Pacific. The idea was to promote debate and discussion on defence and security issues at ‘second-track' level among military and civilian personnel. Of particular note were:
- three meetings in Jakarta with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences in 2000-1 at a time when official relations were difficult after the events in East Timor of 1999.
- a two-day conference in Manila with the Philippines National Defense University in 20001 opened by the Secretary of Defense of the Philippines
- a three-day workshop with the National Defence Academy and the Institute of Strategy in Vietnam — the first meeting of its kind between Australia and Vietnam.
All of these linkages were encouraged and in some cases financially supported by the Department of Defence in Australia. More informal links were also created with numerous counterpart organisations in Southeast Asia as well as in the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel.
Another international event of note was a workshop on the sociology of armed forces in Southeast Asia held in the Centre in 1996. Funded in part through the US-based Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, it was attended by representatives from ten countries, including the military sociologist, Charles Moskos.
Staff and facilities
To support the growing level of activities the Centre's staff grew to include a full-time Executive Director and a secretary. At times a publications officer and a development officer were also employed.
A major advance for the Centre came in 1995 with the opening of a new building by the Chief of Defence Force. Funded by the Department of Defence, this provided 15 offices and two seminar rooms as well as appropriate accommodation and facilities for staff.