Welcome to the School of International, Political & Strategic Studies

The School of International, Political & Strategic Studies (IPS) forms part of the ANU College of Asia & the Pacific. The School is dedicated to advancing analysis and understanding of the international, political, societal, and strategic affairs of Asia and the Pacific. The Director of the School is Professor Paul Hutchcroft.

The School's four component units creatively balance careful attention to political and social dynamics at the international and regional levels with those at the national and subnational levels:

• The Department of International Relations is a leading centre for the study of international and global politics.
  Head of Department: Professor William Tow
• The Department of Political & Social Change focuses on domestic and comparative politics and society in Asia-Pacific with particular emphasis on Southeast and Northeast Asia.
  Head of Department: Dr Ed Aspinall
• The State, Society & Governance in Melanesia Program (SSGM) is a leading centre for interdisciplinary research into contemporary issues in the Pacific and Timor Leste.
  Convenor: Dr Nicole Haley
• The Strategic & Defence Studies Centre (SDSC) is dedicated to rigorous and independent research into defence and strategic issues.
  Head of Centre: Professor Brendan Taylor

As global and local processes become increasingly intertwined, the School value's the diversity of its scholarly interests while together exploring the complex of political relations that enmesh the countries of Asia and the Pacific within their larger regional and international contexts.