Shadow Syllabus, AUKUS and its Discontents

Autumn 2025

School of Social Science, Monash University

This webinar in a part of a series. Past webinars can be viewed on YouTube by clicking this link.

Trump 2.0 and the mutation of militarised neoliberalism

Presentation by Dr Trissia Wijaya, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, The University of Melbourne

About AUKUS and its Discontents Shadow Syllabus

AUKUS is a security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Encouraging a diversity of perspectives, we hope to examine both the strategic merits and potential drawbacks of AUKUS. Since its announcement in 2021, AUKUS has been met with a range of perspectives. While many see it as a strategic step forward in strengthening regional security and defense partnerships, others have raised concerns about its necessity and potential implications for people, ecological impacts, human rights, prospects for peace, relationships with Asia-Pacific neighbours, the education sector, and ultimately, Australia’s place in the world.

This shadow syllabus, consisting of online lunchtime webinars, critically examines the AUKUS Agreement from a broad lens. Open to all, it offers an informal learning environment for considered reflection. The aim is to contribute to informed discussion on peace, security, and the future of Australia and our region. The presenters will be academics, representatives of AUKUS-related institutions, and members of social movements. A shadow syllabus is an informal or supplementary guide to a formal program. This syllabus emerged from discussions in Dr Samanthi J Gunawardana's ATS3697 Gender and International Relations class, which was run in Semester 2, 2024.

Recommended Resources (provided access after registration):

Trissia Wijaya & Ali Hayes. (2024). "AUKUS Behind the Scene: through the lens of militarised neoliberalism", Australian Journal of International Affairs, online first, 10.1080/10357718.2024.2398745

Trissia Wijaya & Kanishka Jayasuriya, (2024). "A new multipolar order: Combined development, state forms, and new business classes,International Affairs, online first, doi: 10.1093/ia/iiae135

Trissia Wijaya & Kanishka Jayasuriya. (2024). “Militarized neoliberalism and the reconstruction of the global political economy”. New Political Economy, online first, https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2023.2298199

Trissia Wijaya & Ali Hayes, (2023). “State transformation and class relations under the shadow of economic security: The case of Japan”. The Asia Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, 21(12), https://apjjf.org/2023/21/wijaya-hayes