The College was fortunate to host a wide range of local and international guest speakers over the last six months and we're pleased to be able to note that these events are now attracting a regular following.

In late July, Matthew Arnold of the UN World Food Programme gave an engaging talk on The fallacy of Humanitarian Neutrality . The presentation was decidedly informal and attendees appreciated the candid insight which Mr Arnold offered into the effects of international aid.

This was followed later in the month by a seminar given by Ambassador Harun ur Rashid, former Ambassador of Bangladesh and Ambassador to the UN in Geneva , on Third World Diplomacy . Ambassador Rashid gave an interesting perspective on how Third World countries can unite for common aims.

Professor Hilary Charlesworth of ANU is well-known for her expertise in the international law arena, and strong interest shown in her Women, Conflict and State-buliding public seminar which was delivered in September.

His Excellency Olara Otunnu, Former United Nations Under-Secretary-General visited Australia in mid-November in order to accept to the Sydney Peace Prize of 2005. During this visit, he made time to deliver a presentation on the Challenges facing Africa at a well-attended public lecture which was organised by the APCD in co-operation with the Commonwealth Round Table in Australia .

The last public lecture of the year for the APCD, and co-hosted with the Centre of International and Public Law of ANU, was International refugee protection: a work in progress – ‘History & its lessons' delivered by Dr Guy Goodwin-Gill QC of University of Oxford in the UK. Dr Goodwin-Gil was brought to Australia by the Refugee Council of Australia and the APCD lecture formed one of three which he delivered during his visit.

If you would like to be advised of upcoming events of the APCD, please do not hesitate to contact the Executive Officer who will be pleased to place you on our events notification list.

In August 2005, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, H.E. Dr Abdullah Abdullah, travelled to Australia for the opening in Canberra of Afghanistan's new embassy building in Deakin. During his visit, he gave a public lecture at the Australian National University , and the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ian Chubb, hosted a dinner in his honour. At the dinner, Professor Chubb announced that as a contribution to the rebuilding of Afghanistan , the ANU would convene a week-long course on diplomacy for staff of the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the capital, Kabul , in December. This was the product of an initiative taken by Professor Amin Saikal, Director of the ANU's Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, in consultation with staff of the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy.

Superficially, Afghanistan might appear an unpromising venue for the running of a diplomatic training program. The travel advisory notices of a number of Western foreign ministries recommend that one defer all travel to the country, and until recently it has been a difficult land to access. But it also has much in its favour, including great physical beauty, warm and generous people, and a strong tradition of professionalism in the management of foreign relations, something disrupted only by the crisis triggered by the communist coup of April 1978 and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979. The modern Foreign Ministry dates from the appointment of Mahmoud Tarzi as Foreign Minister in March 1919, and since then it has produced a number of distinguished international figures including Abdul Rahman Pazhwak, President of the UN General Assembly in 1966; Dr Abdul Hakim Tabibi, onetime Chair of the International Law Commission; and Dr Ravan Farhadi, currently Afghan Permanent Representative at the United Nations, who was a Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University in 1985.

Most importantly of all, in Afghanistan there is a significant need for advanced diplomatic training. The turmoil through which Afghanistan passed after 1978, and particular during the Taliban occupation of Kabul from 1996 to 2001, left the Foreign Ministry severely scarred. Many leading staff members were lost, and a scarcity of resources affected both the ministry's daily operations, and the renewal of its personnel. Added to this, since late 2001 the demand for an Afghan presence in diverse international for a has rocketed, placing enormous strains on the ministry's existing staff. Thus, the need to shape new cohorts of young Afghan diplomats is very great.

The teaching team of ANU consisted of four: Professor Saikal; myself; Mr Tony Godfrey-Smith, former Australian High Commissioner to Samoa and a Visiting Fellow in the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy; and Mr Ahmad Shayeq Qassem, an Afghan diplomat on leave from the Foreign Ministry to conduct research on Afghan foreign relations as a Research Scholar in the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies. Reaching Afghanistan was quite straightforward: Indian Airlines now flies between Delhi and Kabul three times a week, and there are no difficulties in paying for and obtaining one's ticket in Canberra . Shayeq Qassem had been in Kabul for some weeks; I arrived on 8 December, and the remaining members of our delegation arrived on Saturday 10 December in time for a Sunday morning start.

Our official host for the program was the Institute of Diplomacy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headed by Mr Hafizullah Ebadi, a career diplomat with over thirty years' experience. Working alongside him was Mr Tor Achekzai, Advisor to the Institute, and formerly a Professor of Journalism at Kabul University , who was actively involved in revising the Institute's curricula. They and their staff proved extraordinarily helpful and obliging, and made the program run smoothly from a logistical point of view.

The program was opened by Foreign Minister Abdullah, accompanied by the Deputy Foreign Minister (Administration), Dr Mohammed Haider Reza, and the Deputy Foreign Minister (Economic Affairs), Mr Mahmoud Saikal. The program itself wove together four differenty strands. I lectured on ‘Classical Diplomacy', ‘Transnational Diplomacy', ‘International Law', and ‘International Organisations'; Professor Saikal gave two lectures on ‘ Afghanistan in the Course of Modern History;, and also discussed ‘Afghanistan and its Region', and ‘Afghanistan and the Contemporary International Situation'. Mr Godfrey-Smith's presentations covered ‘The Role of a Diplomatic Mission', ‘Diplomatic Representation and Advocacy', ‘Diplomatic Reporting', and ‘Public Diplomacy and Diplomatic Postings/Assignments'. Mr Qassem gave two lectures on ‘ Afghanistan and Central Asia '. The program concluded with a roundtable discussion featuring all the presenters.

The program was attended by over forty participants, and our hosts reported that it was the best-attended training program since the Taliban were ousted. Some participants were recent recruits, while others had served in the ministry for some years, although not necessarily on foreign postings. Some spoke excellent English, and most spoke some; but Professor Saikal and Mr Qassem, who themselves lectured in Persian, translated the other presentations for the benefit of those participants whose English skills were basic. (I managed a conversation in Russian with a member of the class who had studied in the USSR in the 1980s.) The ministry staff were active and probing in the question periods, and we were delighted at the open, Socratic atmosphere which prevailed during the discussions. The course formally concluded with a reception at which Dr Abdullah presented ANU certificates of attendance to those who had taken part in the course.

It was an extremely interesting time to be in Kabul , as the new Parliament was to open on 19 December. Seminars were running in many venues to train new members of the Lower House ( Wolesi Jirga ) in parliamentary procedures, and a special seminar for women MPs was being held at the hotel in the Shahr-e Naw district in which we were staying. Tony Godfrey-Smith and I had a meeting with Younos Qanuni, who was subsequently elected Speaker of the Parliament, and the Foreign Minister hosted a lunch for our delegation, attended by a number of prominent figures including the Chancellor of Kabul University, Dr Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai. We also met with two members of the International Advisory Board of the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy, Dr Barnett R. Rubin of New York University, and journalist and author Ahmed Rashid, as well as the Special Representative of the European Union for Afghanistan, Francesc Vendrell.

Kabul has come a long way in the last ten years. When I was there in 1995, it had just emerged from three years of remorseless rocketing by extremists, and strongly resembled Berlin in 1945. The signs of that dreadful period are still to be seen, but international assistance has blanketed large parts of the city with new projects, masking the damage of earlier. But beneath the surface, life for ordinary Afghans is still very hard, and while we were there, protesters threw stones at a new five-star hotel, offering luxuries beyond the wildest dreams of the mass population. While the immediate cause of discontent was disruption to traffic flows in the hotel's vicinity, the protest pointed to undercurrents of frustration at what is seen as a slow pace of change. And if this is the case in Kabul , how much greater might be the stresses in the countryside, essentially another world from that which the capital offers.

But for all of that, Afghanistan has a magic of its own. The day before we left, we visited the town of Paghman , which is a sister city to Alice Springs . Nestled in a mountain range above Kabul , it boasts cool, clean air, stunning views, and—most improbably of all—a striking Triumphal Arch, modelled on the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile in Paris , which commemorates those who fought and died for Afghanistan 's freedom. It is a freedom for which Afghans have historically paid a very high price, and we therefore hope that our program, in its own small way, has made a contribution to the remarkable endeavours of a remarkable people.

Human Security Report 2005. War and Peace in the 21 st Century . Oxford University Press, New York , 2005, xi, pp.1-158. (Also on line at http://www.humansecurityreport.info/ )

The Human Security Report 2005 presents dramatic and counter-intuitive findings about contemporary global trends in political violence that will fascinate anyone interested in world politics. Compiled by a team led by Andrew Mack at the Human Security Centre, University of British Columbia , the Report shows a decline in the number of wars, genocide and human rights abuses over the past decade. Indeed, with the exception of terrorism, the Report finds a decline in every form of political violence. Contrary to most popular perceptions, which are usually informed by media reports implying political violence is on the rise, the world is becoming a safer place, even considering terrorism and the anomaly of Iraq .

Some of the compelling findings (some data is from existing records kept by well respected institutions such as the Uppsala Conflict Data Program and some is from commissioned studies) presented in the Report include the following:

• By 2003 there were 40 percent fewer conflicts than in 1992. The deadliest conflicts – those with 1,000 or more battle-deaths – fell by some 80 per cent.
• In the same period the number of genocides and other mass slaughters of civilians dropped by 80 percent.
• Core human rights abuses have declined in five out six regions of the developing world since the mid-1990s.

The Report's findings refute many other popular perceptions about conflict. For example, civilian deaths do not outnumber combatants and women are not disproportionately victimised.

In the short time since its publication in October 2005, the Report has received a great deal of international attention. Responses to the findings seem to vary. Some reveal incredulity that long-held and sensitive views about contemporary conflict can be so misinformed. Some question the Report's definition of human security, its methodology and explanations for the decline. Some reveal an audible sigh of relief that the UN is alive and doing something useful. And some express a concern that good news will take resources and attention away from continuing trouble spots.

However, some things about the Report are surely indisputable. First, it is essential reading for scholars, policy makers and the general public. Second, if policy is to be based on empirical substance, rather than politics and prejudice, then attempts to systematically map the nature and incidence of global violence should be continued and supported by more than the five far-sighted governments that funded the study. Third, the challenge is now for critics to produce their own data and associated narratives to counter the claims made in the Report. Fourth, the Report shows researchers that they can fruitfully combined both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. And finally, as the Report itself forecasts, the next challenge is to pursue further research into the human costs of war, to go beyond the number of battle deaths to map other dire consequences, such as the long-term health disabilities and the social disruption of conflict. Andrew Mack and his team deserve warm praise.

There has been some recent staff shuffling at APCD and, most noticeably, Ms Andrea Hease has joined the team as the newly-appointed Executive Officer. This position was recently vacated by Ms Kaye Eldridge who is now pursuing full-time study opportunities, although she remains part-time with APCD looking after various projects. Andrea first started at ANU seven years ago as the Executive Assistant to the Dean of the Faculty of Asian Studies. She moved into grants and developments and also the role as the Executive Officer of Aus-CSCAP (the Australian Member Committee of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia and Pacific).

Having worked in the private and public sectors, Andrea has seen many changes in the workplace but a particularly interesting period for her was her time at Parliament House working for the Rt Hon Ian Sinclair AC as an Electorate Officer and Adviser to the Speaker. Before this, she had never really been interested in politics but, after having worked in Parliament House, she definitely became more knowledgeable on the Australian political scene and certainly grew to be fascinated in how Parliament operated

The position of Executive Officer to the APCD is shaping to be one of her biggest challenges to date. ‘While I do have a strong interest in politics, I also enjoy learning about various cultures. That is one of the reasons why I was drawn to the College. Its ability to attract people from various backgrounds and then take back the knowledge they have gained from the College and put it into practice knowing that they can make a difference makes the College a proud place to be involved in,' Andrea explains.

‘After meeting many of the students, I'm still trying to identify how I can contribute but there is certainly a lot I can learn. There is little doubt that I have a good sense of humour but I think it is my ability to make people feel welcome and to get the job done with as little disruption as possible to the students and academics that makes me stand out.' Aside from politics and culture, Andrea has a keen interest in Egyptology and also the Ottoman Empire and one day hopes to do further study in either of these areas.

One effect of globalization is that the number of actors in world politics is rapidly expanding. It's not surprising then that Australia 's interests are increasingly being negotiated by the ‘international divisions' of government departments.

Mindful of this situation the APCD, at the request of the International Fisheries Section in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, designed a two-day short course on ‘Participating in International Conferences'.

The program included interactive workshops on: cultural frameworks to understand similarities and differences when dealing with overseas clients and partners; preparation and participation in international meetings; and frameworks and skills for negotiation in bilateral and multilateral meetings. One of the practical exercises that the 15 or so participants most enjoyed was the demanding task of negotiating a real-life issue that the International Fisheries Section often has to address. According to the participants the course ‘had lots of strengths, particularly the practical exercise'.

Presenters included Adjunct Professor Patricia Cameron (Visiting Fellow at the APCD), Professor Martin Tsamenyi (Professor of Law of the Centre for Maritime Policy at the University of Wollongong ), Ms Melinda Muir (Program Director at the National Graduate School , ANU) and Elizabeth Young (Director, WTO Trade Law Branch, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Canberra ).

On 1- 2 December, thirty well-renowned scholars and practitioners met in Canberra to discuss a number of presentations covering a range of aspects of the Australian-American alliance, the outcome of which will be a publication to be released by the APCD later this year. Two days of lively discussions took place with some of the issues covered including: a review of the phases of the alliance; the demands of American nationalism; costs and benefits of the alliance for Australia and the US ; and Australian attitudes to the alliance. Klaus-Peter Klaiber, KCMG, Distinguished Visiting Fellow of the APCD indicated that' the workshop demonstrated very clearly that the Australian academia and intelligentia see the Australia-US alliance positively in general but feel less inclined than the present liberal government to follow the US lead all the way and in every respect'. He further explained, ‘Most participants felt for example that Australia should not have participated in the coalition of the willing waging war in Iraq which now limits considerably the room for maneuver of the government in all security related questions.' For Garry Woodard, Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne and former Australian Ambassador, he believed that a review of relations with the US and the (now bilateral) alliance is timely. The unipolar era which they (the Americans) have anticipated may already be turning into the unipolar moment.' The common interest in intelligence (predating ANZUS) and military cooperation is solidly based. However, as Canada 's example shows, these assets did not require Australia to be a camp-follower of the US in Iraq ,which now requires a dispassionate costs/benefits evaluation.' ‘Counter-terrorism requires Australia to eschew alliance obligations which do not serve Australian national interests.' ‘The prospect was laid out that the US will become a greater demandeur, and even a conservative government will not find this congenial or readily reconcilable with its national and regional interests.

Worlds Apart? Exploring the Interface between Governance and Diplomacy 4-5 March 2006

A two-day conference co-hosted with the Centre of International Governance Innovation, Canada

Invitations have been issued

Chinese Diplomacy: Past, Present and Future Symposium 3-4 July 2006

An event co-hosted with the University of Foreign Affairs , China

Check our website for further details

Diplomatic Update November 2006

A one-two day event covering various aspects of and challenges to diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific region

Further details will be released on our website later in the year

Public lectures and seminars are also regularly organised by the College. Please check the APCD website for the latest information.

Pauline Kerr, 'The Contemporary Asia-Pacific Situation: Challenges for Diplomacy in the Push for Peace', in Peter Greener (ed.), Push for Peace. Commemorating the Past, Reflecting on the Future, Resolving Conflict in the Future , Auckland Museum and Auckland University of Technology, Auckland , 2005, pp. 64-76.