The Indo-Pacific: Culture and Decision-Making

The Indo-Pacific is emerging as one of the key regions in which international politics are redefined. It encompasses some of the world’s fastest growing economies, top world military powers, and rich cultures. Its economic dynamism rests on a maritime geography that has favoured connectivity and interdependence; its political make-up is defined by outstanding territorial disputes, unresolved Cold War issues, and an increasingly entrenched Sino-American structural competition; and its cultural traditions are both similar and different to Western traditions.

This particular course focuses on what is meant by the term "culture", how do people embedded in different cultures think, make judgements and decisions and when, why, and how culture matters in engagement with the Indo-Pacific region.  

This is a self-paced online course where students can access and work through the material at their own convenience. You will have access to the course for 3 months. 

The detailed aims of this course are for students to:

• Understand key dangers in thinking about and engaging with the Indo-Pacific, including the triple dangers of over-estimating either how similar or different others are to us, as well as the danger of essentialising.
• Explore when, why, and how culture matters in foreign policy decisions taken in the region.
• Identify and articulate key differences in how people in the North Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific think, including differences in variations of self, perception, attention, and causal attribution.
• Articulate differences in how people in the Indo-Pacific and in the North Atlantic form judgements and make decisions.
• Develop the critical and thematic skills to favour the articulation and communication of a culturally-informed approach to the Indo-Pacific.

There are no formal education or professional requirements, however, all learning will be delivered in English, therefore we recommend minimum IELTS Level 6 for learners to get the most from the spoken and written content.