This course assesses Southeast Asia (ASEAN membership plus Australia and New Zealand) through the aperture of U.S. security. This in turn will require a refined understanding of the security perspectives and strategies of the governments of the region. Therefore the course will identify and explore the characteristics, trends, and issues in the region that have implications for regional security. Southeast Asia was a focal point of American foreign and defense policy during the Cold War. But in the decades that followed the region was largely ignored by policymakers in Washington. Since 9/11, however, that picture has begun to change with a realization that the presence of jihadist networks in the region and the emergence of China as a regional great power and aspirant global superpower have serious implications for U.S. interests. Students will develop a capacity to think and write as security strategists.