Andrew Carr

Andrew Carr is Senior Lecturer in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at The Australian National University. His research focuses on strategy and Australian defence policy. He has published in outlets such as Survival, Parameters, the Journal of Strategic Studies, Australian Foreign Affairs, International Theory, The Washington Quarterly and Comparative Strategy. He is the author or editor of five books with Melbourne University Press, Oxford University Press and Georgetown University Press.

orcid http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3258-4269

Strategic Imagination »

Essays in Honour of Brendan Sargeant

Edited by: Andrew Carr
Publication date: 2025
This book examines the concept of ‘Strategic Imagination’ developed by Brendan Sargeant during his distinguished career at the Australian Department of Defence and later as a scholar at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (SDSC), The Australian National University. His tragic passing has left this powerful idea awaiting a proper examination. This volume seeks to provide that scholarly account and carry both the concept and Brendan’s legacy forward. The book is organised in three parts. First, former officials like Dennis Richardson join leading scholars including Mark McKenna, Anthea Roberts and Ian Hall to explore the unusual conjunction of strategy and imagination, demonstrating its crucial role in effective scholarship and policy. Second, analysts from Australia and worldwide examine how strategic imagination improves strategic practice by revealing hidden possibilities, catalysing essential conversations, and challenging core assumptions. The final section offers personal reflections from Brendan’s colleagues at the SDSC, providing a fitting tribute to his life and contribution. The volume also includes selections of Brendan’s own writing on strategic imagination, ensuring his voice continues to inspire scholars and officials to explore this rich and powerful concept.

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A National Asset »

50 Years of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre

Edited by: Desmond Ball, Andrew Carr
Publication date: August 2016
This volume commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (SDSC). The Centre is Australia’s largest body of scholars dedicated to the analysis of the use of armed force in its political context and one of the earliest generation of post-World War II research institutions on strategic affairs. The book features chapters replete with stories of university politics, internal SDSC activities, cooperation among people with different social and political values, and conflicts between others, as well as the Centre’s public achievements. It also details the evolution of strategic studies in Australia and the contribution of academia and defence intellectuals to national defence policy.