This book examines the impact of Australian public opinion towards defence and foreign policy from the mid-twentieth century to the present day. For most of this period, the public showed little interest in defence and security policy and possessed limited knowledge about the strategic options available. The principal post-war exception to this pattern is, of course, the Vietnam War, when political divisions over Australia’s support for the U.S.-led action eventually resulted in the withdrawal of troops in 1972. The period since 2001 has seen a fundamental change both in the public’s views of defence and foreign affairs, and in how these issues are debated by political elites. This has come about as a result of major changes in the strategic environment such as a heightened public awareness of terrorism, party political divisions over Australia’s military commitment to the 2003-11 Iraq War and the increasing overlap of economic and trade considerations with defence and foreign policies, which has increased the public’s interest in these issues. Combining the expertise of one of Australia's foremost scholars of public opinion with that of an expert of international relations, particularly as pertains to Australia in Asia, this book will be a critical read for those wishing to understand Australia's alliance with the U.S., interactions with Asia and China, and the distinctive challenges posed to Australia by its geographic position.

Updated edition, covering Brexit, Trump, Xi’s ambitions for China, and the geopolitical implications of the COVID-19 pandemic Everything Australia wants to achieve as a country depends on its capacity to understand the world outside and to respond effectively to it. In Fear of Abandonment, expert and insider Allan Gyngell tells the story of how Australia has shaped the world and been shaped by it since it established an independent foreign policy during the dangerous days of 1942. Gyngell argues that the fear of being abandoned – originally by Britain, and later by our most powerful ally, the United States – has been an important driver of how Australia acts in the world. Covering everything from the White Australia policy to the South China sea dispute, this is a gripping and authoritative account of the way Australians and their governments have helped create the world we now inhabit in the twenty-first century. In revealing the history of Australian foreign affairs, it lays the foundation for how it should change. Today Australia confronts a more difficult set of international challenges than any we have faced since 1942 – this new edition brings the story up to date. Allan Gyngell is National President of the Australian Institute of International Affairs and an honorary professor at the Australian National University. His long career in Australian international relations included appointments as director-general of the Office of National Assessments and founding executive director of the Lowy Institute. He worked as a diplomat, policy officer and analyst in several government departments and as international adviser to Paul Keating. He is the co-author of Making Australian Foreign Policy and the author of Fear of Abandonment.

The World has changed greatly for Australia since the mid-1980s. The threat of nuclear war between the superpowers has passed into history. The UN's role in international security is changing. Economic activity is increasingly globalised. International financial markets determine economic development. Australia in International Politics shows how this nation has responded to these changes. It explores the way Labor and Coalition governments answer the traditional foreign policy questions. It analyses the policies adopted to deal with new questions of foreign policy. It explains why economics now comes first in Australia's foreign policy; provides extensive coverage of initiatives including APEC, ASEM, the Cairns Group and the Uruguay Round; describes the role of international organisations including the WTO, World Bank and IMF. It deals with contemporary issues such as the Asian economic crisis, Australia's contribution to peacekeeping initiatives, its role at the Kyoto conference on climate change, and its participation in the Iraq/US contest.

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This book challenges the common perceptions of Australian dependence upon great-power allies in the conduct of its foreign relations through a critical examination of Australia's relations with the People's Republic of China. The author focuses on the economic and political dimensions of the policy-making process from the founding of the PRC in 1949 to the present era, against an analytical framework that takes into account both internal and external factors in the formulation and implementation of Australian foreign policy. Informed by political science and international relations, the book differs from the conventional literature on Sino-Australian relations, which has either focused on pure economic analysis or concentrated on chronicling historical events. The author weaves theoretical insights from political science and international relations into the historical analysis while seeking to examine the interplay between political and economic factors over time in shaping policy outcomes. The book draws not only on primary and secondary sources but also on information and insights obtained from interviews with a vast array of direct participants in the policy process, including almost all the former ambassadors from both China and Australia, covering the entire period of the diplomatic relationship. As a result, the book breaks new ground, especially from the Hawke era onwards, revealing hitherto overlooked details of interest in the policy process.

The Australian aid program faces a fundamental dilemma: how, in the absence of deep popular support, should it generate the political legitimacy required to safeguard its budget and administering institution? Australia’s Foreign Aid Dilemma tells the story of the actors who have grappled with this question over 40 years. It draws on extensive interviews and archival material to uncover how 'court politics' shapes both aid policy and administration. The lesson for scholars and practitioners is that any holistic understanding of the development enterprise must account for the complex relationship between the aid program of individual governments and the domestic political and bureaucratic contexts in which it is embedded. If the way funding is administered shapes development outcomes, then understanding the 'court politics' of aid matters. This comprehensive text will be of considerable interest to scholars and students of politics and foreign policy as well as development professionals in Australia and across the world.

Invaluable to students and those approaching the subject for the first time, An Introduction to International Relations, Second Edition provides a comprehensive and stimulating introduction to international relations, its traditions and its changing nature in an era of globalisation. Thoroughly revised and updated, it features chapters written by a range of experts from around the world. It presents a global perspective on the theories, history, developments and debates that shape this dynamic discipline and contemporary world politics. Now in full-colour and accompanied by a password-protected companion website featuring additional chapters and case studies, this is the indispensable guide to the study of international relations.