Australian society and its leaders generally take for granted the importance and value of this nation's relationship with the United States. The US is commonly thought of as the world's great purveyor of liberal values and the rule of law, and as a powerful friend indispensable to Australian security. In The US Lobby and Australian Defence Policy Vince Scappatura demonstrates how these conceptions are underpinned by the work of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue, Australia's most important, private, pro-US lobby group. As the inner workings of this lobby are unveiled for the first time, Scappatura also discusses the considerable costs to Australia of its strong military ties to the US, draws into question notions of "benign" US power, and demonstrates that suggestions of the US keeping Australia safe from invasion are flatly wrong. For Australia's national security elite, other considerations, to do with power and wealth and spreading political influence, are to the fore...

What role does the US play in shaping Australian politics? Australia is one of the US's most staunch supporters: Australia has sent troops to Iraq, and is an ally in the 'war on terror'. Australian domestic policy also follows the US economic model, as state industries and services have been privatised. Erik Paul, a specialist in international studies, dissects the relationship between Australia and the US. He explores how Australia has become a key player in maintaining American dominance in South East Asia, and looks critically at the contrast between the Australian wealth and the comparative poverty of surrounding nations. Examining the influence of neo-conservative imperialism on Australia's economic and military strategies, he draws some startling conclusions about future Australian relationships in East Asia, in particular, its relationship with China. Written with clarity, this is an ideal introduction to the subject for students of international studies.

America is fading, and China will soon be the dominant power in our region. What does this mean for Australia’s future? In this controversial and urgent essay, Hugh White shows that the contest between America and China is classic power politics of the harshest kind. He argues that we are heading for an unprecedented future, one without an English-speaking great and powerful friend to keep us secure and protect our interests. White sketches what the new Asia will look like, and how China could use its power. He also examines what has happened to the United States globally, under both Barack Obama and Donald Trump – a series of setbacks which Trump’s bluster on North Korea cannot disguise. White notes that we have got into the habit of seeing the world through Washington’s eyes, and argues that unless this changes, we will fail to navigate the biggest shift in Australia’s international circumstances since European settlement. The signs of failure are already clear, as we risk sliding straight from complacency to panic. ‘For almost a decade now, the world’s two most powerful countries have been competing. America has been trying to remain East Asia’s primary power, and China has been trying to replace it. How the contest will proceed – whether peacefully or violently, quickly or slowly – is still uncertain, but the most likely outcome is now becoming clear. America will lose, and China will win.’ —Hugh White, Without America ‘This important essay clarifies China’s brinkmanship in Asia and confronts the hard facts of what it means for Australia’ —Fiona Capp, The Sydney Morning Herald ‘In ... Without America: Australia in the New Asia, Hugh White has given us possibly his best piece of writing, and on a subject of the first importance.’ —Weekend Australian ‘Just when the foreign-policy orthodoxy seemed to be catching up with him, White [has] upend[ed] it again.’ —The Interpreter

In 1963, the US Naval Communication Station at North West Cape in Western Australia became the first US defense facility to be established on Australian soil in peacetime. During America's Cold War struggle against communism, North West Cape's primary function was to communicate with the US fleet in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans, especially nuclear missile submarines - the Navy's most powerful deterrent force. Seen as a vital outpost of US defense throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the whole venture was just as monumental for Australia.This book represents an important and long-overdue history of the significance of North West Cape for Australia-US relations and Australian politics, paying special attention to the town of Exmouth that was uniquely created to support the base. Drawing on archival records and oral interviews, A Little America in Western Australia brings to light the experiences of Australian civilians and US Navy personnel in a fascinating and often humorous portrait of life at the Cape. *** Librarians: ebook available on ProQuest and EBSCO *** "...welcome addition to military and nautical history collections, highly recommended especially for college library shelves." - Midwest Book Review, Library Bookwatch: September 2015, The Nautical Shelf [Subject: Military History, Naval Studies, US Studies, Australian Studies, Politics]

This is a good time to reflect on opportunities and challenges for Australia in Latin America. Impressive economic growth and opportunities for trade and investment have made Latin America a dynamic area for Australia and the Asia Pacific region. A growing Latin American population, Australia’s attractiveness to Latin American students, a fascination with the cultural vibrancy of the Americas and an awareness of Latin America’s increasingly independent stance in politics and economic diplomacy, have all contributed to raising the region’s profile. This collection of essays provides the first substantial introduction to Australia’s evolving engagement with Latin America, identifying current trends and opportunities, and making suggestions about how relationships in trade, investment, foreign aid, education, culture and the media could be strengthened.

This book explores contemporary cultural, historical and geopolitical connections between Latin America and Australia from an interdisciplinary perspective. It seeks to capitalise on scholarly developments and further unsettle the multiple divides created by the North-South axis by focusing on processes of translocal connectivities that link Australia with Latin America. The authors conceptualise the South-South not as a defined geographic space with clear boundaries, but rather as a mobile terrain with multiple, evolving and overlapping translocal processes.

Describes the history of the America's Cup, tells how Liberty was selected to defend the Cup, and recounts all seven of the races that led to Australia II's victory