Australia in International Politics

The world changed for Australia after the terrorist attacks on the US on September 11, 2001 and the Bali bombings of 2002. Security became the dominant theme of Australian foreign policy. Australian military forces remained in Afghanistan years later, opposing the terrorist threat of the Taliban, while hundreds of Australian troops and police worked with public servants to build the state in Asia-Pacific countries such as East Timor and Solomon Islands. The world changed for Australia, too, when the global financial crisis of September 2008 threatened another Great Depression. Meanwhile, the international community made slow progress on measures to stem climate change, potentially Australia’s largest security threat. This edition shows how the nation is responding to these challenges. The book describes how Australian foreign policy has evolved since Federation and how it is made. It examines Australia’s part in the United Nations, humanitarian intervention and peacekeeping. It analyses defence policy and nuclear arms control. It explains why Australia survived the global financial crisis and why the G20 has become the leading institution of global economic governance. It charts the course of Australia’s climate change diplomacy, the growth of Australia’s foreign aid, human rights in foreign relations and the rise of China as a great power.

Author Biography

Stewart Firth is a Visiting Fellow in the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program at the Australian National University.