ID | 127061 |
Title Proper | Ally for all the years to come |
Other Title Information | why Australia is not a conflicted US ally |
Language | ENG |
Author | Bisley, Nick |
Publication | 2013. |
Summary / Abstract (Note) | In 2011, Australia communicated a clear choice about its strategic future. It would continue to cleave tightly to the US alliance, expand its military links and work to advance the USA's conception of regional order. Given its economic interests, why has Australia bound itself to the US alliance? What lies behind this strong commitment and what would it take for Australia to change its relationship with the USA? This article presents an analysis of the current state of the US-Australia alliance and argues that Canberra's pursuit of close relations with the USA reflects the interaction of a rational calculation of the costs and benefits of the alliance with a set of resolutely political factors that have produced the current policy setting. The article first assesses the security cost and benefit behind the alliance. It then argues that the move also derives from the strong domestic support for the US alliance, a sharpened sense that China's rise was generating regional instability that only the US primacy could manage and the realisation that the economic fallout of such a move would be minimal. It concludes with a brief reflection on what it might take to change the current policy settings. |
`In' analytical Note | Australian Journal of International Affairs Vol.67, No.4; August 2013: p.403-418 |
Journal Source | Australian Journal of International Affairs Vol.67, No.4; August 2013: p.403-418 |
Key Words | United States - US ; Australia ; Us Alliance ; Strategic Future ; Economic Relations ; Bilateral Relations ; Military Relations ; International Relations - IR ; Economic Cooperation ; Strategic Cooperation ; Us-Australia Alliance ; Foreign Policy ; Rational Calculation ; Stability and Growth ; Political Factors ; Economic Interest ; Economic Fallout ; Current Policies ; Regional Instability ; National Security |