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Middle Power Dreaming: Australian foreign Policy during the Rudd-Gillard Governments
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Ravenhill, Frederick John Cotton, James H. |
| Copyright Year | 2011 |
| Abstract | The five years covered by this volume were the first such period since the first half of the 1970s in which three governments held office: those of John Howard (until November 1997), Kevin Rudd (until June 2010), and Julia Gillard. The transition from a Liberal–National Party Coalition to Labor governments during this period offered observers an unusual opportunity to see the extent to which partisanship made a difference in Australian foreign policy (although the relatively small part of the period covered by this volume in which the Gillard government was in office rendered it risky to draw any firm conclusions about the direction of foreign policy under Australia's first female prime minister). Commentators frequently note that Australia's two major parties seldom diverge significantly in their foreign policies. This continuity reflects the constraints faced by a country that can at best exert a relatively small influence on global politics. Governments are also constrained by public opinion: some policy choices are simply ruled out for any government that wishes to be re-elected. No government would challenge the centrality of the US alliance to Australia's defence and foreign policies. Similarly, no contemporary government would question the importance of facilitating economic relations with Asia, on which Australia depends more heavily for its prosperity than does any other country within or outside East Asia. These constraints notwithstanding, commentators have frequently observed that Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Coalition governments have differed in their approaches to foreign policy. Most notably, ALP governments have been more internationalist, whereas Coalition governments—as was particularly the case under Howard—have relied more heavily on bilateral relationships, and particularly on Australia's relationship with the dominant global power. ALP governments typically have been more activist in their foreign policies, an approach that rests on a perception |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/middle-power-dreaming-sample-chapter-1.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
