3012GIR Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Bipartisanship, 18 Months, Cultural Studies
22 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
L1. Australia's Foreign Relations:
Introduction/Administration
Key Themes
• Australia in the world
o Location
o Security
o Prosperity
o Values
• What sort of country?
• Dependence/independence
• Vulnerabilities/anxieties
o Economic
o Security/political/diplomatic
o Cultural
• Asian engagement
• Domestic politics of foreign relations
o Bipartisanship vs. partisanship
o Public opinion/elections
Australia in the World
• Location:
o Where does Australia sit in the world?
o Tyranny of distance?
o British outpost?
o Part of Asia?
o Today?
• Security:
o How does Australia conceive and maintain its security?
o Great and powerful friends
o Rise of Japan
• Communism
o Rise of China
o Indonesia
o Regional or global
• Prosperity:
o What role do foreign policy and foreign relations play in the generation and
maintenance of Australia's wealth and stability?
o Part of British-centred global economy
o Dependent on world beyond Australia
• "men, money, markets"
o Since 1960s, increasingly dependent on Asia
• Values:
o To what extent can and should "Australian" values inform Australian foreign policy?
o What are Australian values?
• Democracy
• Liberalism
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• Rule of law
• Human rights
• Multiculturalism?
• Anglosphere?
o Should values drive foreign policies and relations?
• Can they?
• If not, what purpose do they serve?
A Formula
• Australia's place in the world = Six + Two + N
o Foreign policy priorities according to DFAT head Peter Varghese?
o Six represents Australia's vital relationships:
1. China
2. India
3. Indonesia
4. Japan
5. South Korea
6. United States
o Two represents two most important multilateral organisations:
1. The East Asia Summit
2. The Group of 20
o The 'N' is for neighbourhood:
• South Pacific and South-East Asia
• But what about:
o The UN, Consular assistance (vital for DFAT), values?
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/chief-diplomat-spells-out-australias-rules-of-
engagement-20130128-2dgse.html
Australia - What Sort of Country?
• Western country
• Middle power
• Regional player
• A country apart?
• British (Irish) derived?
• Multicultural?
• Asian country?
• History/geography
From Dependence to Independence
• The assessment of the extent of independence
• 'Great and powerful friends'
• The future
o Chosen dependencies
o Forced dependencies
• True independence
o Beneficial?
o Desired?
Political Economy
• 'High' and 'Low' Politics
o High: Diplomacy, security
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o Low: Economic issues
• But, political economy:
o Political and economic issues - inextricably intertwined
• E.g. Australia's relationship with China
• No necessary hierarchy between economic and political factors and forces:
o Security issues often intervene
o Economic prosperity underpins security
• Integrated for policy in Australia
o Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (1987)
Vulnerability
• Economic:
o Dependent on foreign 'men, money and markets'
• Cultural:
o British outpost in a 'hostile' region
• Security:
o Distance from protector and major powers
Asia: From Anxiety to 'Enmeshment'
• Why anxiety?
o Justified?
• What to do?
o Racial exclusion
o Encourage British and American engagement
• The gradual dominance of economic interests
o Japan
o NICs
o China
The Asian Century
• Asia dominant economic region
o Return to the past?
• The 'lucky country'
• Dreams and nightmares
o Two sides of the same coin
Domestic Politics of Foreign Relations
• Partisanship/bipartisanship
• Policy traditions
o Labour
o Liberal
o Maverick
• Turnbull government
o Role of PM
• Foreign Minister
• Minister for Trade and Investment
• Minister for Home Affairs
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
