Australia’s American Alliance and the networking of forces in East Asia

As the region’s security order is becoming unsettled, Australia has begun to adjust aspects of its strategic policy in response to these changes. This paper examines the evolution of Australian defence and security policy so as to assess the extent to which Australia’s experience sheds light on chan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational politics (Hague, Netherlands) Vol. 57; no. 2; pp. 208 - 224
Main Author Bisley, Nick
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Palgrave Macmillan UK 01.04.2020
Palgrave Macmillan
Subjects
Alliances
Development Studies
Diversification
Foreign Policy
Hegemony
International Political Economy
International Relations
Multilateralism
National security
Networking
Original Article
Partnerships
Political Science
Political Science and International Relations
Political Science and International Studies
Regional security
Australia
United States > US
East Asia
East Asia
Australian defence policy
Australia
Hegemony
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Summary:As the region’s security order is becoming unsettled, Australia has begun to adjust aspects of its strategic policy in response to these changes. This paper examines the evolution of Australian defence and security policy so as to assess the extent to which Australia’s experience sheds light on changes to the structure of East Asia’s security order. In response to the PRC’s selective contestation of US hegemony, Australia has tightened its relationship with the USA, developed new strategic partnerships, committed to increasing its military capabilities while also actively engaging with security multilateralism. Through this, it is helping American regional hegemony develop an emerging networked quality. Its experience also shows the ongoing the dependence of the medium powers on the USA. Their operational and strategic limitations mean that while it has been restructured somewhat through diversification and networking, the East Asian hegemonic order remains organised around the USA.
ISSN:1384-5748
1740-3898
DOI:10.1057/s41311-019-00188-6