The evolution of the US-Australia strategic relationship
The US-Australia strategic relationship has evolved from more or less an adversarial position in the 19th century to an Australia largely dependent on the US during the Cold War to the interdependent partnership we see today. Strategic interdependence means that the US-Australia relationship is not...
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| Format: | Book Chapter |
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Routledge
2021
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89630 |
| _version_ | 1848765260722339840 |
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| author | Ford, Shannon |
| author2 | McDonald, Scott D |
| author_facet | McDonald, Scott D Ford, Shannon |
| author_sort | Ford, Shannon |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The US-Australia strategic relationship has evolved from more or less an adversarial position in the 19th century to an Australia largely dependent on the US during the Cold War to the interdependent partnership we see today. Strategic interdependence means that the US-Australia relationship is not merely a one-sided affair; that Australia has something of substance to offer the strategic relationship. Part of the reason that the relationship is strong is because of a shared language, similar social values, and compatible political-legal systems. Moreover, the relationship has been thoroughly institutionalised via intelligence cooperation, defence science collaboration, and extensive personal relationships. But what the US really seems to value is Australia’s reliability as an ally. I argue that Australia best demonstrates its reliability as an ally, however, when it follows US strategic decision-making for the right reasons. This sense of reliability is more akin to trustworthiness than it is to loyalty. History demonstrates that Australia has not always agreed with the US. But agreeing doesn’t matter so much when Australia has established a track record of consistently applying sound reasoning to its strategic decisions and it has made substantive contributions to jointly sought after strategic outcomes. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:32:26Z |
| format | Book Chapter |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-89630 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:32:26Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | Routledge |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-896302023-06-30T04:21:16Z The evolution of the US-Australia strategic relationship Ford, Shannon McDonald, Scott D Tan, Andrew TH The US-Australia strategic relationship has evolved from more or less an adversarial position in the 19th century to an Australia largely dependent on the US during the Cold War to the interdependent partnership we see today. Strategic interdependence means that the US-Australia relationship is not merely a one-sided affair; that Australia has something of substance to offer the strategic relationship. Part of the reason that the relationship is strong is because of a shared language, similar social values, and compatible political-legal systems. Moreover, the relationship has been thoroughly institutionalised via intelligence cooperation, defence science collaboration, and extensive personal relationships. But what the US really seems to value is Australia’s reliability as an ally. I argue that Australia best demonstrates its reliability as an ally, however, when it follows US strategic decision-making for the right reasons. This sense of reliability is more akin to trustworthiness than it is to loyalty. History demonstrates that Australia has not always agreed with the US. But agreeing doesn’t matter so much when Australia has established a track record of consistently applying sound reasoning to its strategic decisions and it has made substantive contributions to jointly sought after strategic outcomes. 2021 Book Chapter http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89630 Routledge restricted |
| spellingShingle | Ford, Shannon The evolution of the US-Australia strategic relationship |
| title | The evolution of the US-Australia strategic relationship |
| title_full | The evolution of the US-Australia strategic relationship |
| title_fullStr | The evolution of the US-Australia strategic relationship |
| title_full_unstemmed | The evolution of the US-Australia strategic relationship |
| title_short | The evolution of the US-Australia strategic relationship |
| title_sort | evolution of the us-australia strategic relationship |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89630 |