Australia's Foreign Relations

‘honest, and provides a framework against which to judge foreign policy actions and achievements’
Cameron Forbes, Age

‘It will stand for the thoughtful Asian as the major document of Australia’s credentials for regional partnership . . . a dossier of almost everything you need to know about contemporary Australian foreign policy.’
Professor Stephen Fitzgerald, Director, Asia–Australia Institute

Australia’s Foreign Relations is the most rigorous, lively and comprehensive ‘insider’ account ever written about the shape and direction of Australian foreign policy. This thoroughly revised edition keeps it fully abreast of a changing world.

This book is indispensable for anyone who follows current affairs. Its contents range from a concise analysis of the practice and politics of making foreign policy—what it is that diplomats and foreign ministers do—to the exploration of Australia’s relationships, as a middle power, with all regions of the world. Among the many subjects covered is the new internationalist agenda, from human rights and global environmental issues to arms control.

Australia’s Foreign Relations will be equally valuable for students of politics, history, international relations and economics—for, as the authors stress, foreign policy and Australia’s economic fortunes are now inextricably linked.