Australian Security After 9/11: New And Old Agendas

The 12 papers presented here by the editors (professors of political science at the U. of Melbourne, Australia) assess the security environment and issues facing Australia in terms of the continuities and discontinuities of the regional and international environment in the years following the September 11th attacks against the United States and the subsequent invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq by the US, with Australian cooperation. The first set of papers more general and contextual, evaluating Australia's general security concerns, its alliances, and the strategies Australia should be pursuing in furtherance of its interests. The remainder are more specific in treatment, looking at such topics as attempts to balance engagement with Asia and the US alliance, the need for a more critical approach to US strategy (especially in Iraq), economic diplomacy with Japan, relations with Indonesia and New Zealand, and the characteristics of decision making in the Howard administration. Annotation c2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Derek McDougall and Peter Shearman are both Associate Professors at the University of Melbourne, Australia.