Macquarie University
Browse

Political ideology and Australian defence policy

Download (411.9 kB)
thesis
posted on 2025-01-16, 03:44 authored by Mimi Brunsdon

On 15 September 2021, the Australian Government announced a trilateral security pact that was later described by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as ‘the single biggest leap in our defence capabilities’. However, the alliance between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States (AUKUS) has since come under criticism, with former Prime Minister Paul Keating calling it the ‘worst deal in all history’. There is an ongoing debate about the merits of AUKUS occurring in academia, and it stems from broader questions about the threats facing Australia and the importance of alliance in defence policy. In spite of the criticism the security pact has received, however, it is supported by both of Australia’s major political parties. Scholars assume that this is because defence policy is largely bipartisan, and as a result, they take a problem-solving approach in their analysis of AUKUS. This thesis argues that the current bipartisanship on defence policy does not mean that Australia’s major political parties share the same interpretation of international politics. Although they may arrive at the same policy destinations, politicians from the two parties take different cognitive journeys to get there. This is because ideology influences defence policy. By analysing government speeches, this thesis shows that the opinions held by politicians are underpinned by their assumptions about the functioning of world politics. Understanding this influence is essential to understanding defence policy as a whole, and to getting better at it.

History

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction -- Chapter 2: Literature review -- Chapter 3: Australia’s strategic environment -- Chapter 4: The role of the US-Australia alliance -- Chapter 5: The AUKUS agreement -- Chapter 6: Conclusion -- Reference list

Awarding Institution

Macquarie University

Degree Type

Thesis MRes

Degree

Master of Research

Department, Centre or School

Department of Security Studies and Criminology

Year of Award

2024

Principal Supervisor

Adam Lockyer

Additional Supervisor 1

Yves-Heng Lim

Rights

Copyright: The Author Copyright disclaimer: https://www.mq.edu.au/copyright-disclaimer

Language

English

Jurisdiction

Australia

Extent

73 pages

Former Identifiers

AMIS ID: 391760

Usage metrics

    Macquarie University Theses

    Categories

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC