Political ideology and Australian defence policy
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.