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Posts by Australian Journal of International Affairs

Graphic showing the last 4 sets of download metrics for Q1, which are 40,243 downloads in Q1 of 2023; 49,934 in Q1 of 2025; 79,555 for Q1 of 2025; and 140,622 for Q1 of 2026.

Graphic showing the last 4 sets of download metrics for Q1, which are 40,243 downloads in Q1 of 2023; 49,934 in Q1 of 2025; 79,555 for Q1 of 2025; and 140,622 for Q1 of 2026.

🚨The latest download metrics have dropped! We are greatly encouraged by the impressive growth in readership. The editorial team sends thanks to our board members, reviewers, authors, @tandfresearch.bsky.social, and of course, our readers. #AcademicSky #AcademicPublishing

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ABSTRACT The Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda has provided a gendered governance framework for conflict prevention and international peacebuilding for the last twenty-five years. Under the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan, women and girls face 'gender apartheid, including bans on education and employment, exclusion from public spaces, and widespread gender-based violence. This discussion presents data on the international community's interactions with the Taliban collected across three phases from February 2020 to October 2025. The data covers a range of peace processes and governance issues, highlighting how the international community gradually eased out of issues related to Afghan women and their rights, which has been a normative commitment of the international community. While the WPS norms currently face global challenges, research shows that gender-inclusive policies increasingly improve governance, peace, and stability. Recommitting to the WPS agenda in Afghanistan offers the best chance to improve governance, peace, and stability, while also allowing the international community to prioritise Afghan women's rights in its engagement with the Taliban.

ABSTRACT The Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda has provided a gendered governance framework for conflict prevention and international peacebuilding for the last twenty-five years. Under the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan, women and girls face 'gender apartheid, including bans on education and employment, exclusion from public spaces, and widespread gender-based violence. This discussion presents data on the international community's interactions with the Taliban collected across three phases from February 2020 to October 2025. The data covers a range of peace processes and governance issues, highlighting how the international community gradually eased out of issues related to Afghan women and their rights, which has been a normative commitment of the international community. While the WPS norms currently face global challenges, research shows that gender-inclusive policies increasingly improve governance, peace, and stability. Recommitting to the WPS agenda in Afghanistan offers the best chance to improve governance, peace, and stability, while also allowing the international community to prioritise Afghan women's rights in its engagement with the Taliban.

🚨New online: a discussion paper by Joshi and Sullivan provide data to show that the international community has gradually disengaged with issues relating to Afghan women's rights. #OpenAccess ⬇️
#AcademicSky #AcademicPublishing #InternationalRelations
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

4 days ago 0 0 0 0
ABSTRACT The rise of geoeconomics has turned international trade into an arena of interstate competition. This study analyses why Southeast Asian countries have refrained from weaponising their economic policies against other countries despite rising geoeconomic tensions globally. Drawing on the concept of comprehensive security, it argues that Southeast Asia's integration into the global economy has significantly elevated security costs and weakened institutional capacity of the state in weaponising their economic policies. This transformation makes economic coercion runs counter to the comprehensive yet inward-looking understanding of security in the region, where maintaining open and stable economic ties plays a crucial role in ensuring the survival of ruling regimes. The potential disruption to established economic ties risks undermining the economic performance that has become the primary source of political legitimacy and support from political coalitions of the ruling leaders, which is maintained through clientelistic relations with political and business elites. This study contributes by analysing the complex interplay between regional economic integration and changing domestic political configuration that shape Southeast Asia's distinct approach to geoeconomics.

ABSTRACT The rise of geoeconomics has turned international trade into an arena of interstate competition. This study analyses why Southeast Asian countries have refrained from weaponising their economic policies against other countries despite rising geoeconomic tensions globally. Drawing on the concept of comprehensive security, it argues that Southeast Asia's integration into the global economy has significantly elevated security costs and weakened institutional capacity of the state in weaponising their economic policies. This transformation makes economic coercion runs counter to the comprehensive yet inward-looking understanding of security in the region, where maintaining open and stable economic ties plays a crucial role in ensuring the survival of ruling regimes. The potential disruption to established economic ties risks undermining the economic performance that has become the primary source of political legitimacy and support from political coalitions of the ruling leaders, which is maintained through clientelistic relations with political and business elites. This study contributes by analysing the complex interplay between regional economic integration and changing domestic political configuration that shape Southeast Asia's distinct approach to geoeconomics.

🚨New online! Jaknanihan analyses Southeast Asia's "distinct approach to geoeconomics" in "Why is economic interdependence not weaponised? Security
constraints on geoeconomic coercion in Southeast Asia".
#AcademicSky #AcademicPublishing #InternationalRelations

www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....

4 days ago 1 0 0 0
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Australian Journal of International Affairs Volume 80, Issue 2 of Australian Journal of International Affairs

🚨Latest edition. A general edition featuring papers on South Korea's hedging behaviour; Australia's metageography; building a Northern Europe security community; sovereignty in the Solomon Islands; and more!
#AcademicSky #InternationalRelations #AcademicPublishing
www.tandfonline.com/toc/caji20/c...

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ABSTRACT This article examines the validity of characterising contemporary Japanese foreign policy as ‘proactive’ by analysing Tokyo’s recalibration towards North Korea following the 2018 US – North Korea Singapore Summit. While recent scholarship often highlights Japan’s increased diplomatic activism and institutional centralisation under Shinzo Abe as evidence of foreign policy ‘proactivity’, this study argues that Japan’s foreign policy remains fundamentally constrained by its security dependence on the United States. By process-tracing Japan’s abrupt abandonment of its long-standing ‘abduction-first’ precondition in response to Washington’s diplomatic pivot, the article demonstrates how visible activism can be driven by a structural need to preserve alliance cohesion and avoid marginalisation. The findings suggest that the proactive – reactive dichotomy is an epistemological barrier that obscures the alliance-embedded character of Japan’s strategic agency. The study contends that Japan’s regional initiatives remain pre-committed to a ‘rules-based order’ whose credibility is tied to US regional primacy.

ABSTRACT This article examines the validity of characterising contemporary Japanese foreign policy as ‘proactive’ by analysing Tokyo’s recalibration towards North Korea following the 2018 US – North Korea Singapore Summit. While recent scholarship often highlights Japan’s increased diplomatic activism and institutional centralisation under Shinzo Abe as evidence of foreign policy ‘proactivity’, this study argues that Japan’s foreign policy remains fundamentally constrained by its security dependence on the United States. By process-tracing Japan’s abrupt abandonment of its long-standing ‘abduction-first’ precondition in response to Washington’s diplomatic pivot, the article demonstrates how visible activism can be driven by a structural need to preserve alliance cohesion and avoid marginalisation. The findings suggest that the proactive – reactive dichotomy is an epistemological barrier that obscures the alliance-embedded character of Japan’s strategic agency. The study contends that Japan’s regional initiatives remain pre-committed to a ‘rules-based order’ whose credibility is tied to US regional primacy.

🚨New online! Yong Sub Choi argues that 🇯🇵strategic agency is still constrained by and embedded in 🇺🇸regional primacy.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
#AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky #InternationalRelations #ForeignPolicy #Japan ⬇️

3 weeks ago 0 0 0 0
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Google Has a Secret Reference Desk. Here's How to Use It. 40 Google features to find exactly what you need, the alternative search engines that do things Google won't, and the reference desk framework underneath all of it.

I know this has circulated with alacrity recently, so you may have already seen it, but if you haven't... WOW BOY HOWDY it's the most useful thing.

Thank you cardcatalogforlife.substack.com -- this is a very very very helpful public service:

cardcatalogforlife.substack.com/p/google-has...

4 weeks ago 11726 4895 298 260
ABSTRACT Australia’s development cooperation program presents one of its most practical foreign policy tools for responding to ongoing global disruption and engaging with regional partners on joint problem-solving over the long-term. However, despite the Albanese government asking more of the development program than at any time in its recent history, it has pursued relatively modest improvements to DFAT’s aid capability. As a result, this capability remains diminished. Pursuing ‘development with depth’ will require a more systematic and sustained approach. Pending an independent assessment, I suggest several measures to boost Australia’s development capability. These measures encompass strengthening aid effectiveness and oversight arrangements, boosting the role of DFAT’s locally-engaged development staff, working more closely with both established and emerging donor partners, and maintaining domestic support through enhanced public and parliamentary engagement in Australia.

ABSTRACT Australia’s development cooperation program presents one of its most practical foreign policy tools for responding to ongoing global disruption and engaging with regional partners on joint problem-solving over the long-term. However, despite the Albanese government asking more of the development program than at any time in its recent history, it has pursued relatively modest improvements to DFAT’s aid capability. As a result, this capability remains diminished. Pursuing ‘development with depth’ will require a more systematic and sustained approach. Pending an independent assessment, I suggest several measures to boost Australia’s development capability. These measures encompass strengthening aid effectiveness and oversight arrangements, boosting the role of DFAT’s locally-engaged development staff, working more closely with both established and emerging donor partners, and maintaining domestic support through enhanced public and parliamentary engagement in Australia.

🚨New online! Also destined for our upcoming special edition on Australian Diplomacy Today - Cameron Hill's discussion paper on 🇦🇺 aid capability. #OpenAccess ⬇️ #AcademicPublishing #InternationalRelations #InternationalPolitics #Aid
www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....

1 month ago 1 0 0 0
ABSTRACT Words matter. Messages with consistency, clarity and purpose can be powerful tools to shape positions, policies and political agendas. Diplomatic messaging has always been an essential tool of statecraft. Hundreds of official statements are publicly released by Australian leaders and ministers each year. Crafted by diplomats and their colleagues in defence, economic and other relevant portfolios, these statements can be ‘quiet achievers’ to shape perceptions globally, even if not garnering much media attention at the time.

ABSTRACT Words matter. Messages with consistency, clarity and purpose can be powerful tools to shape positions, policies and political agendas. Diplomatic messaging has always been an essential tool of statecraft. Hundreds of official statements are publicly released by Australian leaders and ministers each year. Crafted by diplomats and their colleagues in defence, economic and other relevant portfolios, these statements can be ‘quiet achievers’ to shape perceptions globally, even if not garnering much media attention at the time.

🚨We are working on a themed edition on "Australian Diplomacy Today". Here is a discussion piece slated for that special edition, by Jane Hardy. #AcademicPublishing #InternationalRelations #Diplomacy
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... ⬇️

1 month ago 0 0 0 0
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ABSTRACT This article examines the Australia–Korea relationship through the lens of asymmetric attention, revealing how two middle powers navigate similar external pressures while demonstrating divergent priorities. Despite sharing structural vulnerabilities—security dependence on the United States and economic interdependence with China—Australia and Korea exhibit markedly different approaches to their bilateral engagement. Empirical evidence reveals that Australia views Korea as integral to its broader Indo-Pacific strategy and middle power coalition-building, while Korea remains primarily focused on peninsula security concerns, viewing the relationship in more functional terms, positioning Australia’s strategic foci as secondary priorities. This asymmetry manifests across multiple dimensions—media coverage, government statements, academic research, and diplomatic engagement—and reflects fundamentally different conceptions of key concepts like the Indo-Pacific, middle power identity, and regional stability. The theoretical framework developed here explains why middle powers facing similar systemic pressures may still develop mismatched expectations and priorities in their bilateral relations. This research contributes to both asymmetry studies and middle power discourse by demonstrating how attention serves as a strategic asset in international relations and highlighting the limitations of assumed natural partnerships between middle powers in an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific.

ABSTRACT This article examines the Australia–Korea relationship through the lens of asymmetric attention, revealing how two middle powers navigate similar external pressures while demonstrating divergent priorities. Despite sharing structural vulnerabilities—security dependence on the United States and economic interdependence with China—Australia and Korea exhibit markedly different approaches to their bilateral engagement. Empirical evidence reveals that Australia views Korea as integral to its broader Indo-Pacific strategy and middle power coalition-building, while Korea remains primarily focused on peninsula security concerns, viewing the relationship in more functional terms, positioning Australia’s strategic foci as secondary priorities. This asymmetry manifests across multiple dimensions—media coverage, government statements, academic research, and diplomatic engagement—and reflects fundamentally different conceptions of key concepts like the Indo-Pacific, middle power identity, and regional stability. The theoretical framework developed here explains why middle powers facing similar systemic pressures may still develop mismatched expectations and priorities in their bilateral relations. This research contributes to both asymmetry studies and middle power discourse by demonstrating how attention serves as a strategic asset in international relations and highlighting the limitations of assumed natural partnerships between middle powers in an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific.

🚨New online! Pan & Song discuss the "limitations of assumed natural partnership between middle powers" in "Symmetric concern and asymmetric attention: strategic convergence & divergence in Australia-Korea relationships". #OpenAccess #AcademicPublishing ⬇️
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

1 month ago 0 0 0 0
ABSTRACT International relations, international law and political science provide different accounts of the relationship between international and domestic law and how this relationship should be measured and assessed. Yet the ‘black box’ of the state, and particularly the judicial system, as the core implementer of international law, remains underexamined empirically. This article presents findings from a unique cross-national database, the Migrant Worker Rights Database, in which 869 court cases were analysed to ascertain the influence of international law within domestic judicial outcomes. We conclude that while international law is not very important in broad domestic enforcement of migrant rights through the courts, that when it is utilised domestically, it is influenced by domestic factors that include: the method of incorporation of international law into domestic law – through executive or legislative powers; judicial reticence, informed by judicial seniority; and the capacity for litigants to appeal to supranational courts. This leads us to conclude that while international law generally does not play a large role in the domestic legal enforcement of migrant rights, when it does, domestic factors are important for supporting or blocking such inclusion.

ABSTRACT International relations, international law and political science provide different accounts of the relationship between international and domestic law and how this relationship should be measured and assessed. Yet the ‘black box’ of the state, and particularly the judicial system, as the core implementer of international law, remains underexamined empirically. This article presents findings from a unique cross-national database, the Migrant Worker Rights Database, in which 869 court cases were analysed to ascertain the influence of international law within domestic judicial outcomes. We conclude that while international law is not very important in broad domestic enforcement of migrant rights through the courts, that when it is utilised domestically, it is influenced by domestic factors that include: the method of incorporation of international law into domestic law – through executive or legislative powers; judicial reticence, informed by judicial seniority; and the capacity for litigants to appeal to supranational courts. This leads us to conclude that while international law generally does not play a large role in the domestic legal enforcement of migrant rights, when it does, domestic factors are important for supporting or blocking such inclusion.

🚨New online! Boucher and Gunaydin, "Opening the black box of international human rights enforceability through the study of migrant rights". #OpenAccess #AcademicPublishing #InternationalLaw #InternationalRelations #HumanRights
www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....

1 month ago 1 0 0 0
Screenshot of the opening page of the book review

Screenshot of the opening page of the book review

🚨New online! Book review by Børge Bakken of Czeslaw Tubilewicz (ed.), "Critical issues in contemporary China. Decoding Xi Jinping’s ‘new era’, 3rd edn". London, Routledge, 2025, 197 pp. ⬇️ #AcademicPublishing #InternationalRelations #Politics
www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....

1 month ago 1 1 0 0
ABSTRACT Reflections from scholars and practitioners on violence and extreme vulnerability linked to forced displacement in humanitarian contexts has inspired this article. It challenges conventional perspectives on displacement, interrogating impacts against a shifting geopolitical and humanitarian landscape. Informed by critical feminist pedagogies, particularly those grounded in Global South approaches and combining collaborative and critical modes of engagement, we draw on insights from a workshop at the Australian National University. This workshop served as a co-creative space to test disciplinary boundaries and connect conceptual frameworks with real world engagements. We reflect on relationships to place, and on opportunities to bridge theory and praxis, connect diverse forms of expertise, and share responsibilities across disciplines, specialisations, vocations, and contexts. In a time marked by sharpening displacement pressures, severe funding restrictions, and the erosion of humanitarian norms, reimagining collective visions to protect people from extreme vulnerability is urgent and necessary. We argue that bridging the divide between academia and practice requires thoughtful engagement from different vantage points, and openness to varied ways of knowing. Collaboration is not linear but iterative, sometimes fragmented, grounded in intergenerational learning, and unlearning. It requires recognising vulnerability as political and relational, and committing to responses that uphold dignity, agency, and justice.

ABSTRACT Reflections from scholars and practitioners on violence and extreme vulnerability linked to forced displacement in humanitarian contexts has inspired this article. It challenges conventional perspectives on displacement, interrogating impacts against a shifting geopolitical and humanitarian landscape. Informed by critical feminist pedagogies, particularly those grounded in Global South approaches and combining collaborative and critical modes of engagement, we draw on insights from a workshop at the Australian National University. This workshop served as a co-creative space to test disciplinary boundaries and connect conceptual frameworks with real world engagements. We reflect on relationships to place, and on opportunities to bridge theory and praxis, connect diverse forms of expertise, and share responsibilities across disciplines, specialisations, vocations, and contexts. In a time marked by sharpening displacement pressures, severe funding restrictions, and the erosion of humanitarian norms, reimagining collective visions to protect people from extreme vulnerability is urgent and necessary. We argue that bridging the divide between academia and practice requires thoughtful engagement from different vantage points, and openness to varied ways of knowing. Collaboration is not linear but iterative, sometimes fragmented, grounded in intergenerational learning, and unlearning. It requires recognising vulnerability as political and relational, and committing to responses that uphold dignity, agency, and justice.

🚨New online! Discussion piece by Bina D'Costa et al., "Violence, vulnerability and protection on the move:
interrogating the intersection of scholarship and practice on displacement". #OpenAccess #AcademicPublishing #InternationalRelations #Politics
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

1 month ago 0 0 0 0
ABSTRACT The emerging Russia–North Korea strategic partnership illustrates how both states are adapting to an increasingly polarised international system. This article investigates not only the structural drivers of their alignment but also the extent to which this relationship exhibits the hallmarks of durable alliance commitment. While shared strategic interests—Russia’s urgent demand for military materiel and North Korea’s search for economic and technological support—have accelerated bilateral exchanges and cooperation, the partnership’s long-term viability depends upon the deployment of credible, high-cost signals. Ex-ante investments, including coordinated military procurement and joint exercises, signal genuine strategic intent, whereas ex-post commitments—such as binding legal agreements—embed reciprocal obligations that limit sovereign autonomy and reinforce mutual defense. In the absence of such institutionalised mechanisms and sustained, costly demonstration of resolve, however, the Russia–North Korea alignment remains fundamentally pragmatic and contingent, grounded more in short-term expediency than in an enduring alliance architecture.

ABSTRACT The emerging Russia–North Korea strategic partnership illustrates how both states are adapting to an increasingly polarised international system. This article investigates not only the structural drivers of their alignment but also the extent to which this relationship exhibits the hallmarks of durable alliance commitment. While shared strategic interests—Russia’s urgent demand for military materiel and North Korea’s search for economic and technological support—have accelerated bilateral exchanges and cooperation, the partnership’s long-term viability depends upon the deployment of credible, high-cost signals. Ex-ante investments, including coordinated military procurement and joint exercises, signal genuine strategic intent, whereas ex-post commitments—such as binding legal agreements—embed reciprocal obligations that limit sovereign autonomy and reinforce mutual defense. In the absence of such institutionalised mechanisms and sustained, costly demonstration of resolve, however, the Russia–North Korea alignment remains fundamentally pragmatic and contingent, grounded more in short-term expediency than in an enduring alliance architecture.

🚨New online! Jina Kim analyses the pragmatic and contingent nature of Russia/North Korea relations in "Fragile alliances and costly signals: analyzing Russia-North Korea strategic ties". ⬇️
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
#AcademicPublishing #InternationalRelations

1 month ago 1 0 0 0
DISCUSSION Check for updates PNG 50th Independence - Introduction to Special Section Henry Ivarature Pacific Security College, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia On 16 September 2025, Papua New Guinea (PNG) celebrated its 50th independence anniversary since lowering the Australian flag and raising PNG's flag 50 years ago. The occasion was celebrated in the country with a week-long program of celebrations which included a naval fleet review. Seven PNG scholars have chosen to mark the occasion by publishing papers on important social and political developments in a special section of the Australian Journal of International Affairs. The scholars' writings cover a diverse range of subjects. The first paper, by Henry Ivarature from the Pacific Security College at the Australian National University, draws on a dataset of 366 MPs who were appointed ministers in 17 government in PNG from 1972 to 2022 and length of time as ministers - ministerial dur-ations. This paper finds that the overall average duration for all ministers in all 17 governments is 25 months. However, if ministers held more than one portfolio, the average duration was 12.3 months. In general, ministerial durations are longer in parliaments where only one government was in office compared to parliaments where two governments were in office. In PNG's history, out of the 17 governments, only three governments served for a full term of parliament.

DISCUSSION Check for updates PNG 50th Independence - Introduction to Special Section Henry Ivarature Pacific Security College, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia On 16 September 2025, Papua New Guinea (PNG) celebrated its 50th independence anniversary since lowering the Australian flag and raising PNG's flag 50 years ago. The occasion was celebrated in the country with a week-long program of celebrations which included a naval fleet review. Seven PNG scholars have chosen to mark the occasion by publishing papers on important social and political developments in a special section of the Australian Journal of International Affairs. The scholars' writings cover a diverse range of subjects. The first paper, by Henry Ivarature from the Pacific Security College at the Australian National University, draws on a dataset of 366 MPs who were appointed ministers in 17 government in PNG from 1972 to 2022 and length of time as ministers - ministerial dur-ations. This paper finds that the overall average duration for all ministers in all 17 governments is 25 months. However, if ministers held more than one portfolio, the average duration was 12.3 months. In general, ministerial durations are longer in parliaments where only one government was in office compared to parliaments where two governments were in office. In PNG's history, out of the 17 governments, only three governments served for a full term of parliament.

🚨New online! To celebrate the occasion of PNG's 50th anniversary of Independence, we have published a special section featuring PNG scholars. Read the introduction to the special section by Henry Ivarature. #FreeAccess #AcademicPublishing
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

4 months ago 0 1 0 0

This edition featuring articles on 🇵🇬by #PapuaNewGuinea authors is on #freeaccess for six months only. If you are affected by paywalls, please don't miss out!

1 month ago 0 0 0 0
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Graphic showing remarkable incremental increase in downloads over the last four years, from 171,480 in 2022, to 371,852 downloads in 2025.

Graphic showing remarkable incremental increase in downloads over the last four years, from 171,480 in 2022, to 371,852 downloads in 2025.

🚨AJIA's readership continues to grow! The editorial team sends a warm thank you to the authors, peer reviewers, and readers of the articles we publish.
It's been a very challenging period of growth but we are heartened by the results!

1 month ago 0 0 0 0

Much appreciated.

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It. Gah.

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Is the Australian Journal of International Affairs there? I couldn't see if.

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ABSTRACT The Australian strategist Arthur Tange once said that the most important defence document is the map. But how should the map of Australia be interpreted? The two most common ways have been to view Australia as an Island and as a Continent. While both have long influenced national policy, these 'metageographies' are unhelpful for thinking about and resolving Australia's current strategic problems. This paper explores the influence of metageographies on Australian defence policy, and then promotes the idea of Australia as archipelago. Though counter-intuitive, this framework compellingly maps the nation's historical patterns and emerging defence strategy. From ancient First Nations trade networks to colonial settlements as maritime nodes; from urban concentration to distributed military bases, the archipelagic frame captures what singular interpretations miss - Australia is defined by both distance and connection. An archipelagic metageography offers policy makers a conceptually powerful way of explaining, justifying and directing the national defence strategy. For scholars, examining metageographies reveals core assumptions behind scholarly and public debates over Australia's strategy and place on the map.

ABSTRACT The Australian strategist Arthur Tange once said that the most important defence document is the map. But how should the map of Australia be interpreted? The two most common ways have been to view Australia as an Island and as a Continent. While both have long influenced national policy, these 'metageographies' are unhelpful for thinking about and resolving Australia's current strategic problems. This paper explores the influence of metageographies on Australian defence policy, and then promotes the idea of Australia as archipelago. Though counter-intuitive, this framework compellingly maps the nation's historical patterns and emerging defence strategy. From ancient First Nations trade networks to colonial settlements as maritime nodes; from urban concentration to distributed military bases, the archipelagic frame captures what singular interpretations miss - Australia is defined by both distance and connection. An archipelagic metageography offers policy makers a conceptually powerful way of explaining, justifying and directing the national defence strategy. For scholars, examining metageographies reveals core assumptions behind scholarly and public debates over Australia's strategy and place on the map.

🚨New online: Andrew Carr deploys the idea of "archipelagic metageography" as a tool to give policymakers "a conceptually powerful way of explaining, justifying and directing the national defence strategy". #OpenAccess ⬇️
#AcademicPublishing #InternationalRelations
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

2 months ago 0 1 0 0
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Australian Journal of International Affairs Geopolitical Dilemmas of the Anglosphere: Identity and Strategy in the (Il)liberal West . Guest Editor: Ben Wellings. Volume 80, Issue 1 of Australian Journal of International Affairs

🚨New online! Latest edition, special guest edited by Ben Wellings: Geopolitical Dilemmas of the Anglosphere: Identity and Strategy in the (Il)liberal West. Includes some papers on #OpenAccess. ⬇️
#AcademicPublishing #InternationalRelations
www.tandfonline.com/toc/caji20/c...

2 months ago 1 1 0 0

Chatham House experts and researchers are available to follow on Bluesky.

Connect with our experts here and follow them for their analysis on key international events and major global trends. ⬇️

go.bsky.app/UKHXrog

2 months ago 6 2 1 1
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ABSTRACT The Australian strategist Arthur Tange once said that the most important defence document is the map. But how should the map of Australia be interpreted? The two most common ways have been to view Australia as an Island and as a Continent. While both have long influenced national policy, these 'metageographies' are unhelpful for thinking about and resolving Australia's current strategic problems. This paper explores the influence of metageographies on Australian defence policy, and then promotes the idea of Australia as archipelago. Though counter-intuitive, this framework compellingly maps the nation's historical patterns and emerging defence strategy. From ancient First Nations trade networks to colonial settlements as maritime nodes; from urban concentration to distributed military bases, the archipelagic frame captures what singular interpretations miss - Australia is defined by both distance and connection. An archipelagic metageography offers policy makers a conceptually powerful way of explaining, justifying and directing the national defence strategy. For scholars, examining metageographies reveals core assumptions behind scholarly and public debates over Australia's strategy and place on the map.

ABSTRACT The Australian strategist Arthur Tange once said that the most important defence document is the map. But how should the map of Australia be interpreted? The two most common ways have been to view Australia as an Island and as a Continent. While both have long influenced national policy, these 'metageographies' are unhelpful for thinking about and resolving Australia's current strategic problems. This paper explores the influence of metageographies on Australian defence policy, and then promotes the idea of Australia as archipelago. Though counter-intuitive, this framework compellingly maps the nation's historical patterns and emerging defence strategy. From ancient First Nations trade networks to colonial settlements as maritime nodes; from urban concentration to distributed military bases, the archipelagic frame captures what singular interpretations miss - Australia is defined by both distance and connection. An archipelagic metageography offers policy makers a conceptually powerful way of explaining, justifying and directing the national defence strategy. For scholars, examining metageographies reveals core assumptions behind scholarly and public debates over Australia's strategy and place on the map.

🚨New online: Andrew Carr deploys the idea of "archipelagic metageography" as a tool to give policymakers "a conceptually powerful way of explaining, justifying and directing the national defence strategy". #OpenAccess ⬇️
#AcademicPublishing #InternationalRelations
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

2 months ago 0 1 0 0
ABSTRACT In recent years, states from various parts of the world have embraced the concept of a 'friends to all, enemy to none' foreign policy. Such states include Namibia, the Philippines, Singapore, Bangladesh, and Papua New Guinea. Solomon Islands, in the south-west Pacific Ocean, has also maintained this stance consistently and fervently. Despite the frequent use of the term 'friendship' or 'friend' in the diplomatic rhetoric of states, the concept of a 'friends to all foreign policy' remains underanalysed in the field of International Relations and Foreign Policy Analysis. Drawing on Oelsner and Koschut's framework for international normative friendship, this article finds that Western-oriented IR conceptions are limited in explaining Solomon Islands' policy of friendship. It is argued that Solomon Islands pursues what this article labels 'pragmatic friendship. This form of friendship is influenced by the cultural and religious contexts of Melanesian society and is both normative as well as strategic. The addition of this term expands International Relations theory to incorporate a non-Western perspective and illustrates how small states can effectively manoeuvre geopolitical competition between major powers.

ABSTRACT In recent years, states from various parts of the world have embraced the concept of a 'friends to all, enemy to none' foreign policy. Such states include Namibia, the Philippines, Singapore, Bangladesh, and Papua New Guinea. Solomon Islands, in the south-west Pacific Ocean, has also maintained this stance consistently and fervently. Despite the frequent use of the term 'friendship' or 'friend' in the diplomatic rhetoric of states, the concept of a 'friends to all foreign policy' remains underanalysed in the field of International Relations and Foreign Policy Analysis. Drawing on Oelsner and Koschut's framework for international normative friendship, this article finds that Western-oriented IR conceptions are limited in explaining Solomon Islands' policy of friendship. It is argued that Solomon Islands pursues what this article labels 'pragmatic friendship. This form of friendship is influenced by the cultural and religious contexts of Melanesian society and is both normative as well as strategic. The addition of this term expands International Relations theory to incorporate a non-Western perspective and illustrates how small states can effectively manoeuvre geopolitical competition between major powers.

🚨New online: Daniella Marggraff discusses the Solomon Islands' foreign policy position of "pragmatic friendship" to demonstrate how small states can manoeuvre geopolitical competition between major powers. #OpenAccess ⬇️
www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....
#AcademicPublishing #InternationalRelations

2 months ago 2 1 1 0
ABSTRACT Donald Trump's protectionist turn posed critical challenges for allies embedded in global supply chains. This article compares the European Union's strategy of rules-based resistance with South Korea's strategic accommodation regarding the Section 232 tariffs. Despite divergent approaches, economic outcomes proved strikingly similar, as neither resistance nor accommodation significantly altered bilateral trade structures or US deficits. This convergence is attributed to deeply embedded supply chains, the limited efficacy of tariff coercion, and US domestic constraints. However, political consequences differed markedly: the EU accelerated its drive for strategic autonomy, whereas South Korea reinforced asymmetric security dependence. Drawing on these insights, the study argues that the structural economic nationalism of Trump 2.0 renders previous singular strategies insufficient. Instead, the article proposes a hybrid framework - combining selective resistance, targeted accommodation, and long-term diversification - as the optimal path for middle powers navigating an increasingly volatile US trade environment.

ABSTRACT Donald Trump's protectionist turn posed critical challenges for allies embedded in global supply chains. This article compares the European Union's strategy of rules-based resistance with South Korea's strategic accommodation regarding the Section 232 tariffs. Despite divergent approaches, economic outcomes proved strikingly similar, as neither resistance nor accommodation significantly altered bilateral trade structures or US deficits. This convergence is attributed to deeply embedded supply chains, the limited efficacy of tariff coercion, and US domestic constraints. However, political consequences differed markedly: the EU accelerated its drive for strategic autonomy, whereas South Korea reinforced asymmetric security dependence. Drawing on these insights, the study argues that the structural economic nationalism of Trump 2.0 renders previous singular strategies insufficient. Instead, the article proposes a hybrid framework - combining selective resistance, targeted accommodation, and long-term diversification - as the optimal path for middle powers navigating an increasingly volatile US trade environment.

🚨New online: Zmire and Lee on Trump's protectionist trade policy & a possible approach to navigating a volatile trade environment.⬇️
tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....
#AcademicPublishing #AcademicSky #InternationalRelations #Trade

2 months ago 2 0 0 0
ABSTRACT This article examines how perceptions of respect and disrespect shape client behavior in patron - client relations (PCRs), focusing on the Compact of Free Association (CoFA) states - Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau - and their ties with the United States. Building on an original framework that integrates PCR theory with ontological security theory, the study introduces respect as a way to operationalize affectivity, a core but underdeveloped feature of PCRs. Through a case study of the 2020-2023 Compact renewal negotiations, it shows how respect functions as an intervening variable that shapes ontological security and motivates elite strategies. The paper also introduces calibration as a distinct mode of client agency, used to assert preferences without rupturing the relationship. In doing so, the article expands PCR theory by (1) theorizing affectivity in IR, (2) identifying calibration as a strategy of navigation, and (3) demonstrating how PCRs operate in institutionalized, non-conflictual settings.

ABSTRACT This article examines how perceptions of respect and disrespect shape client behavior in patron - client relations (PCRs), focusing on the Compact of Free Association (CoFA) states - Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau - and their ties with the United States. Building on an original framework that integrates PCR theory with ontological security theory, the study introduces respect as a way to operationalize affectivity, a core but underdeveloped feature of PCRs. Through a case study of the 2020-2023 Compact renewal negotiations, it shows how respect functions as an intervening variable that shapes ontological security and motivates elite strategies. The paper also introduces calibration as a distinct mode of client agency, used to assert preferences without rupturing the relationship. In doing so, the article expands PCR theory by (1) theorizing affectivity in IR, (2) identifying calibration as a strategy of navigation, and (3) demonstrating how PCRs operate in institutionalized, non-conflictual settings.

🚨New online! Yüksel examines how perceptions of respect and disrespect shape client behavior in patron – client relations, using Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Republic of Palau as a case study. ⬇️
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tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

2 months ago 0 0 0 0
ABSTRACT The 2003-2017 Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) has been described as a uniquely successful example of a host state sharing sovereignty with an external actor. After five years of debilitating civil conflict, an Australian-led intervention force assumed powerful positions in key parts of the Solomon Islands state, including policing, the prison service, the justice and finance ministries and various accountability institutions. The RAMSI experience has therefore been identified as a critical test case for those-like Francis Fukuyama and Stephen Krasner— who make broader claims about the desirability of interventions that restrict the sovereignty of weak, failed or delinquent states. This paper argues that shared sovereignty is a highly inaccurate and misleading description of the RAMSI arrangements. Executive authority remained with the Solomon Islands government throughout and RAMSI's more intrusive actions generated a major political crisis over 2006-2007 from which the mission never entirely recovered. Far from offering a successful example of a foreign power sharing sovereignty with a mendicant state, the RAMS story illustrates the dangers of seeking to better manage aid delivery by diminishing the political autonomy of recipient countries.

ABSTRACT The 2003-2017 Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) has been described as a uniquely successful example of a host state sharing sovereignty with an external actor. After five years of debilitating civil conflict, an Australian-led intervention force assumed powerful positions in key parts of the Solomon Islands state, including policing, the prison service, the justice and finance ministries and various accountability institutions. The RAMSI experience has therefore been identified as a critical test case for those-like Francis Fukuyama and Stephen Krasner— who make broader claims about the desirability of interventions that restrict the sovereignty of weak, failed or delinquent states. This paper argues that shared sovereignty is a highly inaccurate and misleading description of the RAMSI arrangements. Executive authority remained with the Solomon Islands government throughout and RAMSI's more intrusive actions generated a major political crisis over 2006-2007 from which the mission never entirely recovered. Far from offering a successful example of a foreign power sharing sovereignty with a mendicant state, the RAMS story illustrates the dangers of seeking to better manage aid delivery by diminishing the political autonomy of recipient countries.

🚨New online: Jon Fraenkel takes a critical look at RAMSI in "Was sovereignty ever shared in the Solomon Islands?" ⬇️
www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....
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2 months ago 0 0 0 0
ABSTRACT With global coal demand estimated to peak this year, and prices returning to pre-COVID levels (IEA 2025), is there now a unique opportunity to limit the expansion of new thermal coal mines? The paper first outlines the potential for an international agreement to limit the approval of new, export-oriented thermal coal mines by 2026, and to do so in a manner that may appeal to the economic and political interests of coal-exporting states. It then outlines how such an agreement would build on a range of initiatives that have developed within the UN climate negotiations, as well as how it could unlock challenging negotiations over the 'transition away from fossil fuels'. Finally, it will outline how Australia is ideally placed to promote such a scheme, which would support its ongoing co-hosting role within the UN climate talks (COP31) in 2026.

ABSTRACT With global coal demand estimated to peak this year, and prices returning to pre-COVID levels (IEA 2025), is there now a unique opportunity to limit the expansion of new thermal coal mines? The paper first outlines the potential for an international agreement to limit the approval of new, export-oriented thermal coal mines by 2026, and to do so in a manner that may appeal to the economic and political interests of coal-exporting states. It then outlines how such an agreement would build on a range of initiatives that have developed within the UN climate negotiations, as well as how it could unlock challenging negotiations over the 'transition away from fossil fuels'. Finally, it will outline how Australia is ideally placed to promote such a scheme, which would support its ongoing co-hosting role within the UN climate talks (COP31) in 2026.

🚨New online: discussion paper by Christopher Wright, "How a no new coal mining treaty could align climate and coal mining interests ahead of COP31". ⬇️
www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....
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2 months ago 1 1 0 0
ABSTRACT Donald Trump's return to the US presidency in 2025 has reintroduced profound strategic uncertainty for Indo-Pacific middle powers. This article reassesses South Korea's responses to Trump's first-term diplomacy (2017-2020) as a prototype for navigating asymmetric and highly transactional alliance politics. The study identifies four issue-differentiated strategies adopted by Seoul: early settlement in the KORUS FTA renegotiation, strategic delay in defence cost-sharing talks, targeted persuasion that helped enable two historic US-North Korea summits, and dual-track hedging amid escalating US-China rivalry. These strategies proved effective in managing coercive bargaining during Trump's first term, but this analysis argues that they are insufficient for the intensified pressures of the 'MAGA 2.0' era. Trump's 2025 policy agenda signals a more institutionalised form of unilateralism with significant implications for regional order. The South Korean case illustrates both the possibilities and limitations of flexible alignment

ABSTRACT Donald Trump's return to the US presidency in 2025 has reintroduced profound strategic uncertainty for Indo-Pacific middle powers. This article reassesses South Korea's responses to Trump's first-term diplomacy (2017-2020) as a prototype for navigating asymmetric and highly transactional alliance politics. The study identifies four issue-differentiated strategies adopted by Seoul: early settlement in the KORUS FTA renegotiation, strategic delay in defence cost-sharing talks, targeted persuasion that helped enable two historic US-North Korea summits, and dual-track hedging amid escalating US-China rivalry. These strategies proved effective in managing coercive bargaining during Trump's first term, but this analysis argues that they are insufficient for the intensified pressures of the 'MAGA 2.0' era. Trump's 2025 policy agenda signals a more institutionalised form of unilateralism with significant implications for regional order. The South Korean case illustrates both the possibilities and limitations of flexible alignment

🚨New online: discussion paper by Jae-seung Lee and Dae-joong Lee, on Donald Trump, South Korea, alliance politics and middle-power diplomacy.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... ⬇️
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2 months ago 1 0 0 0
Preview
Australian Journal of International Affairs Geopolitical Dilemmas of the Anglosphere: Identity and Strategy in the (Il)liberal West . Guest Editor: Ben Wellings. Volume 80, Issue 1 of Australian Journal of International Affairs

🚨New online! Latest edition, special guest edited by Ben Wellings: Geopolitical Dilemmas of the Anglosphere: Identity and Strategy in the (Il)liberal West. Includes some papers on #OpenAccess. ⬇️
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www.tandfonline.com/toc/caji20/c...

2 months ago 1 1 0 0