Australian Foreign Relations: A Contemporary Perspective

The text aims to present the student with an introduction to Australian foreign relations, focusing in particular on those contemporary relationships which are most critical to Australia.
The book is organised around Australia's most important Western and Asian bi-lateral relationships. Australian Foreign Relations asks how the 'history versus geography' debate, which is a continuing theme in the history of Australian foreign relations is relevant in the current climate of international relations and foreign policy formulation.

Abbreviations
Preface
1.       Introduction: A Framework for Studying Australian Foreign Relations.
2.       The Domestic Context
3.       Relationships with Western Countries
4.       The United States
5.       The United Kingdom
6.       Europe
7.       Relationships with Asia-Pacific Countries
8.       The Asia Pacific: General Themes
9.       Japan
10.    China
11.    Indonesia
12.    The South Pacific
References

• Single authored text, offers a unified perspective and narrative. Many of the competing texts are edited collections.
• Organised around our most important bi-lateral and regional relationships. It sets out to examine the main issues confronting Australia and its foreign relations in terms of Australia's key relationships at the end of the century. In this way, the issues which are important to Australia can be studied in the context of the country's key relationships.
• Offers an historical overview of Australia's key relationships, and examines how Australia's foreign policy has evolved since the 19th century. It examines both continuity and change. Eg the post cold-war international political system.
• Other texts focus heavily on the theoretical dimensions of Australian Foreign Policy and it broader relationship to the international relations as a field of study. This texts emphasis and strength lies in its detailed descriptive coverage of the external and internal factors which provide the context for policy.

• Derek McDougall is a Senior Lecturer in the department of Political Science at the University of Melbourne. He has had numerous articles published in journals such as; Australian Outlook, Oxford International Review and Australian Journal of International Affairs. He is also the author of numerous texts on international relations and foreign policy.