International reputation and the Voice to Parliament referendum

Abstract

ABSTRACT During the Voice to Parliament referendum campaign, ‘yes' advocates argued that a failed referendum would harm Australia's international reputation. To what extent did this occur? This article examines how the Voice to Parliament spoke to Australia's international reputation and why it matters for foreign policy. It maps the global producers of reputation narratives and theorises about which, when and why specific audiences might matter for how reputation affects foreign policy. Using a unique combination of materials collected from Meltwater and Global NewsBank databases, it tracks how the Voice to Parliament campaign and its results were interpreted by various international audiences, with a specific focus on global media. The implications for foreign policy are likely to be mixed while the result may be weaponised by other states and limit Australia's ability to make credible moral claims in international fora, geopolitical considerations are likely to reduce its overall effect on Australia’s international agenda.