The Unbreakable Alliance? Strategic Dependence and Australia's US Alliance

Abstract

Over the course of the twentieth century, concerns about Australia's strategic dependence shifted from the United Kingdom to the United States. In 1951, the signing of the ANZUS treaty formalised the Australia–US alliance, a relationship which has retained its status as the ‘cornerstone’ or ‘linchpin’ of Australia's foreign policy. This chapter assesses the evolution of debates about Australia's strategic dependence on the United States and the abandonment anxieties that such dependence produces. It examines Australia's agency and influence within the alliance, and the ways in which Australian leaders have sought to advance its national interests on the world stage independently of the United States. Ultimately, the independence/dependence dichotomy fails to capture the complexities of Australia's bilateral relations with the United States.