Australia, the Region and the World: 1901-2010

This course will survey Australia’s interactions with international and regional affairs from Federation through to the Global Financial Crisis. We will examine debates over regional security, immigration and multiculturalism, multilateral negotiation and international accountability, cultural exchange and the projection of national identity, 'global citizenship' and climate change response. Building on an account of foreign and defence policies, we will trace the political, economic, social and cultural connections between imperial, national and international development and change, and the ways in which meanings of the nation, the region and the international sphere have evolved. Areas of attention will include the key contexts of Australia’s relations with the United Kingdom, the United States, the Asia-Pacific region and international and non-government organisations; the role of diplomacy, the press, public opinion, party attitudes, and expert advice; the dynamics of economic change and population mobility; the ambitions of individuals (including expatriates) and the power of interest groups and political movements as reflected in the intersection of national and international issues.