What is National Interest and How Has It Shaped Foreign Policy in Australia?

James Cook University | Study Period 1 23.04.2013 | “What is National Interest, and how has it developed in Australia? How has this shaped its foreign policy?” | PL 2250 | Australia and World Politics |

Ross Parisi | James Cook University | Cairns Campus
4/23/2013
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Introduction

This assignment will discuss and analyse how Australia’s National Interest has underpinned the development of Australia’s foreign policy framework since the beginning of the twentieth century until 2013. It will define the meaning of National Interest and the term Foreign Policy/ International Relations and how the two major political parties when in government interpret and provide formal standing. The essay then will trace the evolving foreign policy and highlight Australia’s position at various times, while acknowledging that Australia’s foreign policy has been forged by various historical, social, political and cultural events and includes a number of separate, but inter-related policies in the areas of defence and security, trade, international commitments and foreign aid. The essay will briefly highlight three examples; Australia - New Zealand - United States Security Treaty (ANZUS), the Asia - Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and International Treaties to exemplify how Australia’s foreign policy has evolved and developed thereby securing Australia’s National Interest.

National Interest and Foreign / International Relations

Ashton Calvert characterised it as follows, “The national interest is not static, nor can it be defined in a mechanical way. It depends in part on prior strategic choices a nation has made, and is informed by the view we have of ourselves as a country, and by what we want to stand for.” The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Gareth Evans, in 1988 advanced a symbolic argument that, “Australia had three fundamental national interests: geopolitical or strategic, economic and trade, and good international citizenship.”

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