Austrailian Civilization
A country's foreign policy is only partly the result of decisions made by its government: it is mainly imposed by circumstances. Australia, during the last fifty years, has been a country unsure of its place in the world. She has been bouncing from ally to ally, begging for a place under their umbrella of protection, ignoring and denying her place in the Asian region, and struggling to find a foreign policy that is in the best interest of her welfare and security. Australia truly finds herself, pardon the pun, 'stuck on a rock in a hard place.' The Asian region in the past half-century has been an atmosphere of turmoil and unrest. Communism threatened Australia's way of life and the fragile nation that had been preserved so carefully. These threats were very real and right at Australia's doorstep. "The Australian continent is nearly indefensible," and Australia realized this fact. Ideas such as 'yellow peril' and 'forward defense' dominated the headlines during these turbulent times. Australia's small army and enormous size made it a good target for attack. Not to mention the fact that Australia still: "...carried the burden of blame for its past and present racial policies" toward Asia. A
" That choice would change Australian foreign policy forever. Australia, during the Vietnam War, began to see the dark side of American politics, and because of this Australia wanted and needed to focus her policies towards themselves in order to patch up relations with her Asian neighbors. Australia also had no choice but to follow America in to the war because of the ANZUS treaty, and the fact that it was the only way to be assured of the continued security that the U. Our foreign policy therefore resided in the simple concept that we should give support to Britain when she needed it, and help in fighting her enemies in war. " The policy of 'forward defense' was another reason for the commitment of troops. ' He went on to say that the alliance with the US would be the 'keystone of Australia's defense. " Australia must rely on this stability in order to come up with a foreign policy that can help benefit Australia through economic opportunities. These four points should prove why Australia's military experiences in Asia have been the deceive factors in establishing her foreign policy over the past fifty years. The decline of hostility between communist and capitalist countries throughout the '80s ". Malcolm Booker defined Australia's role in the region by stating: "after the Korean War Australia became increasingly identified with (a) policy of all-out opposition to communism. As I have mentioned earlier, they needed help to instill such an aggressive defense policy.
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Acceptance Essays
