TY - JOUR
T1 - The Liberal National Coalition, Australian Labor Party and Africa: two decades of partisanship in Australia's foreign policy
AU - Pijovic, Nikola
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - The issue of bipartisanship in Australian foreign policy is not often substantially addressed. The country's relations with the world appear to exhibit strong continuity regardless of the political party in government. And yet, when it comes to engagement with African states and issues, the last two decades have seen highly prominent partisan differences in Australian foreign policy. This article utilises the example of Australia's foreign policy engagement with Africa to argue that there may be two levels of understanding bipartisanship in Australian foreign policy. On the one hand, aimed at relationships and issues perceived to be of primal and significant security and economic well-being for the country, Australian foreign policy does indeed appear to be bipartisan. However, aimed at relationships and issues that have traditionally been perceived as holding minimal security and economic interest and importance for the country, Australian foreign policy does exhibit partisanship.
AB - The issue of bipartisanship in Australian foreign policy is not often substantially addressed. The country's relations with the world appear to exhibit strong continuity regardless of the political party in government. And yet, when it comes to engagement with African states and issues, the last two decades have seen highly prominent partisan differences in Australian foreign policy. This article utilises the example of Australia's foreign policy engagement with Africa to argue that there may be two levels of understanding bipartisanship in Australian foreign policy. On the one hand, aimed at relationships and issues perceived to be of primal and significant security and economic well-being for the country, Australian foreign policy does indeed appear to be bipartisan. However, aimed at relationships and issues that have traditionally been perceived as holding minimal security and economic interest and importance for the country, Australian foreign policy does exhibit partisanship.
U2 - 10.1080/10357718.2016.1167835
DO - 10.1080/10357718.2016.1167835
M3 - Article
SN - 1035-7718
VL - 70
SP - 541
EP - 562
JO - Australian Journal of International Affairs
JF - Australian Journal of International Affairs
IS - 5
ER -