2005 Handbooks

This unit examines Australian foreign policy, with particular emphasis on the Asian-Pacific region, in both its contemporary and historical aspects.

The first section is an examination of the development of the study of international relations in Australia; links between the study of international relations and state policy as well as broader Australian political developments are emphasised.

The second section explores the traditions of foreign policy in Australia looking at key stages in its development from 1901 to the end of the 1990's, emphasising the increasing importance to Australia of the Asian-Pacific region. The third section examines the most important contemporary issues in Australian foreign policy including approaches to security, economic globalisation, the United Nations and peacekeeping, developing international regimes covering human rights, the environment and disarmament as well as its key relations in the Asian-Pacific region.