The Genesis of a Policy: Defining and Defending Australia’s National Interest in the Asia-Pacific, 1921–57 book cover
History · 2021 · en

The Genesis of a Policy: Defining and Defending Australia’s National Interest in the Asia-Pacific, 1921–57

by Honae Cuffe

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About this book

Honae Cuffe traces the development of Australian foreign and strategic policy from the interwar period through the early Cold War. The book examines how Australian leaders tried to reconcile regional interests with imperial ties, economic priorities and relationships with larger powers.

Following the years from 1921 to 1957, Cuffe considers trade policy, the approach to war in the Pacific, wartime diplomacy and postwar cooperation with Britain and the United States. Archival sources illuminate both the ambitions of policymakers and the constraints under which they worked. The account connects particular decisions to the longer search for influence, security and an independent voice in the Asia-Pacific.