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Book SynopsisIn 2018, Australia finds itself at the center of a geopolitical storm within the Indo-Pacific region. With the meteoric rise of China and the perceived decline of U.S. influence and power in East Asia, Australia is faced with some rather difficult and uncomfortable questions concerning its economic future and its national security. Historically, Australia has always had a major power as its key ally, especially in terms of its national security. In 1901, Australia became a self-governing nation. However, Great Britain continued to protect Australia from potential external enemies, because Australia remained an important and valued commonwealth nation within the British empire. However, at the beginning of the Pacific War during WWII, Australia reached out to America after the British colony Singapore collapsed in the face of the oncoming and powerful Japanese imperial military forces in February 1942.With the empire of Japan marching southward in the Pacific region, Australian prime mi
Trade ReviewDr. Randall Doyle, a prolific author, offers a new monograph on Australia’s importance in the shaping of the complicated international relations in the Indo-Pacific region. By using voluminous sources, personal experience, and eloquent language, he highlights Australia’s heritage from Britain, stresses Australian alliance with the United States of America, and underscores Australia’s relationship with other regional powers. Although Australia was silent in the past as a British colony and then a British dependency and in the recent decades as an American ally under U.S. paternalism, the country now is a rising nation. Its rich natural resources and its strategic position determine the fate of the nation as a regional power. As Doyle argues, Australia is posited in the center of storm as it will continue to play an important role in 21st century global and regional affairs, in particular, in the Indo-Pacific region. Doyle has written this book with his easy-to-understand language, while offering funny stories and rendering quick-witted remarks. -- Patrick Shan, Grand Valley State University
Dr. Doyle has once again demonstrated his considerable ability to boil the Asia-Pacific region down to its essential motivations. There are few teachers and practitioners working today who’ve spent more time thinking about Australia. In “The Australian Nexus” Dr. Doyle shows clearly why the world’s sixth largest country – over twice as large as its neighbor India – is emerging as one of the region’s most important actors in this century. His portrait is at once alarming and hopeful, accurately portraying today’s tensions but also considering how regional and global powers might win the western Pacific. -- Micah Watson
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Part I: Journey to the Land Down Under and a Brief Shining Light Chapter 1: NCS Harold E. Holt: An American Cold War Outpost Chapter 2: Gough Whitlam: The Death of an Australian Politician Part II: The Great Unknown - Australia and America and the Indo-Pacific Chapter 3: Red Sky in Morning, Australia Take Warning Chapter 4: The Epochal Moment Arrives in the Indo-Pacific: America, Australia, China and the Quest for Peace and Prosperity Appendix: Australia, the Indo-Pacific, and the American Empire Bibliography About the Author
