To balance or to bandwagon? Adjusting to China's rise during Australia's Rudd–Gillard era

Bloomfield, Alan

doi:10.1080/09512748.2015.1013497

Cited by 25 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Policymakers and scholars have thus begun to review past policies toward China and to rethink both changes in the geopolitical environment and China’s challenges to the international order. Since Howard emphasized the economic opportunity presented by the rise of China, Australia’s China policy has fallen somewhere within the hedging zone [ 10 ]. Recently, such policies have been mired in controversy because of their assertation that Australia does not have to choose between the US and China, which has been a political mantra for bipartisan leaders whenever US-China tensions were mentioned in the past.…”

Section: Australia’s Quest For Ontological Security and The Australiamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Struggle for Certainty: Ontological Security, the Rise of Nationalism, and Australia-China Tensions after COVID-19

Pan

Korolev

2021

J OF CHIN POLIT SCI

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Australia-China relations have been relatively stable over the last decade. However, soon after the outbreak of COVID-19, Australia took an increasingly assertive stance toward China, one that is arguably even more assertive than those of its Western allies. What prompted Australia to adopt a tougher policy against China? This article argues that COVID-19 has brought significant uncertainty to the international system and, hence, to Australia's external environment, which has affected the country's decisionmaking, accelerating the formation of a hardline policy toward China. A contributing factor behind this policy is Australia's quest for ontological security, which, in the context of COVID-19, has triggered a rise in anti-China sentiment. Meanwhile, this strategy backfired when it encountered China's own nationalism, which exacerbated the widening political chasm, dragging the two countries into an unprecedented diplomatic confrontation. The core of ontological security lies in maintaining the stability of the identity needed for the formation of consistent policy. The uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic have changed the familiar external environment and challenged Australia's ability to interpret this new environment and adjust to it, which has triggered ontological insecurity. By analyzing Australia's identity as a middle power in the context of changing regional security and its commitment to certain values, the article shows how COVID-19 has accelerated Australia's quest for ontological security, which has changed the country's China policy.

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Section: Australia’s Quest For Ontological Security and The Australiamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Struggle for Certainty: Ontological Security, the Rise of Nationalism, and Australia-China Tensions after COVID-19

Pan

Korolev

2021

J OF CHIN POLIT SCI

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“…Indeed, Labor’s Mark Latham lost the 2004 election and then destroyed his political career in part by revealing the depth of his anti-Americanism. This outcome (Bloomfield & Nossal, 2010), and the fact that polls show public support for ANZUS rarely dips below 80 per cent (Bloomfield, 2016), reinforces bipartisan agreement on the importance of maintaining close links with Washington.…”

Section: Why Expect Continuity?mentioning

confidence: 67%

Explaining the Turmoil at the Top of Australian Politics and the Implications for India

Bloomfield

2016

India Quarterly: A Journal of International Affairs

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Five Australian prime ministers have come and gone in the past five years. The turbulence at the top, however, is likely over because Malcolm Turnbull, the leader of the conservative Liberal Party, is likely to remain in the prime minister’s office for several years. This article first provides some background to the Australian political system before explaining why so prime ministers came and went between 2010 and 2015. It then considers the implications of all this for Australian foreign policy. The argument is simple: despite the constant personnel changes at the pinnacle of power there are actually few ‘deep’ differences between the two parties – or their leaders – in the realm of foreign policy. There are some differences, of course, so the final section considers the potential for changes in several policy-areas – climate change, national security, trade policy and asylum seekers – but any potential changes are judged likely to be minor and incremental. The article then finishes with consideration of what all of this means for India and, again, the conclusion is simple; it is likely to be ‘business as usual’ as Canberra tries to steadily improve the bilateral relationship in both security and economic terms.

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“…China reacted angrily, arguing the Quad was "a small NATO to resist China", 70 and in 2008 Australia's newly-installed Prime Minister Kevin Rudd quietly shelved the idea (India had been somewhat lukewarm too). 73 Indeed, hedging remains the basic foundation of Australia's China Policy; 74 there are few indications that Canberra wants to substantially reduce its engagement with China, especially visà-vis trade. 72 Nevertheless, the re-born Quad remains an informal alignment of like-minded states rather than a formal multilateral alliance to coordinate hard-balancing and/or outright containment of China.…”

Section: Indo-pacific Concernsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…72 Nevertheless, the re-born Quad remains an informal alignment of like-minded states rather than a formal multilateral alliance to coordinate hard-balancing and/or outright containment of China. 73 Indeed, hedging remains the basic foundation of Australia's China Policy; 74 there are few indications that Canberra wants to substantially reduce its engagement with China, especially visà-vis trade. On the other hand, the (slow but steady) rearmament programme, 75 the decision to reform the Quad, and the measures to blunt China's influence in Australia outlined above all strongly suggest that the "balancing against" (China) side of the hedging equation is strengthening.…”

Section: Indo-pacific Concernsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Issues in Australian Foreign Policy

Bloomfield

2018

Aus J of Politics History

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To balance or to bandwagon? Adjusting to China's rise during Australia's Rudd–Gillard era

Cited by 25 publications

References 30 publications

The Struggle for Certainty: Ontological Security, the Rise of Nationalism, and Australia-China Tensions after COVID-19

The Struggle for Certainty: Ontological Security, the Rise of Nationalism, and Australia-China Tensions after COVID-19

Explaining the Turmoil at the Top of Australian Politics and the Implications for India

Issues in Australian Foreign Policy

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