History & Policy

David Lowe - Trump tumult and the Australian-American alliance in historical perspective

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Sinopsis

David Lowe (Australian Policy and History): Trump tumult and the Australian-American alliance in historical perspective The Trump phenomenon has caused many governments to think hard about the nature of their relationships with the United States. In the case of Australia, amidst the shock and confusion, it may even trigger the sort of questioning of the ANZUS Security Pact (1951) that historians have thus far been unable to stir. To date, ANZUS and the oft-recalled memory of 1 million American soldiers passing through Australia in the Second World War, have constituted mnemonic foundation stones for thinking about the intertwining of American and Australian security. But just as the numbers of US war veterans have rapidly dwindled, so too does ANZUS suddenly look fragile. While it would be rash to say recent events have opened up a new space for historians in public conversation – such has been the continuing bipartisanship on the virtues of the American alliance – they have invited greater reflection. I su