Current Issue
AFA 2 - February 2018Trump in Asia
‘We’ve hidden behind a hope that American power and resolve will again prevail. Trump tears away any excuse for wishful thinking.’ Michael Wesley
The second issue of Australian Foreign Affairs examines the United States’ sudden shift from the Asia Pivot to America First. It provides insights into Donald Trump’s White House and explores how his unpredictable approach to international affairs is affecting the volatile Asian region.
Trump in Asia is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the issues facing Canberra as Australia’s closest ally recasts its alliances.
• Michael Wesley explores the challenges and risks for Australia as it rushes to find a new plan for surviving in a post-America Asia.
• Kim Beazley and L. Gordon Flake assess the North Korean missile crisis and conclude the risk of war is real and rising.
• Andrew Davies analyses the Australian military’s dependence on the United States and the trade-off for Canberra as it weighs the cost of self-reliance.
• David Kilcullen reports from the United States on Trump’s strange mix of swagger, fury and orthodoxy, and the implications for Australia of this erratic president and his team.
• Anna Fifield examines the growing rivalry between China and Japan.
• Cynthia Banham explores the essential qualities for an Australian foreign minister.
• Hamish McDonald reports on the role of the Indonesian military in the mass killings of 1965–66.
Australian Foreign Affairs is published three times a year and seeks to explore – and encourage – debate on Australia’s place in the world and global outlook.
ABOUT
Australian Foreign Affairs is a new journal brought to you by the publishers of Black Inc. and Quarterly Essay. It will be published three times a year, in February, July and October, beginning in October 2017.
The world is changing, and so is Australia’s place in it. A large number of general readers are fascinated by the dynamics of a rising China and a disengaging United States, in a world that is arguably less stable than at any time since World War II. AFA will make foreign affairs available and accessible to a large audience, in the way that Quarterly Essays make serious politics popular.
There has never been a more critical time for Australia to contemplate its place in the world. My intention is that Australian Foreign Affairs will serve as a forum for our most adventurous and deepest strategic thinkers to interrogate foreign policy
— Morry Schwartz, Publisher, Australian Foreign Affairs
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Jonathan Pearlman is the editor of Australian Foreign Affairs and is a correspondent for the Telegraph (UK) and the Straits Times newspaper (Singapore). He previously worked at the Sydney Morning Herald, covering foreign affairs and politics from Canberra and Sydney.
Australia is increasingly affected by events beyond its borders, especially as global power and wealth shifts towards Asia. The challenges facing Australia and the region are varied and complex, but they are also fascinating. There is a strong need and appetite for a publication that explores these challenges and debates the ways Australia should respond.
— Jonathan Pearlman, Editor, Australian Foreign Affairs
Editor Jonathan Pearlman discusses Issue #2 Trump in Asia.
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Next Issue
Can We Be Friends?
Australia and Indonesia examines the turbulent relationship between these two neighbours and the missteps and missed opportunities on both sides that have prevented the forging of a genuine friendship. It will look at Indonesia’s rise, its sharp religious and political divisions, and the opportunities and challenges this presents for Australia.
Australia and Indonesia will be crucial reading for anyone wanting to understand the intricacies of arguably Australia’s most important relationship. The risk for both nations is that, as Asia’s power balance changes, a failure to deepen ties now will lead to a wider gulf in the future.
Hugh White: ‘Australia, Overshadowed: Keeping the peace with our rising northern neighbour’
Jennifer Rayner: ‘The View from Australia: more Jakarta, less condescension’
‘The View from Indonesia: How to say “deputy sheriff” in Bahasa Indonesia’
‘One Country, 18,000 Islands: Islamists, separatists and the growing cracks in the republic
