Australia and the Changing International Order, 2021–2025 (ii)

Abstract

Australia's foreign policy has entered a period of profound transformation. Between 2021 and 2025, intensifying strategic rivalry, uncertainty surrounding the liberal international order, the consolidation of AUKUS, renewed engagement with Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and growing domestic debates over national identity have fundamentally reshaped Australia's external relations. At the same time, economic interdependence with China, evolving regional institutions, and emerging global challenges—including climate change, human rights, technological competition, and economic security—have required Australian policymakers to balance strategic, economic, and normative priorities in increasingly complex ways. This panel brings together contributors to the forthcoming volume Australia in World Affairs, 2021–2025 to examine the major developments in Australia's foreign policy during this critical period. Rather than focusing on a single policy domain, the panel offers a comprehensive assessment of how Australia has responded to an increasingly contested regional and global environment. Collectively, the papers investigate the interaction between domestic politics, public opinion, national identity, regional diplomacy, economic statecraft, security policy, and international institutions in shaping Australian foreign policy. The contributions examine a wide range of issues. They analyse changing Australian public opinion on foreign affairs, alliance politics, AUKUS, and strategic competition; reinterpret the relationship between contested national identities and foreign policy; evaluate Australia's evolving engagement with the Pacific Islands and ASEAN; assess developments in foreign economic policy amid trade disputes and economic security concerns; explore Australian perceptions of the liberal international order; and examine the opportunities and challenges facing Australia's international human rights diplomacy. Although each paper focuses on a distinct policy area, together they illuminate the broader transformation of Australian statecraft in response to shifting regional and global power dynamics. Several themes connect the panel. First, Australia's foreign policy increasingly reflects the interaction between geopolitical competition and economic interdependence, particularly in managing relations with both the United States and China. Second, the papers demonstrate how Australia's regional diplomacy has expanded beyond traditional security concerns to encompass development, climate change, economic integration, and people-to-people engagement. Third, they show that domestic political factors—including public opinion, national identity, and normative commitments—have become increasingly important in shaping Australia's international behaviour. Finally, the panel explores how Australia has sought to preserve an open, rules-based regional order while adapting to an era characterised by strategic uncertainty and intensifying great-power rivalry. By bringing together leading scholars working across multiple dimensions of Australian foreign policy, the panel offers an integrated and timely assessment of Australia's changing place in the world. It will be of interest to scholars of international relations, comparative politics, public policy, and regional studies, as well as policymakers and practitioners seeking to understand Australia's evolving diplomatic, economic, and strategic choices in an increasingly contested international environment.

Title	Details
Human Rights	View Paper Details
Foreign economic policy	View Paper Details
ASEAN engagement	View Paper Details