The impotence of being earnest? Avoiding the pitfalls of ‘creative middle power diplomacy’

Abstract

This article critically evaluates Australia's ‘creative middle power diplomacy’, encapsulated in the three pillars of the Labor government's foreign policy platform. It notes that each pillar has been accorded specific roles in the implementation of Australian foreign policy and makes particular reference to the government's preference for multilateral engagement. The article subsequently demonstrates that such an agenda actually impedes a creative approach to key issues such as trade, climate change and non-proliferation challenges, as well as Australia's participation in Asia-Pacific order-building. It then offers some suggestions for a more flexible posture that is not inconsistent with past Labor approaches, but which also better appreciates regional and global complexities.

Keywords:

• Asia-Pacific security
• Australian foreign policy
• international relations

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Matthew Sussex

Dr Matthew Sussex is Senior Lecturer at the School of Government, University of Tasmania